Heads up I'm actually suuuuuuper sick (chronically) so if I don't get back to you or someone says shit and I don't respond I'm probably busy crawling from my bedroom to my bathroom.
Sometimes people need a little less "You can do it! Don't give up!" and a little more "No matter what happens, I'll be right behind you and you will create meaning and beauty in the circumstances you find, as you always have."
It's a good time to eat only fully cooked meat, drink only pasteurized milk, and fully cook your eggs (no runny yolks). Some H5N1 resources in replies:
After reflecting on it a bit, I realized that my (and other white Jews') gut discomfort with comparing Netanyahu to Hitler isn't about technicalities or antisemitism, but is rooted in white supremacy. The Holocaust was terrible, but in most ways it wasn't unique. ๐งต
Disabled people who are quarantining now are some of the strongest, most resilient people. We are so eager to live, so committed to what is left for us, that we choose to sustain ourselves when gaslit on every level.
#neisvoid
#CovidIsNotOver
Went to the doctor. NP came in wearing a surgical mask, I offered an n95, she said "I really don't want to, if you don't mind" and I said that I did mind. 1) please clap bc I advocated for myself and 2) fuck medical personnel generally
The Holocaust just HAS to be the worst event of history and Hitler HAS to be the worst human because otherwise we accept that it could, and does, and is, and will happen again. We have to recognize that this awful, awful event has lots of company in history. (9/x)
I like the threads of people doing fun shit in masks and talking about living their lives. It encourages wearing masks. That's good.
But also we should be wearing masks out of dedication to caring for each other regardless of how chill and fun and cute it can get. (1/2)
Not only must "never again" be "never again for anyone", it must be "this has already happened again". In many forms, fascist and/or capitalist-imperialist violence is an everyday and global occurrence. We have to pivot to "not anymore". (13/x)
The Holocaust is unique in being taken seriously as a genocide on a retroactively white people by white people. I don't feel comfortable addressing the issue of Jews' historical race but white supremacy has a dominating role in why/how we talk about the Holocaust. (2/x)
Because if we step back from the mythology of Holocaust uniqueness, we can see that it's not about numbers. It's about ideology, history, culture, fascism, colonialism/imperialism, capitalism. We owe it to history, to each other, and to Palestine to act accordingly. (15/15)
Instead, Hitler is made into this persona of evil and the Holocaust is made into this one-off historical event. It's now somewhere between a rhetorical device and a cultural touchstone. And in this way, anyone who makes a comparison to Hitler is seen as antisemitic. (8/x)
And so I can confidently say that Netanyahu is just as bad as Hitler. Two charismatic fascists who use convoluted ideology as justification to order the massacre and mass oppression of an entire people. Two awful human beings with military resources and large followings. (14/x)
We should be talking about the Holocaust in a way that focuses on the future, on action, on prevention and struggle. We should be talking about the Holocaust in connection with capitalism-imperialism and colonialism. (7/x)
I want people to realize one of the hardest parts about not being able to work AT ALL is that you look at your budget and there's no way to get more income. (1/x)
The Holocaust sticks out as something that happened in the imperial core, but it isn't unique in that regard (see: settler colonial countries). It sticks out as mass violence of whites on (retroactively) white people, but probably isn't unique there either. (4/x)
The discussion of the Holocaust as a) unique b) the result of an Evil Man c) a genocide of 6 million helpless Jews is all a plot to feed an idea of Holocaust exceptionalism. (3/x)
And if instead we stick to the Holocaust is unique myth, we can pretend that violence towards others isn't as bad as what happened to us. That's an easy shortcut to thinking that Israel is justified in doing what it's doing, which it never has been and never will be. (12/x)
We should be discussing a) the other people who were targeted in the Holocaust and why and b) what 6 million actually means (roughly 2/3 of the European Jewish population and more than half of the global Jewish population). (6/x)
We can recognize that the vast history of human stories and richness of culture that was developed was extinguished to a devastating degree, and find common cause with others who have faced this. We are not unique, and/so we are not alone. (11/x)
We can recognize the unique aspects of the Holocaust, but its overall character is far from it. And in recognizing that, we can see more clearly what was lost from Jewish people. No longer do we (white Jews) have to hold it up as a rhetorical device or a talisman. (10/x)
The numbers of the Holocaust are extreme, but the discussion of the Holocaust as 6 million Jews is wildly unhelpful to any revolutionary, because horrifying, contextless figures are useless. (5/x)
Be careful eating animal products, wash your hands, wear your masks, and stay home when sick! We have the tools to stay safe from viruses as a society, but only through community care and diligence.
#H5N1
#SARSCoV2
#maskup
My name is Nat. I mask because I fucking have to. I don't work, I don't go to school, I see like one friend. And it's not just bc of COVID. I was sick before too. All the same, my life is worth the effort of protecting, my own effort and that of others.
I can't emphasize enough the value of casual friendships/acquaintanceships/parasocial relationships online to people in isolation. Sure, I miss seeing good friends, but something a lot of people take for granted is casual encounters with other people. (1/x)
people say to get off twitter but twitter is one of the only places where the desperation of people around the world is seen. a lot of people i would talk to in everyday life if i weren't housebound are so far removed from it. it hurts to be aware but i wouldn't trade it (1/2)
Working yourself to the bone isn't an option. You are at the bone. You can't get money without it being taken by the SSA (if you're on SSI). You can rarely even get credit cards because your income is so low. (2/x)
It's not right that people have to work themselves to the bone, but it's also a privilege to be able to work at all. It's a privilege to know you have some kind of leverage or ability to get even a dollar more. (5/5)
All this is assuming you have gotten on disability, which takes years and a lawyer and medical history. Otherwise /until then you're stuck at 0 income. Been there and it was awful. (3/x)
But even now, at my relatively rich 950 a month, I have no idea how I'm going to survive, and I'm not healthy enough to second job side hustle etsy store onlyfans my way out of it.
@wrath_776
Here is a picture of one of my cats staring at me on the toilet. I have to let them both in when I shower, and sometimes they bat at the shower liner or squabble over the edge of the bathtub. ๐
By and large I can't relate in the slightest to so many mainstream disability advocates. The ADA is great and all but the SSI capped my income at $914 and COVID is everywhere so idk how much there is to celebrate
@elendraug
@ChrisAlvino
@SpatialEnigmas
OKAY so this is where the AuDHD research and hyperfocus comes in clutch (no pun intended). I have now done a mini-deep dive into egg pasteurization. Long story short, all egg *products* are required to be pasteurized in the U.S. Whole eggs, or "shell eggs", are not. (1/x)
You can't successfully organize if you punch down, if you talk shit about people expressing very real struggles, if you dismiss concerns, if you use someone's personal difficulties to make grand proclamations that trivialize or dismiss what they are going through. (3/x)
Disabled people bring something to the movement. Each disabled person kept alive is a wealth of information on survival and resilience. We are necessary. And the way to protect us best is to address our needs. (15/x)
So in short, respect your comrades, organize broadly and deeply, allocate resources to the most receptive and the most vulnerable, and don't forget this is greater than just stopping the spread. We have a fucking world to win. Don't punch down. (24/24)
This isn't just moral but strategic. There is no better way to fight eugenics than to enable disabled people to live, and in living, to fight. There will be other plagues, and there will be increasing oppression. We have to focus on the most marginalized. (14/x)
We need to be spreading information and making abled people uncomfortable with neglecting disabled people. We need to be providing tests and making unions fight to get sick leave. We need to be paying people's medical debts and working against debt collection agencies. (21/x)
@elendraug
@ChrisAlvino
@SpatialEnigmas
OKAY so this is where the AuDHD research and hyperfocus comes in clutch (no pun intended). I have now done a mini-deep dive into egg pasteurization. Long story short, all egg *products* are required to be pasteurized in the U.S. Whole eggs, or "shell eggs", are not. (1/x)
@bumsfiderallala
Like I said in the thread, there were aspects of the Holocaust that were, indeed, unique, much like any other genocide. Each event has its own particular aspects as well as general character. However the Holocaust was not unique in several key ways (1/2)
It's wild how people are caught up in making sure there's a category for disabled people who can work some (which, yes, agreed) but forget about those of us who have NEVER been able to work enough to support ourselves, or work at all. (1/x)
I need to think more about how to write about it, but a note: dating poor, multiply marginalized people (as a poor, multiply marginalized person) takes different skills and understandings than dating rich, privileged people. (1/x)
For people using my thread to tell others to go vegan. If you're vegan, good for you! But it's not accessible to everyone, so I hope y'all are putting the same effort into providing food to your communities as you are commenting.
@bumsfiderallala
Including: the degree of its horror and brutality, the fascist ideology behind it, its role in the context of history, and any other way that paints it as an archetypical and atypical event. Trust me, it is a difficult ideological shift to make, but it's necessary. (2/2)
A better world is possible, and that doesn't just mean a world with masks for everyone. It means a world with a culture of community care, justice, accessibility. All causes are connected and revolution is the only solution. (20/x)
This is different than the respectability politics/middle class white politeness ideal that is worth being criticized. If you don't listen to people who are bringing forward personal experience as oppressed people, you aren't acting in a principles manner. (4/x)
And besides just being fucking mean, it breaks the trust of other people and makes everything you say questionable. It dissolves anything you try to build. It has material consequences. Respect for marginalized people matters. Decency matters. (5/x)
Which brings me to the fourth issue: it's not just masks. If we rely on handing out masks without political strategy, we will all run out of money. Mask distribution is great and necessary, but all it does is stanch the bleeding of a deeper wound. (19/x)
We have to allocate energy and resources to healthcare, to the unhoused, to the homebound, because those groups and places have the most disabled and poor people. Those people are more likely to care and need resources. (16/x)
@TrevorSutcliffe
Hey stop using Jewish and Zionist interchangeably. There are so many Jewish people who are part of the encampments and protests, and conflating the two leads to actual antisemitism.
Concertgoers and partiers often can afford masks and are more likely to be voluntarily making riskier decisions. If anything, we should be distributing information and agitating to change their mindsets rather than one-off giving them masks they make throw away. (18/x)
This brings me to issue three: the political nature of COVID organizing. As with any other cause, there are those who want to change the immediate situation so things can go back to the status quo, and those who are thinking more long-term and in a revolutionary manner. (12/x)
each disabled life is worth living. each disabled person deserves the support and care to make life livable. the answer to the failure of the state and capitalism to give us this support is not to make our death easier, but to shut this whole thing down.
The first is respect and consideration, particularly of oppressed people. I think in a lot of cases the notion of feelings and relations between organizers are sidelined, but they really shouldn't be. (2/x)
If we are thinking of a better future, it isn't enough to focus on handing out the most masks to the biggest number of people, or to make things easier for the majority of people. We have to organize the most oppressed, the deepest of the masses. (13/x)
Disabled lesbian love: I wash her hair, she washes my dishes, I make her appointments, she makes me soup, I bring her electrolytes, she brings me mouthwash
I will grow old with her
That is to say yes, every event, every instance and place of gathering, should be accessible, should be masked. Similarly, everyone should have access to healthcare, to the arts, to connection. (8/x)
The first is increasing supply. We have to be buying masks in bulk as we can, gathering more people as we can, building organizations and capabilities as we can. A systemic problem, and a problem system, require wide-reaching, movement-building efforts. (7/x)
We need to be fighting the abuse and isolation of disabled people, working to provide medical care outside the system, figuring out alternatives and fighting to keep medical facilities safe. We need to be sheltering the unhoused and working against gentrification. (22/x)
Organizing against COVID means organizing against capitalism-imperialism in all its forms, and reducing it to handing out masks at concerts is relegating our efforts to cutting off one head of a hydra. (23/x)
HOWEVER, this is where the second method of dealing with organizational limitations comes in. As we build capacity, we have to be deliberate in where our resources go. This means who gets masks, yes, but also where we protest, what we speak about, etc. (9/x)
Of course there are exceptions and other situations. We must keep organizing broadly to the best of our abilities. But we should focus first on people who are deeply in need and can be easily won over, rather than people who may be more resistant or apathetic. (17/x)
Are we working to save the majority of lives, to create cultural change, to assist the most vulnerable? What is the best and most effective way to stop the spread as well as build a better world? Who do we give masks to? Who do we focus on? (11/x)
Another issue: allocation of resources and labor. Capitalism forces a scarcity mindset, but in practical terms, organizers have to deal with a reality of scarcity. There are two ways to handle this, and they have to be used simultaneously. (6/x)
@elendraug
@ChrisAlvino
@SpatialEnigmas
So if you buy pasteurized eggs or egg products, you can eat them raw or runny, but you have to be careful and make sure that they are actually pasteurized. Here are my sources: (3/x)
Especially since there are a lot of disabled people organizing in this particular sector, we have to be deliberate with our work. That means we have to make tough decisions with careful analysis. (10/x)
Yes, I'm autistic so small talk is not my strong suit and social interactions can be tricky and overwhelming, but that doesn't mean that I don't want them. There is a nourishing factor in mutual and respectful exchanges with others. (2/x)
@elendraug
@ChrisAlvino
@SpatialEnigmas
Less than 3% of shell eggs in the U.S. are pasteurized, and they'll be marked by a blue or red p printed on the shell. It's near impossible to properly pasteurize eggs at home without cooking them fully. (2/x)
So thank you to all my mutuals, for seeing me and reading my thoughts and sharing yours. Y'all make my world a little wider and affirm my existence and worth as a person. We should all have that. (4/4)
This discussion is not a waste of time if it's done right. Where are we going with COVID safety? Are we working for a world of community care, or a world of compromised semi-protection? Are we trying to "get back to normal" and "live our lives", or are we asking for better? (1/2)
It allows the affirmation of your existence and (depending on the circumstances) can remind you that people are generally good and trying their best. Generally we are social creatures and being isolated hurts. (3/x)
The red flags often mentioned may not apply/may be different. If they don't have friends, is it because they've been isolated/oppressed, or is it because they want to just have you and nobody else? (2/x)
Confession: sometimes I get really jealous of other disabled people. When they can get married. When they can work jobs. When they live in wheelchair accessible places. When their low-spoon activities are, like, The Thing I Do That Day.
Having money affords you wiggle room, spontaneity, and room for mistakes. Take-out, late fees, special treats, hiring help, etc. etc. etc.
If you have this kind of monetary flexibility, keep in mind that others don't, and give what you can so they can have it.
I stand with Myriam
@lesbrains
#proudtobeLBUSD
did y'all fire her for criticizing a book? or speaking up about being raped and y'all doing nothing about it? or standing with kids called the n word by a white teacher? we're waiting for answers...
If they don't seek out therapy or medical care, is it because of trauma or other barriers to care, or is it because they are avoiding caring for themself or using you as a therapist? (3/x)
Is your relationship unhealthy, are they unable to be in a healthy relationship, or is your relationship/partner just devalued in society? Are they failing to give you material support, or are they just poor? (7/x)
Not having a job, living with their parents, not having a formal education, struggling with mental health, being lonely, or being up front with trauma are not automatic red flags. Context is important. (6/x)
Hey guess what oat milk does not fulfill the nutritional role of dairy milk and some people fucking rely on that
I'm glad if you don't, but if I hear one more person pushing non-dairy milks I'm going to scream
The most gainfully employed I've ever been has been as a legal assistant, but that made my health worse and I ended up also being able to work only 10 hours a week. I made so little that I got a significant income raise from getting on SSI (which pays about 950 a month). (2/x)