hellyeahscarleteen:

bastlynn:

vivahate1988:

nerdycauseimme:

hijadepavlov:

the idea that “technological advancement” should strive for the elimination of mentally ill, autistic or physically disabled people, instead of easier and better accommodations that allow us to live healthy and fulfilling lives, is ableist 

I don’t understand what this post is saying…medicine should stop striving for cures because it’s discriminatory towards sufferers of mental and physical illness or disability?…um

Hi, sorry to butt in again but I’ve been working in disability for two and a half years as well as being disabled myself, so perhaps I can clear something up. There are two models of looking at disability. There’s the old model, the medical model, which sees disability as something inherent in the person - a person who uses a wheelchair is disabled because their limbs don’t function in the same way as other people’s, for example. Then there’s the new model, the social model, which sees disability as a symptom of society, so a person who uses a wheelchair is disabled because society does not fully cater for people in that position (think, for example, about how many buildings, transport systems etc. don’t have step free access).

You’re thinking about disability in terms of the medical model. The issue with this is that many disabled people don’t. For example, for many autistic people, their autism is an inherent part of who they are - it shapes their behaviour, mentality and personality to an extent that without it, they would lose all sense of their identity. Suggesting that they should be cured suggests that there is something inherently faulty about them - that who they are is bad and wrong and they need to be turned into a new person, instead of wider society being educated about autism and there being less pressure to behave and process information in a certain way.

Now, some disabled people do want a cure. I suffer from joint hypermobility syndrome, a chronic pain condition which makes everyday living very unpleasant a lot of the time, and I would love for that to be cured, but that is because only the medical model can apply to me. There is nothing that could be changed about society that could make my condition easier to live with, the only way my life could be improved is if my joints stopped hurting. Also, my condition doesn’t affect who I am other than hindering me due to the constant pain - without it, I would still be me, just more comfortable.

Please listen to disabled people. We all have different perspectives on and understandings of disability. When someone says that they don’t want to be cured (or that they do), please listen to them and try to understand why. It’s only a cure if it’s genuinely going to help the people it’s intended for, and the people it’s intended for know whether or not it will better than anybody else.

This is one of the very best breakdowns of the different models I’ve ever seen. Thank you! :)

This is so informative! Got questions about disability and sexuality? Check out our resources. 

(via esaevian)

note-a-bear:

ultralaser:

halcyonstarfish:

the-mighty-birdy:

daggers-drawn:

glowstone:

maritsa-met:

Amazon's warehouse-worker tracking system can automatically fire people without a human supervisor's involvement

Hundreds of Amazon workers have been fired over productivity at just one warehouse in one year.

Business Insider

“Amazon’s system tracks a metric called “time off task,” meaning how much time workers pause or take breaks, The Verge reported. It has been previously reported that some workers feel so pressured that they don’t take bathroom breaks.

If the system determines the employee is failing to meet production targets, it can automatically issue warnings and terminate them without a supervisor’s intervention, although Amazon said that a human supervisor can override the system. The company also said it provides training to those who don’t meet their production goals.

While all employees in every job know they could be fired if they fail to meet their performance objectives, few of us are managed by an automated system tracking our every movement that has full authority to make that decision.”

“It doesn’t matter if you are a hard worker or a slacker – once you put on the headset, you are going to be working every minute of the day or you are gone. The system has already fired five people.”

“What’s it have you do all day?” There were something like 50 people working in the supercenter at any given time – it was a 200,000 square foot store.

“Manna has you moving through the store aisle by aisle. I bet I am walking six or eight miles a day right now. I am constantly straightening merchandise on the shelves. Manna knows where I am, and it knows where everything is on the shelves, so it asks me item by item to straighten them. Manna wants everything on the shelves looking perfect. It is also big on restocking. So it will ask me, ‘How many rolls of masking tape are on the shelf?’ Whenever anything gets low, it has me go to the back and bring stuff out to the shelves. It knows what is selling through the cash registers, so it knows exactly when to restock everything and it makes sure that every single item in the store is fully stocked.”

“That doesn’t sound so unusual.” I said.

“It’s not unusual, except that Manna is telling you exactly what to do every second of every day. If it asks you to go to the back and get merchandise, it tells you exactly where to walk to go get it. And here is the weirdest part – I never see another employee the entire day. The way it makes me walk, I never run into anyone else. I can go for a full shift and never see another employee. Even our breaks are staggered. Everyone takes their breaks alone. We all arrive at staggered times. It’s like Manna is trying to totally eliminate human interaction on the job.”

“That’s spooky. Why would it do that?” I asked.

Brian looked down, “I’m guessing that talking with co-workers wastes time, and Manna is eliminating the waste everywhere it can.”

- Manna by Marshall Brian

We already live in the cyberpunk dystopia. We just didn’t notice because it lacks the flashy chrome.

we didnt notice bc we like shopping on amazon more than treating poor people with respect.

We didnt notice because no one listens to service employees

(via esaevian)

sleepyskele:

Psst, hey, hey you, yes you

Everybody who reblogs this before may 25th 2019 will get a little cryptid design based on their blog, url, etc.

(via esaevian)

observethewalrus:

cutiequeercris:

byakuya-mioda:

if exploring your gender is ‘becoming a trend’ then i’m glad it’s replacing the ‘being confused and miserable with no context or vocabulary for what you’re going through’ trend

there is honestly zero things wrong with people exploring their gender

Exploring your gender leads to either discovering a gender identity you feel more comfortable with than the one you were assigned at birth or realizing you identify best with your assigned gender except now you have a better understanding/awareness of trans, genderfluid, and nonbinary people and can begin to break down the toxic, transphobic bullshit you have most likely heard or seen at some point in your life :)

It’s a win-win

(via esaevian)

concerningwolves:

Even More notes on writing deaf characters

Talking

• People talk to themselves and that includes Deaf people
• I sometimes sign to myself, but whether I mutter or sign depends on why I’m talking to myself
• Cooking? Verbal speech to keep myself on task. Trying to work out an emotional scene? Signed speech.
• And using my whole body to talk to myself is allows more creative freedom
• Also even if a Deaf person identifies as non-verbal, they might still talk
• maybe a hearing person wouldn’t recognise it as speech, but sound is a part of signed language
• so muttering and breath-noises are common.
• It’s also worth mentioning that “sounding deaf” isn’t what you think it is.
• We don’t yell or make incoherent noises (usually)
• and even if we do, that’s fine
• but generally, people who are Deaf over-enunciate and speak very clearly.
• This is either intuitive and perfected over time, or taught in speech therapy.

“How much can you hear”

• People love to ask this question, and I can’t give them an answer.
• Unless I’m feeling snippy. Then I usually ask “Well how much do you hear?”
• They can’t answer either.
• Ergo, if you’re hearing and writing a d/Deaf character, don’t compare the way they hear the world to the way that a fully hearing person would.
• Be particularly wary of percentages
• I’m 75% deaf
• and I have no idea what that means
• because hearing loss is very nuanced.
• I’ve met someone who is 80% deaf, but she could hear in pitch ranges that I couldn’t.
• Hearing aids don’t emulate sound either
• so how a d/Deaf character hears with them in won’t be at the level a hearing person would
• it’s also very obvious that the sound is electronically enhanced.
• Putting in earplugs and walking around like that will not provide “Deaf experience”
• you’re better to listen to Deaf people telling you how they experience the world.

The craft itself

• Don’t fret about your word choices initially
• you have the privilege of hearing and that’s okay
• you take sound for granted, don’t worry about it.
• (Yet)
• Once you’ve got the story how you want it, set aside a whole revision just for using the right language if your POV character is Deaf
• printing out your manuscript in a different font is very helpful
• it’ll make it easier to pick out “red flag” words and phrases.
• Whenever you find a chunk of writing focused on sound/hearing, highlight it
• and then tear it apart.
• Can your character actually hear that owl hooting, or would the background noise be too blurry?
• Would your character hear the sound as it is, or would they have an association that overrules the sense?
• I.e. do they see a raven open it’s beak and think about black bubbles of ink in their throat? I know I do.
• Cross out any hyper-focus on sounds or re-write them in a different way.

The golden rule

• Don’t write deaf characters
• Write people who happen to be deaf
• Please, include us.
• Thank.

(via fixyourwritinghabits)