Stuff

But for real?

The number of restaurants I see that are stating “closed because of lack of emoloyees” - isn’t this what you all wanted?

Let’s ignore the whole unemployment debate for a minute even - we’ve been absolutely blasting fast food workers for not getting a better job if they wanted to be paid more. What is a whole crew of fast food workers decided “fuck it, I’m deciding to find a new job now that I have time to create resumes because of Covid.”

And now they just...won’t go back, because you argued that for having the audacity to work in fast food, they shouldn’t be able to make a living wage and be able to support themselves.

happy World Goth Day, apparently

[ID: Tweet by Mick @Flakes1979 showing a child in a wheelchair on a sidewalk, unable to continue because a van has parked up on the sidewalk leaving only about a 1’ gap between the van and the hedge. Text reads “Society for disabled people summed up in one picture: not even thought of. 😟😡👨🏻‍🦽”

Facebook comment by Jake Gibson “Have you asked [them] to move? Are they parked there for work purposes would they be blocking the road? Should they of left more space yes. Do they realize they have done it probably not. Talking to people helps resolve issues like this. Just some thoughts.”] (His terrible punctuation has been corrected in this ID so screen readers can parse it.)

Yes because a disabled child who cannot even get down the sidewalk should have to go door to door up and down a street - doors he probably cannot even reach due to the fact the sidewalk is obstructed and a lot of houses have steps leading to the front door - just to get some random person to move their van so that child can get where they’re going without having to risk their life in the road. Something any abled person can do with no effort.

Also if you have never tried asking one of these assholes to move, 9/10 of these people will rain verbal abuse down on you and refuse to move their vehicle. Particularly in England which is known for its hate crimes against the disabled and has been cited multiple times by the UN for their subhuman treatment of their disabled population. And that’s if a disabled adult asks them to move their vehicle. Imagine expecting a child to suffer through this.

If this person gave a single flying fuck about disabled people - something they clearly do not any more than you do Jake the Ableist - they would not have parked their damn van on the sidewalk to begin with. But god forbid we not risk the lives of disabled people to make life marginally more convenient for any random abled who wants to park their van somewhere it doesn’t belong because “they might be working” and “it might block the road” otherwise.

An able bodied walker could maybe scoot carefully between the pole and the hedge, or walk along the curb like a balance beam (with traffic zooming by - nice!), or go up the hill, past the hedges into someone’s front lawn, but a wheelchair user would not have that option. Someone with other mobility challenges, such as a cane, walker, or someone with any balance issues would be out of luck as well. 

I wish I knew about men like these growing up, I wish I knew that trans men could be successful after a lifetime of never seeing anyone ‘like me’ excelling in life. So here are some trans men - some that you may have heard of, some that you may not - that are successful in a range of careers. Never let being trans hold you back, never think you can’t do something, never think there is not a place for you.

Ben Barres American neurobiologist for Stanford University and advocate for women in science. Barre’s research on the interactions between glial cells and neurons changed the way that we understand the brain and opened up a whole new field of research.

Stephen Whittle Professor of equalities law. Founder of FTM Network in 1989 and Press for Change in 1992. Whittle has been heavily involved in trans activism since joining the Self Help Association for Transsexuals in 1979. His research and activism has been instrumental in ensuring the rights of trans people in the UK.

Michael D Cohen Actor, teacher and coach. Making his break in award-winning Nickelodeon sitcoms Harvey Danger and Danger Force he was the first series regular actor to publicly come out as transgender. Cohen has a BSc in cell biology and a masters degree in adult education, teaching at his own acting studio and providing workshops.

Chris Mosier American triathlete and award-winning coach. Six time member of Team USA in both duathlon and triathlon, Mosier also won two national championships in racewalking and was the first transgender athlete to qualify for the Olympic trials to compete against other members of his gender.

Yance Ford African-American film producer and director. Ford received an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking and was nominated for an Oscar for his part in producing and directing the documentary Strong Island which follows the death of his brother.

Kael McKenzie Canadian judge. Serving in the Canadian Armed Forces for several years, McKenzie later attended law school and and worked as a lawyer before being appointed as a judge to the Provincial Court of Manitoba in 2015. 

Shane Ortega Native American former flight engineer in the US army, former marine and professional bodybuilder. Throughout his career Ortega has served in Iraq and Afghanistan in over 400 combat missions. He has a long history of advocating for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the recent banning on transgender service members in the US army. 

Drago Renteria Chicano photojournalist and deaf and LGBT activist. Renteria founded the Deaf Queer Resource and is CEO of DeafVision - a webhosting and development company run by deaf people and the founder of the National Deaf LGBTQ Archives. Renteria has been instrumental in both creating and hosting many online deaf/queer spaces online along with being heavily involved in real-world activism for decades.