#ddom

Today I'm sad. I'm angry. I'm exhausted. I hate that this day is necessary.

I try not to go out on a serious topic like this, but I'm sad. I'm sad and upset because we have to have a day like this. You see it every time there's the murder of a disabled kid. "They had no other choice! They were at the end of their rope!" People accuse the victims of being burdens and hard to love and don't even consider that maybe their life was worth living.

Nobody deserves to die like that. Nobody deserves to be told that sorry, you're hard to deal with so you don't get to live anymore. How dare you? Disabled lives are worth living every. Single. Time.

ASAN has an anti filicide toolkit available to those who fear they or a loved one might be in danger or become a danger. There are also going to be irl and online vigils for the dead tomorrow. I don't think I'll be able to handle it this year, but if you're interested in it you should check it out. Never stop fighting and never stop being angry. They deserved to live.

Disability activists and organizations are preparing for the annual Disability Day of Mourning on March 1st. Across the country, local communities will gather to commemorate people with disabilities murdered by family members or caretakers. 

The murders of people with disabilities are often framed as “mercy killings,” but that perception sets a dangerous precedent. "The value our society places on disabled people is shockingly clear," says activist, author, and speaker Emma Van der Klift. "Faced with a growing number of child murders perpetrated by parents upon their disabled offspring, the public seems unable to respond with the clarity reserved for the parents who murder their nondisabled children. When we mistake homicide for care and compassion, we help create a climate where these and other atrocities become possible.”

In Canada, Disability Day of Mourning was first observed in 2015, starting in Vancouver. Since then, vigils have been held as a yearly reminder that disability is not, and has never been, a justification for violence. 

2019 Vigils 

Vancouver, British Columbia:

@vancouverautistics will be holding their vigil in the Woodlands Memorial Garden, New Westminster from 5-6:30 pm. 

Event details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2243051655975208/

Winnipeg, Manitoba:

@manitobaautistics will be holding their vigil at the University of Winnipeg (The Hive), Winnipeg from 6-8 pm. 

Event details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/260070201577749

Guelph, Ontario: 

Kinnery Chaparrel (individual activist) will be holding a vigil in St. George’s Square, Guelph from 6 pm. 

Event details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/340573600000332/

Toronto, Ontario: 

Autistics 4 Autistics (A4A) will be holding their vigil on the Ryerson Campus (Sally Horsefall Eaton Centre Bldg, Room SHE560), Toronto from 3-5 pm. 

Event details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/349632405875581

Halifax, Nova Scotia: 

@novascotia-autistics will be holding their vigil in the Halifax Central Library (BMO Community Room on the 2nd floor), Halifax from 1-3 pm. 

TW for filicide, ableism, murder of disabled persons.

On March 1st, 2018, I had the honor of presenting my speech “How Many Ways” for the Disability Day of Mourning vigil hosted by Autistics United Vancouver—Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territory In recognition of the day, I am sharing it again.