Tag Archive for: disability consciousness

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I said something ableist to someone I admire

Welcome to What’s The Matter With Me? Podcast Season 6 Episode 32, “Disability Consciousness”

In this episode, I reflect on the time I said something ableist to someone I admire, the drummer in deerhoof, what I might say (or not) now that I’ve spent some time working on my disability consciousness. I hope I might come up with something better. Also, Botox, falling and the first law of success, “Do You!”

Disability Consciousness

  • One time I ate with deerhoof and I said something ableist 
  • Because I didn’t yet have disability consciousness

How it is in Hayward

  • How it is in Hayward across from El Pollo Loco…
  • It’s weird when the Garden Center is a cinderblock building with no windows

RIP

  • rip gorbachev – gorby – commie pinko
  • rip chowhound

Extra

  • I had Botox
  • It’s a lot of injections

Shout Outs

  • shout outs to Kevin at Under the cowl of MS. He mentioned What’s The Matter With Me? Podcast and Hoppin Hot Sauce in one of his YouTube videos. Kevin reviews comic books
  • Williams Sonoma reordered Hoppin Hot Sauce for the western region
  • Mention Hoppin Hot Sauce and What’s The Matter With Me? Podcast in any and all settings
  • shout outs rocky and claude hopper for technical support- as always, if you see something say something

Do You

Falling

  • I have been falling a lot. One time I was flicking the switch in the bathroom and i ended up facing the wall with my back to the toilet

Deerhoof Show

  • I want to go see deerhoof in San Jose at the ritz in October, on october 22
  • Should I take my wheelchair?
  • Do you want to meet me there?
  • They are playing San Francisco the night b4 but I like going to things in San Jose

Black T Shirt

  • I had Botox
  • It’s quite a lot of injections
  • The nurse talks to you and the doctors say “123 poke”
  • In my trapezius- shoulder area, in my pectoral area, in my bicep and forearm
  • Of course I was wearing a white tee shirt not a black one
  • Note to self: wear a black t shirt for Botox
  • The injections get stronger over a week and then they last about 6 weeks before trailing off
  • I showed them my puppet video In the kitchen
Happy Birthday Nathan

I said something

  • One time I ate with deerhoof and i said something ableist
  • I didn’t have disability consciousness
    • one time I ate brunch with the member of deerhoof at a cafe called Brown on the lower East Side
    • I was dating a woman who knew them
    • The drummer appeared to have something like torrette’s syndrome
    • He said things and made sounds and physical motions that were Kind of like tourettes
    • I didn’t have a lot of disability consciousness back then
    • I think I asked him, “Hey man, what’s wrong with you?”
    • The guitar player was also there and he just giggled
    • It was awkward
    • I had lived with someone already who had Tourette’s syndrome so I recognized the signs but lacked disability consciousness to form my question properly
    • I think if I had it over again I would probably not ask anything
    • Or I could say what I observed, like something like, “I notice that you are moving a lot and making sounds.”
    • And maybe that would be enough to get whatever answer I felt that I needed
    • It’s kind of like asking someone that you observed many rolls of flesh and pendulous thighs and expecting them to tell you they’re fat.
    • I certainly wouldn’t ask him Hey man what’s wrong with you
    • I think if I had it over I wouldn’t ask him anything

This Week’s Selfie:

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Oscars movie review. PLUS obscenity, ancient dramaturgy, jottings & more..

In this episode, responding to 2021 Academy Awards best documentary nominee, “Crip Camp.”

PLUS: Obscenity, Ancient Dramaturgy, Jottings & more..

Poet Michael McClure makes an appearance.

In the Jotting notebook, the power of autosuggestion.

For being who I am

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Won’t Be Ashamed For Being Who I am

Won’t Be Ashamed For Being Who I Am

Adventures in Disability Shaming

In this episode, my son tells me that he wants a new dad, one that isn’t disabled, who doesn’t use a wheelchair or a cane, and who is able to cross the stream by balancing on a fallen eucalyptus tree. I think it may be more-or-less normal for a kid to wish they had different parents, but it felt especially heavy that my kid was trying to hurt my feelings for having multiple sclerosis and being disabled. I pointed out that he was disability shaming me, that it was as if I had told him that I didn’t like being around kids because they don’t have driver’s licenses, or know how to multiply and divide. My point was that there are things that we don’t have control over and that it’s unfair to blame us for them. I think he heard me, the wheels began to spin, and maybe he’ll think this over.

  • the heat is working again
  • my son tried to hurt and shame me for being disabled
  • need to teach disability consciousness to my children
  • i went for a ride in my wheelchair with a friend for the first time and it was good
  • i’m using a sleep apnea CPAP device to sleep at night, continuous positive air pressure. my energy is better

Interview
Interview someone and learn about them

In The Habit

We’re nearing the end of four seasons on the podcast. Like I said last time, I’m thinking of changing or stopping it. For now, I’m still in the habit.

I recorded an interview with the activist Ligia Andrade Zuniga that I hope to air on KFJC.

Reflecting on the mental health epidemic that accompanies the coronavirus epidemic, the podcast takes an unexpected turn.

It comes back on track at the end, courtesy of the words of Marc Maron.

Cya next time. As always, get me via the Contact Form. Hasta luego!

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Lots of boxes

I’m thinking about changing this. Did I accomplish what I came for?

I started this podcast with a determination to try and understand who I was as a disabled person, to grow my disability consciousness. Now that I am on the cusp of relocation, I wonder, did I accomplish what I came for? Let me know what you think via the Contact form.

This episode quotes from the first episode of What’s The Matter With Me? Podcast, “Trying.”