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https://truthout.org/articles/disability-activists-bring-wisdom-from-the-pandemic-to-new-struggles-under-trump/>
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The article below is an adapted excerpt from the introduction of How to Be
Disabled in a Pandemic, an anthology recently published by NYU Press that
chronicles experiences of ableism and diverse disability activism in New York
City (and beyond) during the first four years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
anthology’s authors are a collective of disabled, chronically ill,
neurodivergent, and nondisabled scholars, students, activists, lawyers,
journalists, artists and librarians.
Disabled people hold immense expertise in navigating both chronic illnesses and
moments of crisis. And yet, despite all the public reflections on “lessons
learned” at the five-year anniversary of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic —
from which hundreds of people in the U.S. are still dying each week — disabled
people find themselves under increasing attack by the Trump administration.
Government rhetoric about disability, from White House policy memoranda to
social media posts, dehumanizes disabled communities, characterizing people as
“burdens” and “threats” to the nation, and prompting new fears about
institutionalization. Perhaps most urgently, Medicaid, Social Security and
Section 504 accommodations — and possibly even the landmark
Americans with
Disabilities Act — are at serious risk of defunding and dismantling, among
other fragile elements of the social safety net.
Additionally, noted vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been installed as
secretary of Health and Human Services, abruptly changing vaccine
recommendations (including no longer recommending COVID-19 vaccines for
children or pregnant people, and other policies that could limit vaccine
access), and threatening the likelihood of new global infectious disease
outbreaks. Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” has attempted to
dismantle entire agencies like USAID, laid off experts at federal agencies, and
removed crucial data and agency websites. And federal grant programs, including
the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation (NSF), have
been slashed, with a prohibition on terms related to diversity, equity and
inclusion — including “disability” and “accessibility” — imposed on remaining
funds, cutting urgent funding for infectious disease and public health research
(including social science research, like that for this book, which was funded
by the NSF).
These are only the tip of the iceberg: Disabled people, their families, allies
and service providers are particularly affected by these attacks. (Plus, it
should be noted, Democrats are not off the hook, as many activists have
critiqued premature rollbacks of COVID-19 resources, as well as recent attempts
by politicians like New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to implement a mask ban.) And,
of course, disabled people are also uniquely affected by other inhumane
policies, including attacks on migrants and trans people, unpredictable tariffs
and foreign policy.
In this context, while the facts on the ground documented in
How to Be
Disabled in a Pandemic about the earliest days of COVID-19 may have shifted,
the book’s key takeaways — especially that pandemic social movements must be
rooted in disability justice — are more timely than ever."
Via Joyce Donahue.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
