I’m marching in this disability march online because I really wish I could go to DC and I can’t. I am so glad the march is happening as part of a large wave of resistance to the Far Ridiculous Right that is just now picking up its first momentum. They will not know what hit them when we get roaring.
My body has changed since my first marches on Washington in the 1990s. I have a few connected autoimmune conditions and joint pain, so walking for a long period might be ok, might not. It would be the exhaustion, however, that would put my system over the edge at the beginning of a semester in which I need to work.
To be honest, when I was at the age of my first marches and even in the decades since then, I have not been great at all about including disabled people in my list of groups that needed demands met until I landed in this category. And I struggled for a long time with putting myself in that category because social stigma and fear makes that category seem something separate and very hard. Hello, ableism and internalized ableism.
In the hectic rush to get things organized, the phrase “and disabled people” has been left off far too many organizations’ platforms. Get used to putting it in, right in the middle of everything and everyone else. We need to orient our movements to the needs and agendas of the most vulnerable, and the disabled is a huge huge population that will be drastically affected by cuts to the ACA, Medicare, housing assistance, and every other Republican cut you can think of as well as the instability of the Trump economy. People who are disabled are here and we can help in a million ways, especially with Internet access. Do not write us off as less-than or incapable. We are a huge slice of your movements.
Sonya Huber is the author of five books including the forthcoming Pain Woman Takes Your Keys and Other Essays from a Nervous System. She is a firm supporter of healthcare for all, Medicare for all, national healthcare, single-payer, whatever you call it that takes the violation of the market as far as possible away from our bodies.
Disability March 
As a disabled person I am, disgusted by the idea that I should have to sacrifice all my basic needs to the “healthcare” industry. They have done nothing but damage my health, until I qualified for a full disability. I have an autoimmune disorder. I need a place where I can live and food I can eat. ACA and Medicare are scams that don’t pay for the things people actually need. Housing assistance is abusive and too expensive, I don’t need unqualified people to tell me, I have to live in a place where I don’t have access. I’m fully disabled and if I had to live on just what I get as a fully disabled person I’d be dead.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have some physical limitations and I am also a caregiver so I want to honor the disabled individuals in my life who are unable to March.
LikeLiked by 1 person
AS A PERSON WHO HAS LIVED WITH A DISABILITY SINCE 1953, I HAVE SEEN THE STRUGGLE AND THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE. I HAVE BEEN TEACHING OUR YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO BECOME FULLY WHO THEY ARE. SADLY, I FEAR THAT THE NEW ADMINISTRATION WILL BE TAKING GIANT STEPS BACKWARDS ON DIASBILITY RIGHTS ISSUES, ESPECIALLY IN HEALTHCARE. MARCH ON!
LikeLike
I have lived (and succeeded) with lifelong disability and also work with the disabled in special education. Though my health has improved in recent years I still need to be careful. I have a compromised immune system leading to breathing difficulty, and joint, back and muscle problems so can’t do the march tomorrow which I was hoping to do. I want to participate in this march for various and many number of reasons. I’m very concerned about the actions trump has taken since becoming president elect, specifically NOT “draining the swamp” but filling it with ‘gators! His behavior is very worrisome, I do not feel safe. I care about my fellow Latino, Muslim, LGBTQ, immigrant, homeless, “different” etc. people and believe ALL should be safe and welcome in America. I’m concerned about healthcare for all, social security, Medicare/cal, and of course much,much more, and feel all that is in jeopardy – our (already) great country is in jeapardy! I want trump and his administration to know I AM HERE, WE ARE HERE, WE ARE WATCHING – “we will NOT GO QUITELY into that goodnight!” We will hold all those in power responsible and accountable!
LikeLike