Notes – Page 148 – Amanda Unvarnished

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· 10 Adar 5777 (Wednesday 8 March 2017) · 2 minutes to read

So about that Jewish community center in Georgia that received a bomb threat today. It wasn’t mine, it’s in Columbus and I’m in Augusta, which are at opposite ends of the state. But it’s a very tiny one, in a small town that has one or two institutions where all the Jews in the area congregate, blurring denominational lines in a lot of cases, because there aren’t enough Jews to support multiple communities. This Sunday is Purim, and I am considering attending prayers at my local Chabad House, because hearing the megillah is a mitzvah, (and I really should do more of those), community, celebrating with other Jews, ETC., and I now need to add whether or not the possibility of a bomb threat or similar is an acceptable risk to those considerations. Not that this is a new thing. It happens to Muslims, and to people who might look like they’re “Muslim”, and anybody else who is not straight, white, and an acceptable form of Christian. None of this is OK. I had very little empathy or simpathy for Trump supporters and Trump voters before this. I have zero now. You guys opened this door, and there isn’t a violin small enough for the Trump voters who are now whining because they’re being ostricized. I think ostricism is an incredibly small price to pay.

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Amanda CAARSON

· 7 Shevat 5777 (Friday 3 February 2017) · 2 minutes to read

Blind people on the Facebook posting pro-DeVoss crap and I am done. I suppose you think it’s OK to have a secretary of education who has indicated that she is not willing to enforce IDEA, which is the federal law that guaranteed all of you the right to a public education with the resources you needed to succeed. If you needed resources in braille or other alternative formats, you got them because of IDEA. If you needed a notetaker, (human or tech), you got it because of IDEA. If you needed a mobility instructor to work with so you could learn your way around the school before you started classes, you got that because of IDEA. But hell, we already made it through the system, and we got what we wanted, so who cares, right? Screw future generations of kids with disabilities. We already got ours. Screw accessibility professionals who have kids with disabilities, because the only thing that matters is that we get stuff that works with our screen readers, and who cares if they and their kids have to suffer and do tons of extra advocacy. As long as they keep fighting for our rights, we don’t give a damn if they get thrown under the bus. Dropping out of snark mode, those accessibility professionals who have kids with disabilities work day in and day out to champion a civil right, an undisputed civil right to an education without being segregated away from your non-disabled peers, that you are apparently perfectly willing to deny to others. They do it without complaint, and often without so much as a thank-you. And, (assuming DeVoss is confirmed), they will continue to do it after they and their kids are thrown under the bus, with your help apparently. So yeah, if you’re pro-DeVoss, I do not ever want to see a complaint about how you can’t get an accessible book, or about how some app or website is inaccessible, or how some kid with disabilities in Texas is being denied an education again. Ever, ever again. Because I do not give a fuck about how shitty your life is as an adult with disabilities if you are willing to risk visiting that same shitwizardry on the lives of kids with disabilities and their parents.

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Amanda CAARSON

· 7 Shevat 5777 (Friday 3 February 2017) · 1 minute to read

I’m testing this out with WordPress now. Let’s see how this works. I need to remember to add all these cool little indieweb apps to my phone’s home screen. It’ll make not using the WordPress app a lot easier.