Disability Shrinks the World

I’m comfortable with my mental illnesses. After all, this blog isn’t called The Bumble Grumble. I know how they affect me, I know which things will help me cope with them, and which things will make me worse. Society finds me (as in generic, mentally-ill me) creepy, but that just makes me talk about mental illness more. My status as a member of the disabled community is comfortable and familiar.

But last April, two new conditions developed. With almost a year’s worth of experience, I’m not new to the health problems, but I feel like a beginner in terms of coping. I rarely leave my apartment. It’s unhealthy to stay isolated and uninvolved in things, but what’s worse, those behaviors trigger my mental illnesses. But it can’t be helped. Going anywhere is difficult and intimidating.

On Saturday, I went to pick up some medication from a pharmacy that is so close, I used to walk to it to pick up my drugs. But, I let that memory go, and I drive to the damn pharmacy. I refuse to use the drive-through. I have a disabled parking permit, so I can park close to the front door. Like many drugstores, the pharmacy is located at the very back of the store. Halfway through the store, I realize I probably can’t make it to the back without sitting down. I will not sit on the floor in the middle of the aisle like a bratty 5-year-old. I’m a bratty 37-year-old after all, and I’m sick of embarrassing myself. I manage to get my medicine and leave without sitting anywhere inappropriate. But when I get home, I have to lie down for the rest of the day. That’s why I leave the apartment so rarely!

Of course, one of the major issues disabled people have to deal with is how to support themselves in spite of their disability. Social Security rejected my application for benefits on a technicality. There is no appeal-there’s no way I can get disability benefits unless I work this year and part of next year. I was applying for benefits because I’m unable to work. Ah, bureaucracy crushes another little bug.

So I’m trying to cope. I haven’t figured out how to cope with the symptoms, the inability to get around or to function, or the guilt at not working. But what’s intolerable is how small my world is now. Thinking of all the things that I’ve lost leads to pity parties. But I can’t help noticing so much absence in my life. Without email and blogs, I would truly be lost right now.

In spite of all of this, I’m one of the lucky ones. I have it better than many people do in terms of symptoms, financial support, and medical care. How do other people manage? How does a person cope with the stripping away of every facet of their life? Becoming disabled shouldn’t mean the automatic loss of people and things you care about. Disabled shouldn’t mean disposable.

Monday Bunny Blogging

Two weeks ago I showed Bumble being friends with Bunny Buddy. I hope you can forgive me for repeating the same subject, but look what he did:

Shoring Up the Border

The New York Times ran a story today that covered the various measures the U.S. government has taken to prevent people from entering the country via the U.S.-Mexico border. The story is full of tough talk about stopping illegal immigrants, and reveals how the U.S. government has not gained perspective that it is actual human beings they’re dealing with. Indeed, we’re treating illegal immigrants worse than ever.

Strategies used to deal with people entering the country illegally consist of two old and one new approaches:
- pouring tons of money into erecting barriers and hiring border patrol agents
- forcing people to take dangerous routes and risk death to gain entry to the U.S.
- imposing prison time on everyone, including first-time offenders.

Several migrants waiting their chance in San Luis cursed under their breath in Spanish when asked about the soldiers and beefed-up patrols. Some are indignant that the United States would treat them like enemies or criminals.

“It’s harder and harder, and that’s the reason why people are dying in the desert,” said Miguel Pérez, a 24-year-old migrant from Guerrero State. “It makes no sense.”

Imagine-people who are fighting for their survival and the survival of their families resent being treated like criminals. Truly, it boggles the mind. Can’t the people understand that the U.S. considers them worthless? Worthless people don’t have a right to fight to survive.

What is especially galling, given our law-and-order mentality, is the way these cases are handled in court:

Once in court, the judge conducted an unusual mass hearing in which all the migrants — represented by a single lawyer — agreed to waive their right to a trial and pleaded guilty to illegal entry. The judge gave the first-timers 15 days in jail, but he handed out sentences of 120 or 180 days to those who had been deported in the past.

If we would try something new, and focus on providing for each human’s basic needs, instead of on exploiting other countries for fun and profit, we could redefine the “problem” of people entering the U.S. illegally.

Monday Bunny Blogging

Hope

from Mother Earth News

I’m Moving!

I’m taking the plunge, and I’m moving the blog! My new address is:

http://thebipolarview.wordpress.com/

Please stop by and help me celebrate a special day! But hurry, before the food runs out!

Welcome!

You made it!

You’re just in time to help me celebrate my one-year blogiversary! I can’t believe I didn’t quit. Most bloggers are writers. You love writing. I hate writing. I only started blogging because the state of the world was going to make my head explode if I didn’t have an outlet. Those were the days, eh?

Enough reminiscing. I have great things to eat:

Look at that chocolate mousse cake!

So kick back, and help yourself to delicious food. Bumble’s bringing the hay, but he has issues with “sharing”, so don’t hold your breath. I forgot drinks, since I only drink water, so you’ll have to bring your own.

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog, whether you’re a commenter or a lurker. Thanks for being part of my first year blogging!

Twisty’s Porn Again

Twisty wrote something wonderful here. My favorite part:

As we have seen time and time again, two things happen whenever anyone “transgressively” redefines beauty (or sex, or femininity, or motherhood, or anything else popularly believed to be the purview of women). One, the transgressive redefinition only transpires when there is money to be made and flesh to exploit. Two, although it represents only a cosmetic shift in art direction, the new line of sexbot demarcation is touted and accepted as some kind of paradigmatic feminist breakthrough.

This is the type of post we need: razor-sharp, insightful, and informative. This elephant applauds.

Update: Oops, I forgot to say I found out about this post from Pippa.

Monday Bunny Blogging

When we first brought Bumble home, I felt badly that he was a single bunny. It would be good for him to have a stuffed friend to keep him company, and I found a website that sold several types of “Bunny Buddies”:

The website selects the type of Bunny Buddy for you instead of letting you choose. We ended up with the strangest, freakiest one of the bunch:

Forget the strange ears, they didn’t even stamp its face on straight! Not surprisingly, Bumble has spent the last 2.5 years ignoring the odd thing. But recently, something must have happened, for Bunny Buddy has come into its own. Look how Bumble spends part of every evening now:

On Friday, I discovered Bumble in a position he never lays in: head-first in the hutch, giving the bunny butt to Bunny Buddy!

Fortunately, it was a false alarm. He’d gotten mad at his litter box and thrown it, as best he could, across the room. He was giving the bunny butt to the litter box. (Ponder for a moment, the idea of giving the bunny butt to your own toilet.) I’m happy to report that things are still good between Bumble and his freaky friend.

Hypocrisy

Twisty posted this picture of Donatella Versace:

with this caption: Would you let this trainwreck dress you?

She described Versace as “the yellow-haired, football-faced misogynist designer”. Making fun of behavior, including speech, is fair game. After ripping apart Versace’s appearance, Twisty then posted a ridiculous quote from Versace, which should have been the focus of the post all along. So please, attack behavior as it is warranted. If you feel an overwhelming urge to attack someone’s looks, move away from the computer. In the comments of that post, people were justifying making fun of Versace’s appearance because she’d cosmetically altered her face. The same rule applies: behavior, not appearance. Rule #2: don’t hide behind excuses.

There’s an idea central to radical feminism, the idea that women are valued only for how we please men. Our looks are always being judged, because our appearance is all that is valued by society. Therefore, it should be obvious that

it is never acceptable to attack a woman’s appearance.

It isn’t acceptable to attack men for their appearance either, but that’s another post. In the meantime, those who need to, go buy a clue.