Few in the disability community would argue about 2016 being a hard year – assaults on the Americans with Disabilities Act, assaults on our access to education, assaults on safety nets many of us rely on – and of course – assaults on our right to dignified lives in the form of policies and rhetoric that suggest the only “dignity” old, ill and disabled people can find is through our voluntary suicides.
New Mobility‘s article “2016 People of the Year: The Resisters” by Josie Byzek highlights the activivists/organizers who took on some of the high-profile “better dead than disabled” issues last year. Here’s the opening paragraph:
Activists with Disabilities Fight Back Against the Forces of ‘Better Dead than Disabled’
From the movie Me Before You to the untimely deaths of 5-year-old Julianna Snow and 14-year-old Jerika Bolen, our society’s message of “Better Dead than Disabled” is as insidious as ever. Those disabled activists who resist this message are often met with scorn, even death threats, yet they stay strong in their fight to defend the lives that are so often devalued by others. This year, we are breaking from our tradition of naming one Person of the Year to instead honor the activists who we are collectively calling The Resisters: Carrie Ann Lucas, TK Small, Emily Wolinsky, Diane Coleman, Dominick Evans, Tari Hartman Squire, Ellen Stohl and so many more. Lead on!
Please go to New Mobility and read the entire story.
(Editor’s note: New Mobility is an important asset to the disability community. If you like what you read, consider taking advantage of one of the magazine’s subscription options.