Showing posts with label Purposes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Purposes. Show all posts

Sunday, December 31, 2017

2017: Year in Review

To say 2017 was an interesting and tumultuous year would be an understatement. This year we have seen the disability community under attack, defending against various legislation, policies, and actions by the current administration. From multiple attempts to repeal the ACA and cut Medicaid, to HR 620 … a bill that would weaken the ADA, to the tax bill, and the removal of disability rights guidance documents by the Department of Justice, people with disabilities are watching, speaking out, and fighting back.

In #CripTheVote’s second year, we were involved in the following activities:

-Posted a call for Medicaid stories by people with disabilities and published them online.

-Shared stories of activism by disabled people with advice for first-timers, definition of activism, and reflections on the relationship between identity and activism.

-Supported and welcomed a new offshoot of #CripTheVote in the lead up to the 2017 General Election in the UK: #CripTheVoteUK

-Published 3 guest blog posts


-Hosted 11 chats


-Started a series of spotlight chats with disabled candidates:


Including the spotlight chats, #CripTheVote has hosted 29 Twitter chats since our formation in 2016. All of this would not be possible without you. Whether you participated in a chat, guest hosted with us, or used the hashtag to share your stories and information, we are thankful for your involvement. You keep us motivated as we head toward the future. 

Looking forward, we plan to continue organizing chats featuring guest hosts from our community featuring issues that we care about. We also plan on identifying and highlighting disabled candidates who are running for office in 2018.

Please join us on January 21, 2018 as we host a chat on chronic pain and opioids with guest hosts Alecia Deon and Alex Haagaard. Details coming soon: https://www.facebook.com/events/1794096123936515??ti=ia

Be on the lookout for our second Disability Issues Survey in early 2018! Check out the results of the 2016 survey here: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com/p/2016-survey.html

Feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions or feedback: cripthevote@gmail.com. We’re also still hoping to meet and highlight disabled candidates at the local, state, and federal level. If you’re running for office, or know of a disabled candidate, let us know, and introduce them to #CripTheVote!

Happy New Year,

Gregg Beratan, Andrew Pulrang, and Alice Wong
#CripTheVote Co-Partners
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Friday, January 6, 2017

Notes On "Crip"

(Originally posted March 29, 2016)

While #CripTheVote has gotten a lot of disabled people excited about participating in this year’s elections, a few folks have questioned our decision to make “crip” a key component of the hashtag. Since the complaints and concerns have been mostly expressed carefully, thoughtfully, and with respect, we feel it makes sense to explain ourselves a bit further, for those who might be interested.

Here is our thinking:

- Selective use of “crip” or “crippled” by people with disabilities is a conscious act of empowerment through “reclaiming” a former slur as a badge of pride. “Selected use” means we don’t use it all the time, in every situation. We exercise judgment in when and where it’s appropriate to use.

- “Crip” and “cripple” are also used ironically, to convey a bit of edginess, humor, and confidence, from a community that people tend to assume will be sad, bitter, and boring.

- Disabled people who identify with “crip” or “cripple,” generally share a strong sense of disability pride and deep involvement in disability activism and culture. We know what the social model of disability is, we are familiar with “person first” language, and we take pride in our disability identities. Calling ourselves “cripples” isn’t a sign of self-hatred or ignorance of disability history … quite the contrary.  

- “Crip” and “cripple” have been used this way by at least some disability activists for decades. It’s not a particularly new practice. It has, however, grown to be more inclusive, as the disability rights movement itself has gradually become more inclusive, both of people with all kinds of disabilities, and of people who have other important identities.

- “Cripple” as an actual label or insult is not just “politically incorrect,” it is archaic. It is a term from a bygone era, largely out of use even by ableists. That is not true of all negative disability terms. For instance, “handicapped” and “retarded” are both used much more often, and are therefore more risky to play around with than “cripple.” That’s why you won’t find many disability activists and proud disabled people using “handicapped” or “retarded” either as reclaimed terms or ironically.

- We chose to use #CripTheVote because it sounded more interesting, hard-edged, and likely to spark interest than safer, more “accurate” terms. It’s the difference between saying, “Rock The Vote!” and saying “Young People Really Should Register And Vote.”

- All that said, using “Crip” or “Cripple” this way isn’t to everyone’s taste. That’s fine. Some people have painful personal histories with the word. Some people despise irony and don’t like messing around with language. Some people feel it’s just too risky.

-We are not speaking for everyone, especially the disability community. We believe there is room for multiple hashtags and conversations--there’s something for everyone.

- However, context does matter, and if you read through the tweets that have come out of the #CripTheVote hashtag, you will see that is has inspired the very opposite of ignorance, stigma, or medical model paternalism.

- For a deeper look into the issue, read Crip Theory, from Wright State University.
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Looking Ahead: The Future Of #CripTheVote

(Originally posted November 17, 2016)

The 2016 Presidential election is officially over. This was an unprecedented election for many reasons. When #CripTheVote started this past February, our primary goal was “to engage both voters and politicians in a productive discussion about disability issues in the United States, with the hope that Disability takes on greater prominence within the American political landscape.”

As the co-partners of #CripTheVote, we’re here to tell you about our expanded vision thanks to the participation of the disability community.

#CripTheVote is a nonpartisan online movement activating and engaging disabled people on policies and practices important to the disability community. Our movement is grounded in online conversations encouraging individual and collective action in the face of inequality, ableism, and oppression in all forms. Our movement is intersectional, local, global, and focused on the political participation of disabled people.

Specifically, #CripTheVote will …

* Continue to be an intersectional movement by and for the entire disability community.

* Keep our hashtag as it is.

* Remain online, community-based, and as decentralized as possible.

* Expand our focus beyond voting to other forms of political participation.

* Ask questions and demand accountability from our elected and public officials.

* Engage with disability issues at the local, state, national, and international levels.

* Provide a space for conversation as stimulus for collective action.

* Support direct actions and organizers by sharing and amplifying information about them.

* Partner with disabled people and organizations in broadening our movement’s perspectives and expertise.

* Refrain from endorsing or supporting candidates, public officials, or political parties.

* Oppose and critique any policy or practice that potentially harms disabled people.

* Explore and promote promising ideas for better disability policies and practices.

* We do not intend to become a nonprofit organization, raise money, or otherwise “professionalize” #CripTheVote.

We are so grateful to the disability community for making #CripTheVote the force that it has become. It will take our continued effort as a community to keep things going. Without all of you taking ownership of the hashtag we could not have the impact we have had, and make no mistake we have had an impact. The level of the discussion around disability issues has been raised in all spheres. Politicians, the media and the public know that our community can no longer be placated by a mere mention and that we demand engagement. This is something we can build on as we move into an uncertain future. Thank you all.

In solidarity,

Gregg Beratan, Andrew Pulrang, and Alice Wong
Co-Partners, #CripTheVote

Stay In Touch!


“Like” the #CripTheVote Facebook Page for updates and events.

Follow the co-partners on Twitter:

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"A Movement begins when large numbers of people, having reached the point where they feel they can’t take the way things are any more, see some hope of improving their daily lives and begin to move on their own to bring about change.

"A Movement begins to assume momentum when people begin exploring visionary answers to the questions being asked at the grassroots and engage in practical activities which can be replicated without huge bureaucracies. In the early stages of a Movement, the visionary answers being explored usually strike most people as too radical or too impractical. If they don’t, they are probably not profound enough to build a Movement."

–Grace Lee Boggs

[Excerpt from Grace Lee Boggs, “Towards A New Vision and a New Movement,” presented at the University of Michigan Law School Symposium, October 13-14, 1995.]
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