This whole time we thought knowledge of the online disability community that we talk about ALL the time was like, common knowledge. But it isn’t! We talk all the time about reaching non-disabled people on this show, but it turns out, there’s a whole segment of disabled people who don’t know a lot about the larger online disability world.
1 comment on “Episode 117: Community, what is it?”
Hey Kyle and Emily — this is a long time coming since it’s my first time writing in to a favourite podcast, so I’ve been apprehensive, as I am acutely aware of my penchant for rambling; I assume folks must get way too much mail to go through, but I’m taking the plunge as per your most recent episode. Funnily enough it helped me get back to sleep last in the wee hours of the morning, so I *rewound* (yes I’m an ’80s child, hehe) and enjoyed your parasocial company as I completed some puzzles today. God do I feel goofy saying that! …but it’s but a thing I love about you guys — how the themes are set, but the rabbit holes aren’t avoided and you just SAY IT LIKE IT IS, with all due sensitivity and hilarity, where required!
I digress…. I almost had tears in my eyes (*cue the Hallmark Music*) when you were like, ?I wonder if anyone has managed to find us, being not “online.”? I’m HALF online… not on social media, but I do consume lots of podcasts, youtube and some other streamable content. Gotta love youtube! I’m not on facebook-type platforms currently, as a direct result of my disabilities — for what that’s worth! So I do feel out of the loop socially, but I DO NOT have my head in the sand — that’s for damn sure! I’m just still learning what I don’t know!
I find myself discussing the topics and feelings along with you — no that’s creepy at all; but hey! you were just fumbling over how to have more social engagement in the shower; I knew I’d be in good company with punctuations of humour…)
I am Canadian — born, raised and lived a bunch of disability nightmare shit in Ontario until my early 30’s, then I came West to Victoria, B.C., as a last-ditch effort to better my life. While there are differences between our countries, I think the similarities are more systemically impactful, minus the Canadian Human Rights Code, but even that is only loosely upheld. 🙁 I have felt for YEARS that all countries need to be in better communication. It pisses me to no end that *we* are burnt to the core always fighting our own battles, filling in educational and healthcare *blanks*, knocking down ignorant barriers and — most discouragingly — trying to vainly shine light through opacities! A job coach once told me that going into social policy — in INSANE passion of mine — would exacerbate my Complex PTSD, and BOY was she correct!! I have had to pull away from so many projects out of sheer exhaustion and anger management!
Back to the Hallmark bit, I really do feel a sense of social, moral, and intellectual alignment with you two (was that rude?) and I do learn from your content…. I WANT to learn…. I found this last episode really thought-provoking, because of my own wonky online status, and just having gained a lot of my perspectives from lived experience, including having caretaker-adjacent roles in the lives of those closest to me.
Those silos … those damn silos … wracking my megalomanic brain to come up with ways to abolish the paradigms once and fall, all-the-while knowing I can not do it alone. Speaking of alone…. fucking Hallmark 😉 … your show — your presence helps me feel less alone and lonely, and I’ve been wanting to tell you about this for a very long time. I am likely not the only one who feels this way. Thank you for what you do; I’d like to think I’m your biggest fan… or at least the only one who gets visibly excited when I see the priceless toilet artwork pop up in my app! hehehe
Eh? 😉
I’m trying to recall the exact human-tech algorithm which led me to that toilet…. I feel as though I was just simply searching for disability content, and then blammo! Something refreshingly different….
Now I’m gonna go get back into Wordle…. not sure how I *forgot* about it…. there was also a “Canuckle” — a Canadian version that rewarded you with trivia if you got the word. 🙂
I regret not taking notes on all the points and anecdotes I’ve wanted to reply to *out loud* like this, but alas my brain is not giving me access to the memories at the moment…
ANYWAY…. there it is. Glad I look wonderful today — my shirt is covered in acrylic paint and I should probably change my warm and comfy yoga pants but I’m not going to!
Cheers from the 48th parallel,
~H.
P.S. Notice I didn’t disclose my disabilities? ON PURPOSE… though I was going to…. I, for some “Stall-related” reason, thought better of it. 😉 Let’s just say we have plenty in common.