(((I Will Outlive)))

Society does not want disabled people to have children.

Have biological kids? "How could you do that to them? Aren't you supposed to love your kids? You know how bad it is to be you. How could you inflict that on them?"

Trying to adopt? "We just don't think you'd be a fit parent. We've rejected your application. By the way, have you considered sterilization, just to be sure?"

Taking in a kid informally because of their current living situation or lack of? "Are you sure you shouldn't pass them off to someone else? You know you're not as... capable... as the average caretaker. Kids are a lot of work."

Disabled people are not considered to be fit guardians by the mere fact that we are disabled. "Removal rates where parents have a psychiatric disability have been found to be as high as 70 percent to 80 percent; where the parent has an intellectual disability, 40 percent to 80 percent. In families where the parental disability is physical, 13 percent have reported discriminatory treatment in custody cases. Parents who are deaf or blind report extremely high rates of child removal and loss of parental rights. Parents with disabilities are more likely to lose custody of their children after divorce. In addition, prospective parents with disabilities have more difficulty when it comes to accessing reproductive health care such as assisted reproductive technologies, and they face significant barriers to adopting children."

-Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children (2012, National Council on Disability)

"Under the new rule, which goes into effect Sept. 30, food will no longer count toward calculations for eligibility for benefits, known as In-Kind Support and Maintenance, or ISM.

The new rule means SSI beneficiaries will no longer have to worry that the groceries or meals they receive from family or friends may reduce their monthly benefits, said Darcy Milburn, director of Social Security and health care policy at The Arc, a nonprofit organization serving people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

The Social Security Administration, in turn, will no longer have to use its limited resources to document every time a beneficiary received free food and then cut their monthly benefit by as much as a third, she said."

It's very jarring to hear about news items like this, where it's basically "great news! this government agency is retiring the 'get beaten with hoses for benefits' policy and is now just giving people benefits, hose-free!"

Like, great! Glad we're not doing that anymore! But also, why in the fuck would we have that policy in the first place?

Oh my god this is fantastic and how did I not great about this AT WORK. WHERE I HELP PEOPLE GET SSI

— With the Light, Volume 5

(Photo credit @M_uh_lee) From David Wojnarowicz in 1988 to @Anna_Snackz in 2018. 

“I don’t just want my death to be politicized, I want it to be weaponized” is on a whole other level.