Hell, even if someone wants to wear a mask to avoid pollen (due to hayfever) that should be okay!

And it should definitely be okay to wear a mask to avoid a virus! (flu, Covid, etc)

No. Mask. Bans. Ever!

#NoMaskBan #Covid19 #LongCovid #CovidIsNotOver #Ableism #Eugenics #Disability

Columbia University bends a knee and capitulates to the Trump regime. They’ve agreed to ban masks and empower police to arrest students.

This is the epitome of fascism. Please look back at what the Nazis did to education.

They wanted people uninformed and/or indoctrinated. The Hitler Youth Program effectively brainwashed children to become full on Nazis.

Schools should be a safe place for kids to express differing opinions, learn about other people and cultures and become tolerant, compassionate citizens of the world

They should be able to do that while protecting their health and the health of their community

This is a devastating blow to public health, democracy and freedom:

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/columbia-university-trump-demands-federal-funding-e94d41ca

#uspoli #fascism #maskbans #columbia #columbiauniversity #ableism #eugenics #disabilityrights

I now look at unmasked people, especially in medical settings - as selfish #eugenics enablers & I feel like setting them on fire. These are the people who treat disabled people like me - like we should just shut up & die.

We won't. We will stay alive & keep reminding you eugenics enablers that we are still here & we think you are selfish shitheads.

#Covid #PeopleWithDisabilities #DisabledLivesMatter #BCpoli #FireBonnieHenry #BCNDP #BCNDPKilledMyDad

Prior to Covid it was normal to mask in the NICU. People understood that premature babies are as vulnerable as they come and need to protected.

Now? Gowns & gloves but no masking.

The damage caused by anti mask rhetoric will be felt for years (possibly decades) to come.

Mask mandates belong in healthcare. We should be providing free respirators at the door & cleaning and ventilating the air.

If you’re a healthcare worker who doesn’t think you need to mask, please read my plea on behalf of vulnerable patients:

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/a-plea-to-maskless-healthcare-workers

We know masks in healthcare stop the spread of airborne disease. We know they reduce the risk of hospital acquired COVID (which has a 10% mortality rate).

We know respirators work even better.

So why aren’t we masking? Why are patients having to bear the brunt of infection control?

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/we-need-mandatory-masking-in-healthcare

#covidisairborne #covidisnotover #longcovid #chronicillness #ableism #eugenics #keepmasksinhealthcare #disability

There’s measles outbreaks in multiple States now, and every time a new cluster is announced there’s an exposure at an ER

Why? Because that’s where the sick people go

It’s one of the reasons disabled people often say they won’t go to the ER unless literally dying.

They’re not safe places for us:

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/i-wont-go-to-the-er-unless-im-literally

#disability #chronicillness #disabilityrights #ableism #eugenics #healthcare #measles #COVIDisAirborne #keepmasksinhealthcare

There’s so much going on in the world that we can’t control.

The Covid pandemic gave way to rising fascism, just like the pandemics that have come before.

People are scared. Many lost loved ones. Society changed overnight. The loss of control that many felt allowed bad actors to rise up and capitalize on people’s fear.

No matter what our governments say or do, Covid isn’t over. It’s still killing and disabling people.

What’s worse, the pro infection crowd has become so loud and emboldened that vaccine uptake is down, masks are vilified and we’re seeing a resurgence of diseases like measles and tuberculosis.

Despite all the infectious disease threats out there, we still don’t have mandatory masks in healthcare.

The one place people absolutely can’t avoid, the place they should have a reasonable expectation of safety, has become one of the least safe public spaces.

Patients are being infected trying to access basic healthcare, because staff refuse to mask. Refuse to test. Refuse to isolate.

It’s eugenics, and we need people to realize it before it’s too late.

We need mandatory masks in healthcare. We must protect patients AND staff. We must protect even the ones who refuse to protect themselves.

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/we-need-mandatory-masking-in-healthcare

#uspoli #pandemic #publichealth #fascism #masks #n95 #chronicillness #disability #ableism #eugenics #covidisairborne #covidisnotover

Put the kettle on lads. It got worse.

https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-horrifying-fascist-manifesto-endorsed-by-j.d.-vance

#USPolitics #Eugenics #FuckTheFash

Patients have been bearing the brunt of infection control in hospitals, having to go to great lengths to protect themselves and their loved ones.

They’re unfairly judged, psychologized and mistreated for masking and/or requesting staff mask.

Covid is still here. It’s still killing and disabling people. We’re also seeing outbreaks of tuberculosis, measles and the worst flu season in over a decade.

Public health is being systematically dismantled and gagged by the Trump administration, allowing misinformation and disinformation to flourish and putting even more lives at risk.

Why don’t we have mandatory masking in healthcare? Why are we killing and disabling patients who go there for help? Who can’t ‘just stay home’?

The second article in my Masks in Healthcare series looks at patient stories, retaliation, and what we can do to make hospitals safer for everyone.

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/we-need-mandatory-masking-in-healthcare

#covidisairborne #covidisnotover #longcovid #sarscov2 #chronicillness #healthcare #keepmasksinhealthcare #wearamask #ableism #eugenics #disability

One of the hardest parts of navigating these difficult times is the fact that many of those fighting fascism & impending collapse are turning their back on the disabled.

We saw it years ago. We warned. We pleaded. We asked people to fight back. We asked them to wear a mask.

Now we’re in the thick of it and still being left behind.

Articles about collapse don’t factor us in. Resistance efforts ignore us. Activism isn’t accessible. People still aren’t masking.

Include us in resistance. We have a lot to offer. We were built for fighting back.

#resist #fascism #uspoli #ableism #eugenics #disability #wearamask #disabilityrights

Seems the #ProLife types are really #ProDeath [of women who seek reproductive care or choose not to have children] and #ProBirth [but do nothing to improve #SocialWelfare programs] and against #BodilyAutomony. And, apparently, they only want #WhiteSupremacists like themselves to breed, eh? [#ForcedSterilization for anyone not up to THEIR standards?!] Hmmmm... #WhiteNationalism #Eugenics #CallItWhatItIs

Texas becomes the latest State to propose a mask ban (while in the midst of a measles outbreak that’s currently over 100 cases).

These are ugly laws. They’re discriminatory & push disabled people further out of society. They increase the likelihood of police harassment. They paint maskers as “bad”.

There’s an excellent document with scripts for how to call & fight back! 🧵 1/2

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1704ui-FIcCqF97SX5uVnjP-Xi4A6m4WUXjce2ZonKEI/mobilebasic

#uspoli #maskbans #nomaskbans #uglylaws #infectioncontrol #publichealth #texas #measles #covidisairborne #covidisnotover #ableism #eugenics #disability

If you think mask bans are “no big deal” because there’s medical exemptions, please consider the following:

😷 Police are not doctors
😷 Many disabilities are invisible
😷 Disabled people don’t live in a bubble. I need my friends and caregivers to mask to protect me
😷 Everyone should have the right to protect their health, you shouldn’t have to already be sick to be permitted to mask
😷 Criminalizing masks sends a message that maskers are “bad”. It emboldens anti-maskers and increases odds of aggression

The reality is that mask bans are discriminatory, ableist and eugenicist. They push disabled people out of public spaces. They put marginalized and POC at increased risk of police profiling.

There’s no official policy for a medical exemption either, it’s at police discretion.

If you’re stopped and questioned, you will have to prove you’re masking for the “right reasons”

I’m more than willing to admit that if I were stopped by a cop for masking, I would appear nervous, shaky, tachycardic and probably “suspicious”.

Not because I’m doing anything wrong, but because my illnesses do not respond well to stress and the police are stressful.

It’s not right to put the onus on the masker to defend their right to mask. We’re still in a global pandemic. Texas has a measles outbreak. There’s tuberculosis in Kansas. Bird flu is spreading and it’s the worst year for influenza A in over a decade.

Masks are a public health tool. They’re a disability accommodation. They should NOT be criminalized.

For more on mask bans and medical exemptions, I wrote an article on the Nassau County ban here:

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/nassau-county-ny-makes-masking-illegal

#nomaskban #uspoli #texas #northcarolina #maskban #disability #uglylaws #publichealth #ableism #eugenics #h5n1 #measles #longcovid #covidisairborne

“Were they dying from Covid or were they dying from chronic disease?”

Easy. They died from Covid.

This idea that having a chronic disease somehow means that it’s ok that you died, or that you could have prevented your own death, is straight up eugenics.

I’m no less worthy of life than those without chronic illness. My chronic illnesses are not my fault. I can’t cure them with diet and exercise (believe me, I tried).

This is health supremacy and we need to call it out. When this behaviour takes root, the elimination of disabled people isn’t far behind.

We are ALL vulnerable to Covid. Placing blame on the individual and waving away millions of deaths as “oh well they had comorbids” is eroding whatever moral compass our society has left.

Mitigate the threat, and less people will die.

Clean air, better ventilation, mandatory masking in healthcare, isolating when sick, free and updated COVID tests and public health education on masks.

It’s time to save lives.

#covidisairborne #CovidIsNotOver #SARSCoV2 #longcovid #chronicillness #wearamask #disability #ableism #eugenics #fascism #rfkjr #uspoli

COVID was an opportunity to adapt and become a more inclusive society.

We could have learned about airborne spread and adopted clean air standards. Improved ventilation. Made more outdoor spaces. Normalized masking.

Instead we’ve politicized infection control and made society less safe for everyone.

400 million people are now living with Long Covid, and our world is less accessible and inclusive than before.

There’s still time to change things though.

Small acts of kindness can do so much for someone like me.

Wear a mask in public. Stay home if you’re sick. Install an air purifier. Open a window. Donate to mask blocs. Do your part.

#covidisairborne #covidisnotover #ableism #eugenics #longcovid #disability #sarscov2

As more States propose mask bans, I want to take a moment to discuss claims that it’s “fear mongering” to say that masking is illegal.

People claim the medical exemption is “good enough”.

This ignores three critical points. Public perception, anti mask sentiment and rampant ableism

First things first, mask bans make masking a criminal offence. They make the act of wearing a mask illegal.

Sure there may be medical exemptions, but they’re incredibly problematic.

Lawmakers specifically chose not to exempt medical masks and respirators. The burden is on the wearer

Second, public perception around masking is very different now than it was before Covid.

People are irrationally angry when they see a mask. They’ve been politicized and folks have created an identity in their minds about who a masker is. A liberal. A sheep. Someone who’s anti-freedom.

None of their preconceived notions are based in fact or reality, but they fuel the anger and rage that gets directed at maskers every day.

When you enact a mask ban, you embolden these people. They aren’t reading the bills and considering medical exemptions.

They just hear they’re banned.

As a result they think they can demand you remove your mask. They may call the police on you. They will certainly feel justified in judging and targeting maskers and declaring that they’re doing “something wrong”.

This emboldening creates a dangerous situation that could easily lead to violence

This is why we must discuss anti mask sentiment when talking about mask bans.

Many disabled people masked before covid. I was one of them. The worst I ever got was a strange look or someone moving far away from me on transit

Since mask mandates ended I’ve been coughed on, spit at and yelled at

People view masks as bad and loathe anyone who’s still wearing them.

When you publicly enact a mask ban, you’re telling those people they’re right. That it’s ok to harass people for masking. That it’s wrong to wear a mask and protect your health.

You’re increasing the hostility.

Finally there’s the issue of ableism. Mask bans make public spaces less accessible. Period.

For many of us a good mask is the only reason we can be out in public. If you make it a crime, we risk being stopped by the police and forced to justify our disabilities.

Many of us have a difficult time getting healthcare workers to take us seriously, but we’re supposed to assume law enforcement will believe we’re masking for the right reasons?

That’s a risk we should never be forced to take. The interaction alone would negatively impact our baseline

Lastly… any reason for wearing a mask should be good enough.

We are still in a global pandemic. Millions are dead, even more are disabled. People are still dying every week.

Wearing a mask to protect yourself - whether disabled or not - is a smart and caring choice

The idea that someone should be forced to justify that choice or risk arrest is patently absurd.

Which is why mask bans are wrong.

The best way to fight these bans is to mask up. The more people wearing masks, the harder they will be to ban.

You can also call and email your local lawmakers and tell them you strongly oppose bans which make a medical mask illegal.

Please don’t wait until someone is assaulted or arrested just for wearing a medical device. Help us fight these bans now.

I’ve written extensively about mask bans, if you want a full length piece about why medical exemptions are not the answer, please read my article on Nassau County

Exemptions leave many people behind. They put undue burden on disabled individuals. They increase risk of profiling marginalized people

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/nassau-county-ny-makes-masking-illegal

#uglylaws #maskbans #discrimination #ableism #disability #uspoli #eugenics #COVIDisAirborne #CovidIsNotOver

It’s high time we start being honest about what’s behind a lot of the push towards “wellness”.

It’s ableism and eugenics. Its scared people who can’t face the fact that they could lose their health at any moment.

It’s people who desperately need to cling to control.

First of all I’m not at all opposed to a healthy lifestyle.

I was an avid hiker and yogi who followed a whole foods diet, did regular meditation and followed a lot of wellness influencers.

I still became chronically ill.

When the “wellness” activities didn’t cure me, that community abandoned me.

They looked at me as a failure. They believed I wasn’t “wellness-ing hard enough”.

If it were them, they would be getting better.

The root cause of this is ableism. Disability terrifies people.

The idea that there are conditions which won’t necessarily kill you but will rob you of your quality of life? Its scary.

Knowing there’s no treatments or cure? Terrifying.

But it’s not fair to blame the ones who are suffering. To scrutinize their past behaviour for signs that they brought it on themselves.

To hammer them with unsolicited advice and “tips” for things they could do if they really wanted to get better.

No one asks to be chronically ill. It just happens.

And everyone is one virus, infection, accident or stroke of bad luck away from it happening to them.

The odds that they will be the “exception” are incredibly low.

Let’s not forget that “wellness” costs money. A healthy lifestyle doesn’t come cheap

Disability is expensive. Nothing can prepare you for how devastating it is to spend every cent trying to stay ahead of your dwindling health, only to be told you’re not doing enough

Most of us can’t afford the lifestyle that wellness folks peddle. It’s big business. They’re not helping for altruistic reasons, they’re lining their pockets.

They don’t even care if their recommendations are harmful (and they definitely don’t care if they aren’t helpful)

Please, don’t blame someone for their disabilities. Don’t comb through their past looking for points of “weakness” that can absolve you of facing your own fear of chronic illness

No one is perfect. We’ve all done things that aren’t “healthy”. No one deserves chronic illness

If someone in your life is blaming you, know that you can set firm boundaries to protect yourself.

You don’t have to put up with that kind of gaslighting behaviour

I know it hurts, I’ve been there many many times. But you have the right to walk away

Remind yourself it’s not about you. It’s their fear of the unknown. Their fear of disability. Their own internalized ableism.

One day when they lose their health they will be forced to confront their false beliefs, and there will be a reckoning.
Until that day comes the best we can do is protect ourselves from the toxicity of people who can’t face the reality of our conditions.

We can fight for one another. We can support one another. We can be loud, visible and unashamed.

#disability #chronicillness #longcovid #mecfs #spoonie #ableism #wellness #Maha #eugenics #fascism #disabilityrights

I highly recommend "Why Fish Don’t Exist" by Lulu Miller during this time when we are seeing an accelerationist ideology married to the fascism that won the elections in the USA.

The book documents - among other things - the eugenics movement in the early 1900s USA.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/oct/05/why-fish-dont-exist-by-lulu-miller-review-a-marvel-of-narrative-non-fiction

#antifascism #eugenics

I see a lot of people saying now is the time to get out of the U.S. if you can.

Please remember most disabled people can’t leave. It’s incredibly difficult to immigrate to another country when you have documented medical issues. Many are also too sick to endure a move.

We must fight for them.

#uspoli #disability #ableism #fascism #eugenics #chronicillness

“You’re so lucky you don’t have to work!”

Disability IS a full time job. Only you don’t get paid. You don’t have opportunity for advancement. You never get to earn more money.

You spend every dime trying to stay alive. You live below the poverty line. You’re judged constantly.

I wish non disabled people would imagine how it feels to have your life grind to a halt with no expectation of improvement.

When you’re healthy, you at least have the possibility of earning more money. Of getting a better job. Of inheriting. Of moving forward.

That vanishes with disability.

We’re literally not allowed to earn money. Many of us can’t get married or cohabitate without losing our benefits.

We have to beg and plead for support that can be taken away at any moment, and are barred from doing anything to better our situation.

We live in a constant state of fear.

Fear of worsening health. Fear of a medical emergency that will wipe out our baseline, savings or both. Fear of being trapped with an abusive partner or caregiver. Fear of homelessness or bankruptcy. Fear of judgement and gaslighting.

We miss out on every day things that people take for granted.

I miss grabbing a coffee with a coworker. Being able to pop to the store for groceries. Being able to drive. Feeling safe in my body.

I miss my autonomy and freedom.

Being disabled can be a difficult existence. You don’t just lose your health

In many cases it destroys relationships, finances & hope

It’s not a vacation. It’s not something to aspire to. It’s not fun.

Please be kinder in the way you speak to us & be allies in the fight for better supports.

#disability #chronicillness #ableism #eugenics #discrimination #disabilityjustice

Had my first healthcare worker refuse to mask for me. I’ve had many scoff, make accusations of “anxiety” or wear their mask wrong… but this was my first outright “no”.

My chart is documented that I’m immune compromised & require staff to mask. The facility had a policy that if asked, staff will wear.

I was told “no I need to breathe to do my job”. I stood firm & said I’m high risk and masks are required.

They declined again and said they’re “claustrophobic”.

I said “I’m sorry to hear that but you work in healthcare. Being able to wear a mask is a requirement of your job. Please put one on before coming near me” A firm no. They refused to check my chart. Refused to show concern or empathy.

What I did next not all patients would be comfortable with, but I was there for a test that meant this HCW would be up close in my face for an extended time. I was also visibly sick and had already passed out once due to low blood pressure. Putting me at risk for their own comfort was NOT ok.

I said “no one comes near me without a mask. If you’re unwilling to accommodate my disability, go find me someone who is”

They were NOT happy. Stormed out and came back with another HCW who was wearing a mask.

When they returned they refused to leave the room. I asked repeatedly and said I was uncomfortable with them remaining and didn’t want extra people around for the exam. They said I was being “unreasonable”. They remained in the room, maskless, watching me undergo a sensitive exam.

at that point I just wanted the test over with so I could leave. I was exhausted, disappointed and felt utterly disrespected. Everyone who works in a hospital setting is required to be able to Don and doff a mask. If this person genuinely couldn’t, they shouldn’t be seeing patients

When I went to leave I told them, firmly but politely, that if they genuinely can’t do such a small thing to protect the most vulnerable patients they should reconsider working in healthcare. I’ve never seen someone sneer like that. I thought flames would shoot out of their ears

I asked for their full name to lodge an official complaint and they refused. It’s hard to believe this is where we’re at. Before Covid I never had a healthcare worker refuse to mask. I also noticed this HCW wasn’t wearing gloves when the others were.

I took detailed notes the moment I exited the hospital so that I could lodge a complaint without the name, but the entire experience robbed me of spoons and energy. Not every chronically ill patient would be able to lodge a complaint or push for a masked HCW the way I was. Nor should we have to.

This interaction will feature prominently in my next article about masks in healthcare.

I need all HCWs to understand the tremendous privilege and responsibility they have to their patients. We are putting our lives in your hands. Your comfort or personal politics must be left outside the hospital.

If you missed the first article in the series, you can read it here:

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/a-plea-to-maskless-healthcare-workers

#ableism #eugenics #disability #disabilityrights #keepmasksinhealthcare #covidisairborne #covidisnotover #sarscov2 #WearAMask

#WSJ is surprising us again another w this news - #DOGE Staffer Resigns Over #Racist Posts. Employee has links to a deleted #socialmedia account that advocated for #racism and #eugenics. The #DOGE young persons who have no expertise, no professional experience and yet have unfettered access to and control over #classified #data #documents #PII are not surprisingly, just like #musk but younger and not yet #billionaires #Shame on #america for permitting this #shameful s##t https://www.wsj.com/tech/doge-staffer-resigns-over-racist-posts-d9f11a93

In the hospital for cardiac testing & there’s a mask mandate in place.

My chart says I’m high risk.

Tech comes in with mask under her nose.

Me: “Can you please pull up your mask I’m immune compromised.”

Her: Big sigh, pulls it up “You’ve got some serious Covid anxiety eh?”

Me: “not anxiety, I’m being rational. Colds have put me in the hospital.”

Her: Another big sigh

As I’m leaving I say: “It seems really quiet here today.”

Her: “Yeah half the staff are out sick. You’re actually lucky they didn’t cancel your appointment.”

Me: Internal shrieking

#ableism #eugenics #covidisairborne #covidisnotover #wearamask #sarscov2 #disability #keepmasksinhealthcare

Those fuckers..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/01/21/trump-hhs-cdc-fda-communication-pause/

#covidisnotover #covidisairborne #sarscov2 #pandemic #longcovid #publichealth #eugenics #H5N1 #birdflu #uspoli https://zeroes.ca/@broadwaybabyto/113870230633066841

A must-read on the history of #eugenics in #Romania. A difficult read, to be sure, but I feel like it was worth every minute spent.

The text is in Romanian, but, perhaps, to those curious about the sublect, an automated translation tool will work well.

I appreciated the historical contextualization of the failure to publicly discuss and acknowledge that eugenics also offered a fertile soil for the fascist crimes in #Romania. The subject is still absent in schools.

https://www.scena9.ro/article/eugenie-rasism-antisemitism-discriminare-sterilizare-mariust-turda-in-cautarea-romanului-perfect

Tomorrow will be a dark day for many.

For disabled, marginalized, LGBTQ+ folks & women. For anyone who still cares about others

The disability community saw this coming. It’s important we listen & understand that labelling people as expendable for 5 years leads nowhere good

Since November we’ve watched hate win over and over again.

We’ve witnessed the emboldening of those who think they’re superior to others.

We’ve seen an increase in misogyny, bigotry, ableism, racism & discrimination.

Disabled people begged the Left to pay attention. We begged you to keep masking, to push for clean air, to demand accountability from government.

We implored you to realize that our lives are not less important than your ability to go out for brunch.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people on both sides of the aisle decided that mitigating COVID was “too hard.”

They accepted repeat infections as inevitable so they wouldn’t have to adapt their lives in any way.

They threw away people like me.

We let hate win. And now we’re going to see the consequences of that decision.

Disabled people weren’t surprised in November, we’ve been living in what feels like an alternate reality for years.

But I suspect others are about to feel our pain.

If you’re feeling scared or angry right now, know that you’re not alone. There’s a community standing with you.

I don’t know exactly what comes next, but I do know we have to keep up the fight.

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/how-did-we-get-here-and-what-comes

#disability #COVIDisAirborne #covidisnotover #uspol #ableism #eugenics #trump #pandemic #longcovid

I will never understand why more people aren’t angry and radicalized by the events of the last five years.

The anti mask, anti-vaxx crowd are angry… but they’re also terribly misinformed and on the wrong side of history.

Those of us with disabilities are livid … but we aren’t heard. We’re treated as even more invisible now than we were five years ago. An unwelcome reminder of Covid and the frail nature of the human condition.

But what about everyone else? The anti mask crowd may be the loudest, but they’re far from the majority.

Why aren’t the rest of you angry? Why are so many people content to accept and normalize mass death and disability?

An article came out in PBS today that puts the total COVID deaths at over 20 million.

20 million people. Those are fathers, mothers, spouses, grandparents, siblings and children. Each number represents a loved one to someone else.

Where’s the outcry?

400 million are dealing with Long Covid. That’s an obscene amount of people whose lives are forever changed. Who may never again know what it’s like to be healthy or exist in a body that isn’t rife with suffering.

Where’s the rage?

We know how to prevent covid. We’ve known for years. Yet rather than adapting our lifestyle and being humble in the face of a novel virus - we’ve given it the reins.

We’ve conceded defeat before we even put up a fight. Accepted repeat infections as inevitable. Shrugged our shoulders as we report more and more deaths. Aggressively minimized and disappeared those with Long Covid.

This should make you angry. It doesn’t need to be this way.

What would success look like? What would fighting back entail?

🫶Mandatory masking in all healthcare facilities (with respirators)

🫶Free tests and vaccines for everyone

🫶Better funding of anti virals and other treatments

🫶Clean air in all public spaces with transparent data visible to the public

🫶Clean air on school busses and anywhere that children congregate

🫶Paid time off for everyone who’s sick

🫶Free respirators in public places AND freely available to anyone who can’t afford precautions

🫶A robust public health campaign about how to properly wear a respirator

🫶A brutally honest public health campaign about the dangers of COVID. We have to stop treating it like a respiratory virus and make the public aware that it’s a multi system vascular virus with immune damaging capabilities

Doing even a few of those things would make a huge difference. Doing all of them would end the pandemic.

Get angry. Get loud. Demand better. Demand transparency.

Say that 20 million dead is not “mild”. That 900 dying every week in the U.S. is not “over”. That 400 million disabled will NOT be ignored.

#covidisairborne #covidisnotover #sarscov2 #longcovid #pandemic #cleanair #wearamask #disability #ableism #eugenics

Why I don't use the insult "moron" or its related epithets. "Imbecile." "Idiot."

#Ableism #eugenics

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/eugenics-isnt-dead-its-thriving-in-tech/

The Covid response has been to say - at every available opportunity - that “only the vulnerable” need to worry.

If someone dies or becomes disabled - the first question is almost never a compassionate one. It’s “how many comorbids did they have?”

People desperately wanted to go back to normal - so they accepted the narrative that THEY were safe and only those “other” people would become disabled and die.

First - it’s not true. Covid is a risk to everyone.

Second - you can’t decide to toss entire groups of people to the wayside and not have it impact your moral compass.

It may be subconscious - but it IS happening.

You’re being taught that it’s ok to harm people as long as they belong to an undesirable group. You’re being conditioned to believe you’re superior.

It’s not at all hard to see how this can pave the way for authoritarianism.

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/how-did-we-get-here-and-what-comes

#covidisairborne #covidisnotover #eugenics #ableism #discrimination #disability #longcovid #fascism #authoritarianism

Whenever I catch up on the UK Covid inquiry - I’m horrified by how much denial and ignorance is on display.

By the fact that they’re discussing the death and disability of millions - yet continue to refer to the pandemic in the past tense.

The only mask I’ve seen was on Cathy Finnis - a clinically vulnerable patient who testified as to how difficult it is to access safe care. No one else in the room masked to protect HER.

Perhaps the most galling example of denial is this video of Matt Hancock - where he talks about the importance of vaccination because without it healthcare workers may unintentionally infect someone in their care.

They’re literally infecting people in their care now. The NHS has discouraged healthcare workers from testing - and IF they do test positive they don’t have to isolate. There’s no requirement to test negative before returning to work. They can treat patients knowing they have covid - and they aren’t even required to wear a respirator.

Hospital acquired covid has a 10% fatality rate and yet many facilities are doing absolutely nothing to protect the most vulnerable among us.

Patients like me didn’t ask to be clinically vulnerable. We didn’t get a choice in being high risk. We can’t “stay home” from the hospital. We go for life saving care - only to have our lives and baselines put at risk because no one is mitigating the spread of Covid.

It would be so easy to mandate masks in healthcare. To upgrade air quality and ventilation to reduce the spread. To have regular testing and ensure those who are positive are isolated.

They just don’t want to. We’re acceptable losses. Expendable. Not worthy of protection.

After all - how many times have we heard “only the vulnerable are at risk” as a means of justifying a whole host of risky and unjustifiable behaviour?

At this point I find it hard to say that infecting patients is “unintentional”. I desperately want to give people the benefit of the doubt - but we are five years into this and we KNOW it’s airborne.

If you’re working in healthcare and choosing not to test, isolate or mask - is it unintentional when you infect a patient? Or inevitable?

These questions keep me up at night.

I feel absolutely sick knowing people like me can no longer access safe healthcare. I feel deep unyielding pain when I think of all those we’ve already lost. I feel anger and rage when I consider how easy it would be to change course - and how few people care enough to even bother to try.

We can do better. We must do better. We all share the air - we’re not safe until everyone is safe.

#ukcovidinquiry #masksinhealthcare #sarscov2 #pandemic #covidisairborne #covidisnotover #keepmasksinhealthcare #WearARespie #ableism #eugenics #disability #clinicallyvulnerable #LongCOVID #chronicillness

UK Covid Inquiry: Adam Wagner asks Eluned Morgan if she agrees air filtration should be investigated for use against COVID in hospitals.

She says "yes" but laments her air purifier was worst present she ever got, she barely uses it & has "no idea" if it made any difference.

Good grief - you have to use it for it to work!

This response was so privileged and callous. I wonder if she realizes how many people would LOVE to be gifted an air purifier or desperately wish healthcare facilities cared enough about their patients to clean the air?

#UKCovidInquiry #cleanair #COVIDisAirborne #CovidIsNotOver #clinicallyvulnerable #keepmasksinhealthcare #ableism #privilege #eugenics

I’ve had people ask me why I’m concerned about mask bans given there’s a “medical exemption”

Mask bans are a return to ugly laws that will further isolate & exclude disabled people from society.

Medical exemptions are inadequate & leave many people behind (like healthy covid cautious people)

My article goes into it in more detail - but police are NOT medical professionals. It shouldn’t be up to them to determine who’s “medically justified” in wearing a mask

Many of us have invisible illnesses & struggle to convince our doctors to take us seriously

What hope do we have with police?

Moreover - disabled people don’t exist in a vacuum. We have friends, family and caregivers who we rely on to mask to protect us. They don’t qualify under most medical exemptions.

If you’re non disabled and want to stay that way? If you’re trying to avoid covid? That also doesn’t qualify.

These bans represent escalating fascism. They’re preying on people’s hatred for the disabled as well as their anger over mask mandates and covid policies.

The best way to push back? Wear a mask. Right now.

Call local lawmakers & tell them you won’t visit any state or county with a ban.

The Governor of North Carolina vetoed the bill - but the senate super majority overrode his veto.

Right after the mask ban bill passed - a woman with stage 4 cancer was accosted for masking.

The man called her a liberal, identified himself as a conservative & coughed on her.

What’s even more appalling - is that if you read the language of the North Carolina bill - it says any OCCUPANT of a public space can legally demand you remove your mask.

Its essentially deputizing the public to enforce mask bans - and designed to dissuade people from masking in the first place

Given these bans have been pushed by Republicans - and JD Vance spearheaded the federal ban on mask mandates - it’s prudent to fight back now while we still can.

Wearing a mask in public shows solidarity. It helps normalize them as a medical device. It will make them harder to ban.

My full article on the Nassau County ban and why medical exemptions aren’t the answer is below - I just found out Facebook has removed it for “disinformation”. And we wonder why more people don’t know mask bans have already happened 😞

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/nassau-county-ny-makes-masking-illegal

#nomaskbans #maskbans #wearamask #CovidIsNotOver #covidisairborne #ableism #eugenics #discrimination #disability

“If you’ve been fighting for Covid mitigations for the last five years - you more than likely saw this coming. It was painfully obvious when the great unmasking occurred that many people on BOTH sides of the aisle didn’t care about the “vulnerable”. Didn’t care about community or protecting their neighbours. Didn’t care about anything other than their own ability to go to brunch, travel, socialize and get ‘back to normal.’

I’m not saying people should have shuttered inside their homes forever. None of us are. But they should have kept masking. There was no reason to stop. Respirators are highly effective at stopping the spread of Covid. The vast majority of people CAN wear them. We have mask blocs all over the world to provide masks to people who can’t afford them. It’s a simple thing you can do to protect yourself and - perhaps more importantly - protect others.”

If you missed my latest - it’s about the U.S. election, disability rights, eugenics, fascism and how we got to where we are. Perhaps more importantly - it’s about what comes next.

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/how-did-we-get-here-and-what-comes

#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhealthcare #MaskBans #NoMaskBans #fascism #election2024

People spend their lives running from suffering. Doing whatever they can to avoid feeling pain. The idea of “forever suffering” is terrifying to them. I think this fear is behind a lot of the disdain we see directed at disabled people.

We remind others that suffering can be permanent. That it can’t always be outrun.

We exist in the grey. Our illnesses won’t kill us - but they also won’t ever get better. There’s no cure on the horizon. No “are you better yet?”

This reality scares the crap out of people.

As such - they pull away from us. They abandon us or treat us with such disdain that we walk away from them. The ones that stay often expect us to hide how sick we are. To plaster a smile on our face and say we’re “fine” so that they don’t have to feel uncomfortable.

When they ask how we’re feeling or if we’re “any better”… they don’t want to hear the truth. In fact - if you tell them the truth you could find yourself facing a lecture on “positive thinking” or how you just need to “try harder” and you will suddenly overcome your illnesses.

People are unable or unwilling to face the realities of chronic illness - so they make it harder for us to face it as well. They treat it like it’s our fault. Like we did something to become ill or like we could get better if we “really wanted to”.

They will push our boundaries, gaslight us and yes - put us at risk for covid. So this is your reminder that it is ok to set and hold boundaries. It’s ok to protect yourself. If someone won’t be there at your worst - they don’t deserve you.

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/we-dont-do-sick-if-you-cant-hide


#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhealthcare #MaskBans #NoMaskBans

People are angry that hospitals are bringing back mask mandates due to COVID outbreaks.

Patients like me are angry that we have to risk infection to get medical care. Some of us have died due to hospital acquired COVID.

Masks make sense in hospitals - why oppose them?

I’ve yet to hear a decent argument against mask mandates in hospitals.

The people who oppose them are almost always the ones screaming about how strong and healthy their immune systems are - so theoretically they never spend any time IN a hospital. Why do they care?

Inevitably people just trot out the tired “if your mask works then no one else needs one”… which just highlights that they’ve never spent any significant time in the hospital.

If you’re sick enough to need the hospital there’s decent odds something might prevent you from masking.

Even if you CAN mask - if you’re admitted what do you do when you need to eat, drink or brush your teeth? What if you require oxygen, having vomiting or airway complications?

The responsibility to stay covid safe shouldn’t be left to the patient.

It’s cruel and unusual punishment.

Mandatory masks mean that patients are protected by those around them - which is how it should be.

No one should have to risk covid to get care - and the normalization of hospital acquired covid needs to stop.

If you’re someone who opposes masks in healthcare - or who doesn’t understand WHY they’re necessary - please read my plea to healthcare workers.

Vulnerable patients feel unsafe. Expendable. Terrified.

Needing the hospital is scary enough - we shouldn’t have to worry about forced infection too:

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/a-plea-to-maskless-healthcare-workers

#CovidIsAirborne #CovidCautious #CovidIsNotOver #CleanAir #WearaMask #Disability #LongCovid #Ableism #Denial #CleanAir #Pandemic #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Eugenics #SafeHealthcare #N95 #Respirators #MasksWork #MaskUp #Spoonie #Discrimination #Dysautonomia #mecfs #pots #mcas #communitycare #wearamask #chronicillness #keepmasksinhe

A few months ago a friend told me I needed to stop “being a burden” on those around me & find somewhere with round the clock care to live & accommodate my disabilities. Knowing no such place exists for someone like me - I gave them a challenge.

I told them that I had looked for such a place many times - and I’ve come up empty because people like me (relatively young with unstable chronic illnesses) fall through the cracks. We aren’t considered when care homes are being established.

We have homes for the elderly, rehab centres and hospices but almost nothing for a young person who isn’t imminently dying but also has no expectation of improvement. I challenged this friend to find me a place - within a reasonable budget - and said if they did I would move.

Of course they were unable to find anything - and in fact even when they tripled their budget they came up empty. There was one contender that provided a brief glimmer of hope - but as soon as they discovered my heart condition they said no.

The reason? “She’s too unstable and we don’t have adequate monitoring. She should be in hospital or try hospice.” Most chronically ill people know that hospitals are short term solutions & will often discharge you before you’re strong enough to be on your own.

And hospice? You can’t enter hospice unless you are imminently dying. So around & around this friend went… hitting all the same roadblocks I’ve hit time and time again. Finally they asked if I considered private in home nursing?

In home nurses where I am start at around $36/hour. If you need round the clock care that’s just over $6000 a week. Clearly not an option for the vast majority of people.

Finally my friend conceded that I was right and there was no magical place where I could have round the clock care & cease being a “burden” to those around me. They were flustered and apologetic & kept saying “I just assumed you hadn’t really looked”.

Therein lies the problem for so many of us - our friends & family always seem to assume they know better and/or that we have simply failed and not “tried hard enough”. The reality is we often spend all our energy looking for solutions - but those solutions simply don’t exist.

I thanked my friend for apologizing & for their efforts in trying to find a place - but I also asked them to consider how it feels to be called a “burden” just for needing support to survive. To be told you needed to go away & stop “bothering” friends & family?

Of course my friend didn’t have an answer - just uncomfortable silence followed by some muffled apologies. I share this story to implore people to stop assuming disabled people haven’t already tried the things you’re suggesting.

This doesn’t mean it’s wrong to make suggestions. But if we tell you we’ve already tried it and it’s not an option - believe us. It’s exhausting spending your days dealing with chronic illness - we don’t need to be explaining ourselves to people who should have our back.

Lastly - disabled people are NOT a burden. There’s nothing wrong with needing help to survive. Telling someone they should feel bad about receiving that help is an unkind thing to do. Please offer help or keep quiet. Most importantly - believe us when we say we’ve tried.

#CovidIsAirborne #CovidIsNotOver #CovidCautious #sarscov2 #maskup #WearAMask #CleanAir #Pandemic #Disability #accessibility #DisabilityRights #N95s #Ableism #CommunityCare #Eugenics