Humanities and the Death Penalty – The Lennie Standard goes to SCOTUS

When I talk about the immediate relevance of the humanities and its skills to contemporary life (which I do), I always like to bring up Of Mice and Men. In Texas, people who are intellectually disabled are considered eligible for the death penalty only of they meet the “The Lennie Standard.” Now that’s being reconsidered. … Continue ReadingHumanities and the Death Penalty – The Lennie Standard goes to SCOTUS

Bad Disability Journalism: Autism as “Genetic Devil”

Notes: Ableism and extremely stigmatizing language follow. Note 2: Looking for autistic responses to this piece, if any. Mostly folks I follow on Twitter just seem tired and really, what else is there to say? Let me know if you see something I should link to here to signal boost. UPDATE: @Erabrand on Twitter produced an … Continue ReadingBad Disability Journalism: Autism as “Genetic Devil”

Disability Rights and Reproductive Rights

Elizabeth Picciuto and I collaborated on a piece in the Los Angeles Times today on abortion and disability rights in the age of Zika. Two key paragraphs: We are parents of children with disabilities who are also pro-reproductive rights. David Perry’s 9-year-old son has Down syndrome. Elizabeth Picciuto’s 6-year-old son has Cri du Chat syndrome and … Continue ReadingDisability Rights and Reproductive Rights

New Triggers; Old Triggers – University of Chicago edition

In an unforced error, the Dean of Students at the University of Chicago published a letter welcoming students to the university by telling them there would be no safe spaces or trigger warnings at his fine institution. The letter went viral, and we returned predictably to the same conversations we’ve been having about this for … Continue ReadingNew Triggers; Old Triggers – University of Chicago edition

Crusades Imagery and Modern European Racism – The Crying Templar

Modern xenophobic Europeans have adopted medieval crusader imagery for their cause. As a medievalist, and more specifically a historian focused on imagination, memory, narrative creation, myth, and political culture focused around medieval crusading, I find this at once worrying and fascinating. Fascinating because it replicates many of the medieval processes by which crusading became a … Continue ReadingCrusades Imagery and Modern European Racism – The Crying Templar

Disability Advertising: Nike and Kyle Maynard

Prosthetics are everywhere in advertising these days. They look “cool.” They don’t bother typical society (advertising is all about playing to the center, I suppose, when it comes to big brands). They are easily understandable and explainable. They feed our technophilia. After the 2015 Superbowl, I wrote (in a longer piece on inspiration porn): Finally … Continue ReadingDisability Advertising: Nike and Kyle Maynard

#CultOfCompliance: Disabled/Deaf People Killed for Non-Compliance and Disability Erasure

Two disabled men were killed by law enforcement over the last few days. Details are still emerging.  Both seem to be relatively young white men. Daniel Harris, in Charlotte NC, was Deaf and communicated via sign language. Joseph Weber, in Hays KA, has not been identified by diagnosis, but a local source tells me he … Continue Reading#CultOfCompliance: Disabled/Deaf People Killed for Non-Compliance and Disability Erasure

Bad Disability Journalism: Writing about Obesity and Disability Without Talking to Anyone Obese

Suggestion to health reporters: If you are writing about a condition, make sure your reporting includes people who have that condition. From Quartz: How obesity became the new face of disability in America The article opens by comparing “lean” hikers to obese former steel workers in Colorado, then interviews doctors, economists, and public health officials, … Continue ReadingBad Disability Journalism: Writing about Obesity and Disability Without Talking to Anyone Obese