#talk about accessibility issues

[keylimepie]

Why the fuck is tumblr advertising Y2k? Can I go a day on this hellsite without some distracting garbage littering my dash? Has staff ever heard of being moderate?

[sopranoentravesti]

Gonna make a controversial statement—people on this webbed site had more compassion for the poor white rural Trump supporters than they do for Jews

[moeblob]

A lil guy !

[2sw]

hey guys. I don't mind people reposting my gifs on other sites to express their own love for sam, I love to see it actually, but please do not use mine for archive/gif accounts. thanks xx

[mengjue]

I’m so fucking tired of hearing news sites explain how higher education levels are linked with voting a particular way, but then treating it as some isolated fun fact and never asking why. Like the ABC discusses how higher education is a huge predictor of voting yes to the voice, and then it just leaves it at that.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS, HUH? I wonder why having more knowledge, more exposure to other views, and more critical thinking skills makes you do things like support the voice and support progressive policies???? I wonder what that says about the opposite, that you tend to be less educated to support conservative causes??? Gee, isn’t it a fucking MYSTERY??

[yardsards]

a tactic of abusive parents that i don't see brought up very often: convincing their victims that child protective services are evil and that foster parents would certainly be even more abusive than their current circumstances

[koifrog]

I’m approaching 27 which means that we are now in this unexpected period of life where we need to replace all of our “good enough for now” things that we got super cheap (or free from family) when we first started living on our own. I am realizing that it is VERY difficult to get rid of things, not just from an emotional attachment standpoint but also:

“Well it technically DOES still work even if it’s unpleasant and falling apart” (especially applicable to ugly/uncomfortable furniture)

“We don’t have to get rid of it, we can always repair it” (it is literally broken and falling apart)

“Wouldn’t it be Bad and Consumeristic to just throw something away that isn’t actually broken just because I want a new one?” (this one plagues me)

“Getting a New Thing would be way too expensive” (hasn’t even checked the price of a replacement, I absolutely can afford it but it would cost more than $50)

Even when I’ve fought through those arguments (which is very hard to do considering these are things I learned while growing up during the 2008 recession and struggling financially due to severe illness and death in the family when I was young) and come out the other side determined to actually replace something, a new issue arises. “How am I going to get rid of the old thing?”

“I can’t donate this because it’s broken or stained”

“I want to sell this but this requires a lot of energy that I don’t have (photographing the item, pricing the item, posting an ad for the item, sorting through offers for the item, arranging pickup for the item, possibly even shipping the item)”

“I want to throw this away but it’s too large to put in the garbage so it must go on the curb and I don’t know the protocol for that”

“I want to throw this away but it’s too large to put in the garbage and too broken to give away so it must go to the dump and I don’t have a vehicle I can use to take this there so I will need to reach out to family for help”

“I want to throw this away but I’m not sure how to do so in an Environmentally Friendly way”

This sort of situation is a nightmare for my mentally ill mind, and it results in me simply giving up and putting up with keeping the shitty item I know I want to replace and repeating the same excuses to myself to justify it enough that I don’t break down in frustrated tears every time I look at the thing I’ve been wanting to get rid of for months.

I’m sick of it though. I am tired of having to put up with being stuck with something I don’t like just because it’s not “bad enough” to justify going through the stress of removing from my life. I am tired of living with these things that I want to get rid of taking up the space I want to give to something new that I do love that I picked out myself on purpose. I am tired of my own happiness not being a good enough reason to justify doing something difficult or inconvenient. I am approaching 30. I don’t want to live the next decade of my life like I’ve lived the first two, just dealing with what’s been given to me and not saying no, incapable of removing things I don’t like to make space for things I do.

[skylarkdevries]

lol my network has problems again so I turn off my google meet camera. when I asked a question everyone saw this:

[look-at-the-stars-tonight]

the amount of effort that goes into figuring out what to cook and eat every day is RIDICULOUS. i used to think people were so weird and boring for eating the same thing every single day but it truly does make life so much easier

[wonder-worker]

are there any books you'd recommend for Isabelle of Angouleme?

Hi! I’m really not an expert on Isabella of Angouleme so I'm probably not the best person to ask for recommendations for her. Here are some I've heard of, though I haven't read all of them:

"Isabella of Angouleme: John's Jezebel" by Nicholas Vincent (King John: New Interpretations). I haven't read it myself but I've heard good things!

“Maternal Abandonment and Surrogate Caregivers: Isabella of Angoulême and Her Children by King John” by Louise J. Wilkinson (Virtuous or Villainess? The Image of the Royal Mother from the Early Medieval to the Early Modern Era). It focuses more-so on Isabella's tenure as queen, the period shortly after John's death, and her decision to leave England. Despite what the title may imply, it's sympathetic to Isabella and analyzes her situation in detail.

“Co-Operation, Co-Rulership and Competition: Queenship in the Angevin Domains 1135-1230” by Gabrielle Storey, her PHD thesis which collectively focuses on Isabella of Angouleme along with Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Berengaria of Navarre. You can read/download it here, it's an excellent piece for all four women.

Sally Spong has written/is writing:

Isabella of Angouleme: The Vanished Queen (Norman to Early Plantagenet Consorts). You can see her conclusion here. It's nuanced and sympathetic, though not without its issues and pre-conceived notions.

Isabella of Gloucester and Isabella of Angouleme: Female Lordship, Queenship, Power, and Authority 1189-1220 (PHD thesis University of East Anglia).

“Isabelle d’Angouleme, By the Grace of God, Queen” by William Chester Jordan. You can read it online here, though I will say that it's ... very very questionable, accepting the sensational claims of lot of unreliable sources (including the idea of John abducting Isabella in a fit of uncontrollable infatuation) entirely at face-value.

“The Marriage and Coronation of Isabelle of Angouleme” by H.G. Richardson, available here on JSTOR.

Isabella has also been the subject of two complete French biographies till date:

"Isabelle d’Angoulême, reine d’Angleterre" (Aquitaine: 1998) by Sophie Fougere.

"Isabelle d’Angoulême, comtesse-reine et son temps (1186-1246)" [Actes du colloque tenu à Lusignan, 8 au 10 novembre 1996] by Gabriel Biancotto, Robert Favreau and Piotr Skubiszewski.

There are also a few blog posts about her (here and here) which may help if you want a brief overview of her life, though they can get a little sensationalistic sometimes.

Hope this helps! If anyone knows any others, please feel free to add on!

[eptck]

listen , if youre going to make posts including a lot of information about palestine , you have GOT to be making thorough and complete IDs for each image included . ive seen way too many posts about palestine where one out of like 3 total images has absolutely no description in alt text or otherwise . and usually its the one with the more comprehensive or in-depth information in the post

people who use screen readers deserve to know whats happening in palestine . they dont deserve to have their information on this cherry picked based solely on what the original poster couldnt be bothered to write out in text

i thought yall wanted as many people as possible to see and understand what's happening . but you cant be bothered to accommodate people who dont access the internet the same way you do

[salti-thelatediagnosedautist]

tips for making your business more accessible for autistic people :)

(Please keep in mind these points only cover accessibility for autism. Of course I believe that we should make all spaces as accessible for everyone as possible, but please make your own post if you wish to write about another disability to help keep this one to the point!)

Use LED lights instead of fluorescent lights. Hypersensitive autistic people can often see them flickering and/or hear them humming and it can be extremely overwhelming. Try to keep lighting even and the actual lights themselves away from eye level. Fix flickering lights as soon as possible. I've personally had panic attacks JUST from flickering lights.

Have a consistent, average room temperature. Making your business extra hot or extra cold can be really overstimulating.

Don't play music. Having loud music, or any music at all, can be really distracting and overwhelming. If you must play music, keep it quiet, but loud enough to hear the lyrics clearly. A distant, quiet, incomprehensible noise can be just as distracting as a really loud noise.

Train employees to be tolerant and understanding of non-verbal forms of communication. Even teaching basic, work-related sign language can be helpful! (For the autistic and deaf community!) Provide each counter/worker with a note pad and pen for just-in-case.

Ensure that each item only has one price tag. Having multiple, overlaying price tags can be extremely distracting.

Make price tags clear and direct. Often I notice that price tags will use abbreviations or shortened (or lengthened!) versions of the product name on the tag. This can be really confusing. Keeping it as close to the name on the product as possible is much more helpful. It could even be helpful to have a small photograph of the item on the tag.

Have automatic doors if possible. Many autistic people struggle with co-ordination and having an automatic door can be really helpful.

Avoid bright and distracting colours when possible. Bright colours (such as neon, or fire-truck red) can be extremely overwhelming for autistic people.

Make click + collect an option for your store. If you do this please ensure to keep it updated to keep house-bound people in the loop! Be sure to also not upcharge items simply for being click and collect.

If you make your own products, please try to ensure that packaging and usage is easy and accessible. Many autistic people struggle with fine motor-co-ordination, or have hypermobility, which can make opening packages and other items difficult.

Have hand sanitiser and sanitising wipes available for use.

Have benches or a seat in your store incase anyone gets tired/needs a rest before they continue shopping.

Have clear directions on purchase instructions. Many restaurants, for example, do not directly state if they take your order at your seat, or if you order at the counter. Having these things directly written on a sign, AND on your website, can be extremely helpful to autistic people. We often research stores/restaurants before going and having as many clear directions as possible on there would be a massive help.

Have a clear map in your store of where the nearest toilet and emergency exits are. Autistic people often have trouble asking strangers for help and having this information accessible at all times can be really helpful. Ideally you would have this at your door or your counter!

Keep aisles wide and clear. Autistic people can often have social anxiety/phobia and giving people extra room to browse can be helpful.

Avoid having any loud beeping or loud alarms in your store.

Put yellow tape on the edge of stairs/steps/changes in floor depth. Autistic people often miss stairs/get unbalanced more easily than neurotypicals.

Always have a member of staff present, but don't force greetings. Allow customers to come to you first. Forcing a greeting on an autistic person is usually a sure-fire way to get them to leave the store as quickly as possible. If you must do customer greetings, please keep them short and don't try to sell anything. We can get confused or forget what we were doing if we get too distracted.

Have your available forms of payment written directly at your door/counter.

Have a number limit of people in the store, and enforce a 1.5m distance rule. We are still in a pandemic, afterall.

Have clear signs for where different products are, and a guide for where to find more specific products. Autistic people can often see different connections for items and categories and we may get lost. (ie- when looking for spices we may think it could be in the international food aisle, or the cooking basics aisle).

If you can think of anymore autism-related accessibility points, please add them!

Final note: of course some spaces just aren't meant for autistic people, all the time. For example, a hypersensitive autistic person is highly unlikely to go to a club, because clubs always have loud music. Please consider the purpose of your store/business while thinking about accessibility. However I believe businesses like restaurants, clothes stores, chemists/pharmacies and supermarkets should all aim to be as accessible as possible.

[actualaster]

Deeply inconvenient truth many people really, really, really do not ever want to ever acknowledge much less discuss to find solutions for:

Cars are an accessibility tool.

Public transport is not safe for a variety of people and “just adding more buses and trains and making cities revolve around PT” will not actually address that.

(But nobody likes hearing about how tiny % of the population cannot reliably and safely use PT because they don’t want to actually envision what trying to accommodate that looks like)

[hexiva]

Doctors are like "you can improve your health if you just :) reduce stress :) in your life :)" and it's like well. I'm disabled, I don't work, and I need a lot of medical care, so the only significant stressor in my life is dealing with the hideous bureaucracy you work for. So if you have ideas on how my stress could be reduced, I suggest you refer them to your boss, because I don't have any power to change this shitty-ass company.

[pinktinselmonstrosity]

alright i have a mild dilemna that i need advice on

on my course we have to post these weekly self-reflection things responding to the themes of the week's class and some questions about it. i posted last week's and yesterday the course convenor replied to it in a way that implies i was wrong (in my SELF reflection) and just generally misunderstands my point/takes it in bad faith. i've shown these posts to others on the course and they agree that my original post adressed the things her reply asks about and that she has misinterpreted me, in quite a "cheeky" way

my issue now is: do i reply and try to explain myself better? or is it better to just let it go?

i don't want to dig myself in deeper if she's really opposed to my viewpoint, but at the same time i do feel like i answered the questions thoroughly in the first place and the things she's accusing me of aren't fair

[normalbrothers]

"people i need to protect" and john and arthur is so oddly tender, tragically foreboding, it's not quite that tommy has to protect them in a concrete, physical sense: they both have their strength/muscle, their own reputation, they know the ins and outs of the life they are living, it's nothing they need to be shielded from

it ends up being about emotional protection rather, to protect them from themselves, but what exactly can tommy do to achieve that? they are grown men, not children, and ultimately they make their own choices leading them down their own (doomed) paths