Three published pieces this week. Two on disability and violence, and one on Star Wars.
- Star Wars and the Fan-Fictionalization of American Pop Culture (Vice.com, 12/18/2015)
- Beyond the Crisis: Philip Coleman, the Chicago PD, and Mental Illness Response (CNN.com, 12/17/2015)
- When Police Abuse Disabled Children (Pacific Standard, 12/17/2015)
The victim was Philip Coleman, who died in custody (reportedly of an adverse reaction to medication) not long after being repeatedly being stunned with a Taser and dragged from his cell. The autopsy found evidence of considerable physical trauma, with more than 50 bruises and abrasions all over his body.
The people responsible for this violence must be held accountable. At the same time, we need to examine the system that put Coleman in the hands of the police in the first place. We must stop focusing all our attention on handling mental health crises and instead devote more resources to keeping people out of crisis altogether.
Too much time and money is being focused on crisis response. Crisis avoidance would be better. And we know how to do it.
Lots of blog posts since the last roundup. What do you like?
- Universal Design for T-Shirts – NO TAGS!
- Crusader Costumes in Europe – The new Klan robes?
- Don’t touch disabled people without their consent – I really hate inspiration porn
- Chicago Police and Disability Rights – Important intersectional read.
- Jessica Wright’s “Missing Generation of Autistics” – Tragic, long read, and there’s still no autism epidemic. This pieces explains why.
- Placard for Deaf Drivers Reveals Problems with Policing – It’s fine, but we have to train police to assume complexity.
- Minneapolis Hires Superintendent Who Oversaw Systematic abuse – Covered in my Pacific Standard piece
- ISIS and the Crusades – Religiously motivated violence never makes me happy.
- Post-Book Academia: Leaving Academia.edu
- Universal Design for Writing About Humans – Ask, Listen, Respect, Be accountable.