Locking your wheelchair lift and requiring disabled people to find an employee to unlock AND OPERATE it is a direct violation of the ADA.
“The [ADA] Standards require ‘unassisted’ entry and exit from lifts (§410.1). Situations in which platform lifts are locked and require users to request or retrieve a key for operation will not satisfy this requirement for independent operation.”
“Attendant operation, although recognized by the ASME A18.1 Standard, is expressly prohibited by the ADA Standards. Platform lifts must provide ‘unassisted entry and exit from the lift’ (§410.1).”
This is not great, but it’s likely because people are fucking stupid and will screw around with it if it’s not locked up.
[ID: @gavrielabrahams “It’s probably because people were peeing in it.”]
You think people were peeing. In an open wheelchair lift. In the middle of a museum. With public toilets around the corner.
I think not.
But even if people had been peeing in it or otherwise misusing the lift… It. Doesn’t. Matter. It’s not just “not great.” It’s ILLEGAL. It is just as illegal to lock off a wheelchair lift as it is to not provide one to begin with.
The correct response to people peeing in an elevator is never to lock the elevator. It is to provide a toilet. If you think the correct response to any problem is to violate the civil rights of an entire group of people by denying them access, YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.
Disability rights are civil rights.
You want to know exactly how this went down? Let me tell you a tale.
I was visiting the museum with friends. They went on around the corner while I finished looking at the previous exhibit. I then followed them around the corner only to find I couldn’t get up to the exhibit because the museum AS PART OF THEIR POLICY had illegally locked the lift. My friends didn’t know the lift was locked (why would the lift be locked?) and had no idea that I couldn’t get to them.
Now I, the disabled person, am forced to travel halfway around the building to the front desk to find someone to unlock the lift for me, wait for them to finish what they’re doing, and then travel all the way back to the lift. This was bad enough in a wheelchair. Who else uses lifts? Oh yes. People who struggle to walk. Can you imagine, as a person who struggles to walk, being forced to walk halfway around a building, and then back again, just to access an exhibit? You wouldn’t do it. You’d skip the exhibit. You’ve just been completely denied access.
So finally the museum employee unlocks the lift and then operates it (because yes, they’ve made it so I can’t operate it myself, which is also illegal). I finally get to the top probably ten minutes later, only to find that my friends have finished looking at the exhibit and are heading down again, wondering what has happened to me.
After I’ve gone to all the trouble to get up there, fuck it if I’m not going to look at the damn exhibit. So I look at it, then head back to the lift to go back down, only to find they’ve locked the lift with me at the top and gone back to the front desk.
If one of my friends hadn’t stayed up there with me, I’d probably still be up there. As it was, my friend had to go down the stairs, back around to the front, find an employee, and get them to come back and let me down. Leaving me sitting up there. Alone. For another five minutes.
Now imagine if I had gone to the the museum by myself. Or what if there had been an emergency? You think if there was a fire some museum employee who couldn’t be assed to leave the damn lift unlocked until I had come back down would really have run back into the building to unlock the lift so I could get down? I think not.
Locking an accessibility feature is never the right solution. It is denying access to an entire class of people. Which is ILLEGAL and a CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION.
Imagine living in a world where people didn’t make cult jokes lmao.
Your semi regular reminder to not make cult jokes please!!!! Its really fucking insensitive and makes cult survivors really fucking uncomfortable (and trust me there are more of us then you’d think you very likely might know a cult survivor). On top of that 99% of the time the things that a group is doing that is causing you to call it a cult isn’t even a requirement of a cult and just further perpetuates the very harmful stereotype that all cults are these weird ass groups that chant and worship weird things (obviously some are like that and that shit can often lead to something being a cult but those aren’t the main things).
It cost $0 for y’all to be respectful of cult survivors so please dont make cult jokes thanks!
you do know that when jewish and romani people say “never forget” we mean “learn about the holocaust so you can recognize the warning signs of facism and genocide” not “repeatedly bring up the holocaust whenever anything bad happens and exploit our pain and trauma to make people care about your cause” and when we say “never again” we mean “take action to prevent any stage of genocide on any scale by any means, hold collaborators responsible and don’t be complicit” not “only care about genocide when it’s too late”, right? or did you think it was just a fun catchphrase?
yeah reminder not to go on tiktok y’all i lit got tricked into watchin that video that’s goin around so rlly don’t go on today
edit: an anon reminded me probably best to describe him so i have a screen cap of like the first second of the video
if u see this man on ur screen literally scroll away bc it’s The video!!!!
i have not watched this video, but i think it’s important to warn people that according to comments this man commits suicide on camera. there are a lot of comments simply telling people to “keep scrolling” but please also say what the video is. it took me a good minute to find that info just from the notes.
Unless the person has specifically asked for it beforehand, you should always ask before giving it.
For it to actually be constructive, you have to be able to offer at least a potential solution to the problem. The goal of constructive criticism is to be helpful. “X is wrong :)” is NOT helpful, so maybe try something more along the lines of “X seems a bit out of place, maybe if you shifted it a bit, or tried Y”.
Also, a third thing I feel the need to point out, there is a BIG difference between someone else’s work not being to your personal preference, and it actually needing to be changed or fixed.
Another thing I’ve learned from my college classes is that it’s equally important to point out what the person did RIGHT. It allows them to understand both their strengths and weaknesses and also makes it feel less like a personal attack.
If you find the military has left out pamphlets, you take them all and throw them away.
did this at a local comic book store once! Fuck that comic book store, it’s a creepy and bad place
this goes for if you see anything promoting the Shen Yun dance troup. That is a recruiting point for a cult called Falun Gong.
same goes for if you see anything promoting Mormonism or Scientology, although I haven’t seen materials for those things personally, I’m sure they exist
If you are invited to a Christian group that “doesn’t have a name”, something that holds meeting for outsiders in rec centers, “special meetings”- that’s a cult that is know to members only as “The Truth”, but is on Wikipedia as “two by twos”. Please reach out to me if you or anyone you love has been contacted by this group.
Institutions of abuse are everywhere. Do everything within your power to stop them whenever you see an opportunity. If you see a sign in your rec center that’s some sort of open call to a Christian church meeting but doesn’t have any real info on the church, maybe let me know. Don’t call the number, I can call the number. If you feel the need to do research on your own, all you need to check is whether they refuse to give you a straight answer about the name.
oh yeah, if you want context for “The Truth” being something I’m talking about that you have certainly never heard of, where I’m getting this information- the source is that I was raised in this cult. I know it sounds, almost fake or something, but it isn’t.
just want to say it’s decent as fuck of y’all to reblog this. it’s hard for me to talk about this stuff and harder if I feel like no one is listening. Thank you all for making me feel like someone hears this stuff sometimes.
All of the above for any Jehovah’s Witness material or anything produced by the Watchtower Society (The JW’s printing press).
forgot to include JW’s in this: that is absolutley a cult.
for people in the notes: Shen Yun is persecuted by the Chinese Goverment, and they are also a cult with a robust propaganda wing, and they use accusations of sympathy with the Chinese government or approval of their persecution, to shut down conversation about how they are a cult. Before you jump to add something about how they are persecuted by the Chinese government- I’m aware, I don’t call groups cults lightly, and I looked into this group before deciding what I thought about them, don’t assume I haven’t.
Remember: the one thing all cultists have in common is that they are suffering spiritual abuse. No one chooses to be abused. If you’re in these groups, maybe you feel like you choose this for yourself, but you need to question “was the choice I was given a meaningful choice? Or was I given the illusion of a choice?” It’s not your fault. This isn’t your fault. Whenever you’re ready, you can reach out.
I am going to do a break down of the various terminology as it is accepted in most Romani academic circles.
I realize that this can be very confusing, especially to those outside our ethnicity and culture, and even to those who were raised in our culture, but do not have a full grasp of our language.
I must also note that self-identification varies amongst us and many of our own people may not recognize what is considered proper terminology.
“Gypsy” – The pejorative term created by the British in the 1500s. The term was created to identify only those who are Romani, most specifically those who we now call UK Romany & the Romanichal. It was never intended to be used as a descriptor for any other ethnic population. It comes from the Old English term for Egyptian, and not Greek. It is a slur.
Romani – The term that refers to our entire ethnic population, including the Sinti. It refers to the ethnic population that left Northern India & Pakistan shortly after the invasion of the Persian Muslims who have since settled in Trukey, all of Europe, and the Americas. The term is used to refer to our culture & language in relation to the entire ethnic population: Romani culture, Romani language, Romani people, Romani ethnicity.
Romany – The population of Romani who settled in the British Isles sometime in the late 14th century. They have since become two distinct populations self identifying as either Romany or Romanichal. This spelling is typically used to refer only to the ”native” Romani population of the region. It does not inculde more recent Romani immigrants or refugees from continental Europe. Romany is typically prefixed by British, UK, English, or another identifier of where in the region they have settled & lived. Ex: Some Romani families have lived in the UK for one hundred years or more and they have even picked up some words from the Rromanes dialect spoken by the UK Romany.
Sinti – The self-identifier of a sub-ethnic population of the Romani people who live in Germany, Austria, regions of Central Europe, and the United States of America. Many Sinti prefer their identifier over Romani, though they do indeed belong to the Romani ethnic population & their language is a dialect of the Romani language.
Rroma – A sub-ethnic group of the Romani population who live throughout Transylvania, Central Europe and Northern Italy. (This is why referring to our entire ethnic population as the Rroma & Sinti tends to be problematic. It is inclusive of only these two very specific Romani sub ethnic populations, when in fact, we have likely over 80 self-identified distinct groups that are considered part of the Romani ethnicity.)
Rroma – A Romani woman. The adjective that describes a Romani woman or girl. Ex: I am a Rroma woman, but I belong to the Romani people.
Rromni – A Romani woman who is married. A wife. Ex: The Rromni took care of her sick husband.
Rrom – A Romani man. The adjective that describes a Romani man or boy. Ex: The old Rrom told us stories about our history.
Rromanes – The language of the Romani people. Sometimes referred to as “Romani chib”, which means “Romani tongue”. This includes all dialects of the Romani language spoken in all of Europe, Turkey, South Africa, as well as North, Central & South America.
Dom – A sister population of the Romani ethnicity. They are believed to be descendants of similar North Indian & Pakistani ethnic groups. They likely began their diaspora before the people who are today considered the Romani. The Dom live throughout Northern Africa, the Middle East & Central Asia.
Domari – The language of the Dom people.
Lom – Speculatively related to the Romani in the same way as the Domari: a population of mixed Northern Indian ethnic groups who began their diaspora before the population that is considered the Romani. They settled mostly in the Caucasus Mountains, and largely in Armenia.
Lomavren – The language of the Lom people.
The Romani, Dom & Lom are related to some degree, but the exact relation is still contested by some. The Dom & Lom are sometimes lumped under the pejorative exonym, “gypsy”, though this term was never ascribed to them until rather recently. When referring to this entire diasporic population from the Indian subcontinent, they should always be termed “The Romani, Dom & Lom”. Of course, order can vary, but the proper terms should be utilized instead of “gypsy”.
Single “R” & double “Rr” spellings – Both manner of spellings are correct. Some dialects use a double “Rr” spelling for phonetics purposes, while other use it to distinguish us from Romanians & inhabitants of Rome, Italy.
Non-Romani Ethnic Populations:
There are several ethnic populations that are wrongly lumped under the slur umbrella that is “gypsy”. Many have no relationship to us & should only be discussed in terms of contact. We are entirely separate ethnic populations. (For those who still have not grasped this concept yet.)
Pavee – Commonly known as Irish Travellers, they are a sub-ethnic group of Irish who have lived a nomadic existence for several centuries. They reside in Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Some self identify as “Irish Gypsies”, though the bastardization of that term from the UK Romany is a rather contentious topic. Some Pavee have had very close relations with UK Romany, even inter-marrying. However, it is important to note that the Romany & Romani are in no way related to Irish Travellers. We are not only two separate ethnic populations, but we even belong to two separate races. We each have our own lanaguage & culture.
Shelta – The language of the Pavee.
Banjara – An ethnic population living in Northern India. Though we have been genetically linked to the Banjara, the group is not the only Indian ethnicity that comprised of the initial Romani diasporic population. In fact, we have been linked to a wide variety of ethnic populations that live throughout Northern India, Pakistan, and even Eastern Afghanistan. The Banjara are just one of those many ethnicities. The Banjara are not “gypsies” & they are not Romani. They are Banjara. They are Indian.
There are many nomadic peoples throughout Europe. The only ones who are Romani are the Romani. The only ones who are “gypsy” are the Romani, most specifically, the Romany.
The Yeniche, Quinqui, Scottish Travellers, Norwegian Travellers, any generic nomadic people, nomads of India, Asia, or any other place on Earth are not Romani & they are not “gypsies”. Not even the Lom & Dom are “gypsies”, or Romani, even though they are our sister ethnic populations.
The only people who are Romani are the Romani.
Needed this today, so reblogged for everyone else too
get it right, and maybe avoid being a racist at someone!
ifesbob 