221–230 of 245 posts
This reminds me abouts Kubecon Europe 2020's survey which had questions like: "what's your race", and "what's your gender". As a European, this was a huge WTF moment (my co-workers had the same moment). Why would you ask something like that ?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't see a form like this and think "This hurts my feelings :(". I see this form and go "Oh shit, so do I say I'm disabled and get discriminated against now, or do I say I'm not disabled and then get retaliated against for dishonesty later?". I've been rejected from jobs before for being disabled and being disabled is expensive. Here is how "chill" the situation is in India by the way: https://www.theguardian.com/…
My dad is mentally disabled. Yeah. So much so he has to visit the mental hospital twice. Stayed locked up for two weeks straight. Yeah. We are economically well off only because my grandpa had good estates and stable income. My father somehow got his degree in Economics. He somehow got to the point that he is now well respected at the age of 58. The condition my father has is far far worse than the mere depression ev…
I hate this question BECAUSE it pressures me into admitting I have a disability, that I'm a "victim", when I would rather not do that. Victimhood doesn't get you ahead in the first world either - that's why so many disabled people react negatively to this question - because it makes others see you as either a victim (if you say yes) or a liar (if you say no). Just listen to how you perceive disabled people in the first world - in my situation wouldn't I have every incentive to hide my diagnosis from you to hide that fact from somebody like you so you didn't see me as a whiner taking advantage of sympathy for disabled people to seem cool?
P.S. The first world is seeing self-reported depression and suicide rising simultaneously. Certainly some people think it's cool to be depressed, but maybe more is going on than westerners becoming image obsessed given people are killing themselves more and more.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had to break it to a teen with epilepsy whose goal in life was to be a pilot, "The FAA medical will reject you, but maybe you can work in an FBO or other aviation business." (He wasn't interested in flying a desk.) In aviation, anything related to loss of consciousness (LoC) is automatically disqualifying. You can get a special issuance for most other health problems (cancer, high blood pressure, sometimes diabetes…
Oof, this hits close to home. I was working towards being a fighter pilot until I was told by a recruiter in no uncertain terms that having a visual impediment disqualified me irrevocably. I've moved on to other aspirations but damned if I'm not a little bitter around military aerospace hardware.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What sort of mental gymnastics does it take to convince yourself not being able to walk isn't inherently bad? Not being able to walk is bad. Not being able to fly is bad. Not being immortal is bad. Inabilities are bad regardless of what the "normal" state is. Society and accommodation could make up for 90% of the downsides but being confined to a wheelchair will never be a neutral status.
> Society and accommodation could make up for 90% of the downsides Why not 100%? For every downside you can come up with, can't you imagine some possible way for society to make up for it? Here's a simple one: calculate the value of whatever the disabled person is missing out on, and pay them a cash compensation.
I've personally pondered this a number of times and here is my conclusion that I am comfortable with. While there is some sense of continuum, there is a difference between being hurt and being injured. In a similar sense I feel there is a continuum of "something" and disabled. I don't really know what to call the "something" end of the disability continuum that would be analogous to "hurt" rather then "injured". For…
My wife appears to be incredibly fit and she is. She's able bodied, thin but not sickly so and strong. She has great muscle definition. Her skin looks healthy. She is often taken for being a decade or more younger than she actually is. She spends half her week pleading with medical staff or arguing with insurance about why the drugs and procedures shouldn't be denied. Her eyesight is rapidly degenerating. She's has d…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pick random answers when asked stupid questions. If enough people start doing this they'll stop asking.
Good idea, will do it from now on. Black? Yes. White, yes. Potatoe? Yes. But seriously - these race questions seem wildly out of place in countries like Poland where 99% people are white, and sure there is racism, but there are better determinants for disadvantaged groups - like the place someone was born in, or family income.
You can just let people request help if they want it.
Excellent question. As a person with ADHD (but on meds), and a possible CFS, I ask myself this sometimes. While I wouldn't use a disabled parking spot , there are some exceptions from social norms that I allow myself: - segregating trash (keeping an apartament clean and organised is crazy difficult by itself, and I still learn to put things into trash after using, at the age of 36) - getting a sitting space in a crow…
I grew up in a home where my Dad had multiple sclerosis and went from playing football with me at age 6 to full-time wheelchair 10 years later. Later in life, while serving in the US Navy, I ended up with a different disability that lasted about 14 years. This article really hit home for me. For my Dad, simple things we do every day were hard because little things like doors and steps were huge obstacles to him. For…
Yet, I am not disabled. One day I’ll be legally blind and then I’ll be disabled.
I think if there is a spectrum issue then some people will be in the spectrum but not count as disabled. Autism is a poorly understood disorder at least when it comes to determining how it affects your life. Maybe in the future it will have a legal definition that can be easily tested for.
I suspect that the author is closer to the norm on the spectrum since they went for 42 years of success without knowing the problem existed. That’s how it was for me with my eyes.
My brother in the other hand is autistic non verbal, and there never was any doubt he was disabled.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The military treats ADHD the same way and won't take anyone who's used meds for it in the past year. That's the official line, anyway. In reality, recruiters tell candidates to lie about the meds ("everybody does it") and to stay off them long enough to pass the urine test.
That's interesting. I wonder if that makes people with ADHD ineligible for the draft? I wouldn't be mad about that. I'm also kind of curious about their reasoning. Is it fear that they won't be able to keep a steady supply of medication all the time (i.e. delivering Adderal to the front lines might not be easy), and that people with ADHD become a liability without it? Amphetamines seemed fairly successful for the Naz…