> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 11/10/26 - Remembering a "Smart Ass Cripple" - URL: https://disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io/11-10-26-remembering-a-smart-ass-cripple/ - Published: 2026-11-10T19:30:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-10T19:29:59.000Z - Author: Andrew Pulrang ## **Hello there!** Last week, while most of us were preoccupied with the U.S. midterm elections, disability culture lost one of its truly unique voices, Mike Ervin – disabled activist, writer, and humorist. Here is what I added to a shared Facebook post on Mike Ervin's passing: > "Mike Ervin is the first disabled writer who caught and held my attention. I first read his columns in early '90s, in The Mouth and The Progressive. I continued to read those articles, and his Smart Ass Cripple blog posts, off and on, right up until he died last week. I never met Mike in person, or even interacted with him on social media. But I will miss his voice in disability culture." To mark his death, I am sharing an obituary that gives more details about Mike's life and work, plus two relatively recent pieces of his that well represent his humorous take on disability life and issues. ![Fall leaves illustration divider](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/09/Autumn-Trim.png) ![Tuesday Links](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/09/Tuesday-2.png) ## [**In Memoriam: Mike Ervin**](https://www.accessliving.org/newsroom/action-alerts/advocacy-updates/in-memoriam-mike-ervin/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) Access Living - November 3, 2026 > "Many disability advocates got to know Mike through his writing, especially as a humorist. He contributed to early disability movement publications like [*Mouth Magazine.*](https://www.mouthmag.com/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) He wrote a regular column for *The Progressive* ([most recently here](https://progressive.org/magazine/when-you-take-away-the-drivers-ervin-20261030/?fbclid=IwY2xjawVW8ZxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mBXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR93diYZa0wtZ-LMcsmu8igO9jBaKR0xq12aQVNO2YXbfMctBtPsrr1ZX0qDjQ%5Faem%5Fx-NLrQC1nDyJ3W7qLM8I8A&ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io)) and was published in a wide variety of news outlets over the years. Mike’s plays included “The Plucky and Spunky Show” and “The History of Bowling.” For many years, he worked with the [Victory Gardens Theater](https://victorygardens.org/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) and ran playwriting workshops. Most recently, he maintained the [Smart Ass Cripple blog](https://smartasscripple.blogspot.com/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io). His papers through 2009 are held at Chicago’s [Newberry Library](https://archives.newberry.org/repositories/2/resources/126?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io)" Read the whole thing, because it covers Mike Ervin's activism work and mentoring, which might be less familiar to people like me, who "knew" Mike mainly through his writing. Somehow, it seems even more meaningful that he maintained his irreverent perspective on disability issues, even after being so deeply involved in them in more direct, non-literary, and serious ways. We can all learn that from Mike, too. ## [**Five Phases of Cripple Development**](https://newmobility.com/cripple-development/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) Mike Ervin, New Mobility - March 1, 2017 > "There are many developmental phases cripples go through in our desperate attempt to survive criippledom. You can’t always tell that you’re in one of these phases when you’re actually in it. Sometimes it is only clear in retrospect. Some cripples find a comfortable niche in one of these phases and never come out of it. But I can see where I’ve been through a few of them myself ..." A terrifying lot of us have progressed, regressed, crept our way or stagnated among stages of life similar to these. They are certainly familiar to me, though I never went through "The Basketball Phase." I especially appreciate the way Mike distinguishes between self-advocacy and activism. They are two very different, if related things. But a lot of disabled people seem to think they are interchangeable. Worse, they employ the goals and tactics of one while supposedly doing the other, without realizing it and with often confusing or deeply upsetting results. Mike really did have a talent for understanding the way things are, and describing them clearly and humorously. ## [**The Royal Council of Cripples**](https://smartasscripple.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-royal-council-of-cripples.html?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) Mike Ervin, Smart Ass Cripple - August 9, 2026 > "There is this thing called The Royal Council of Cripples. It is the governing body of all cripples everywhere and it meets to conduct its business on the third Thursday night of every month in their secret underground lair. And this may be the last time that you hear from me because I am sworn to secrecy about the very existence of this group, let alone its modus operandi. But sometimes cripples are expected to speak with one voice and until we do we must all shut the fuck up. We have to be a monolith. And that’s why the Royal Council of Cripples was created many moons ago." Again, Mike nails one of the most important but least acknowledged aspects of disability culture and activism. All the time we say we aren't a "monolith," but we still feel the pressure and temptation to be one. And so we keep trying to unify, which is probably a good thing, up to a point. But this ends up supercharging the natural elitism that exists in every cluster of social communities, including disabled people. Here, Mike simply notices it. He doesn't feel the need to solve it, or go into much detail about it. Just *noticing* is enough. I think that's true of a lot of things in disability culture. ![Fall leaves illustration divider](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/09/Autumn-Trim.png) ![Take Action](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2025/05/Action-1.png) [![Take Action to Support the Bipartisan House Resolution Reaffirming the Right of Disabled People to Live in Their Communities with the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/10/Copy-of-Action-Alert-Panel.png)](https://dredf.org/take-action-res-1586/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) [![Tell Congress to Stop the Dismantling of the Department of Education and Protect Students with Disabilities - American Association of People with Disabilities](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/06/Action-Alert-Panel-1.png)](https://aapd.quorum.us/campaign/148277/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) [![Tell Congress to Pass the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act with the American Association of People with Disabilities](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/06/Action-Alert-Panel-5.png)](https://aapd.quorum.us/campaign/160329/?ref=disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io) ![Fall leaves illustration divider](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2026/09/Autumn-Trim.png) ![Share, Comment & Subscribe](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/51/9951e709-0bb8-4ee3-8557-6b5a3d3af05b/content/images/2025/09/Like--Comment--Support.png) [*Disability Thinking Weekday*](https://disability-thinking-weekday.ghost.io/) is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. 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