12/2/25 - Disability politics, desperation, and "Scissorhands"

Good afternoon!

It's snowing here today. What's the weather doing where you are? And how do different kinds of weather affect disabled people? These questions always come to mind whenever snowy, icy weather arrives here in Northeastern New York. But there will be plenty of time to think about these things in the coming weeks. Below are three links on other topics for today ...

Capitalists Were Never Going To Protect Your Healthcare When Your Disablement Is For Profit

Imani Barbarin, Crutches & Spice - November 11, 2025

"When I first began my career in disability advocacy as a professional, I was bright-eyed, believing that I would be working with the most vocal supporters of DEI and who rallied behind diversity as an answer to the first Trump Administration. When I was invited to go lobbying on the Hill for disability policies, I was so sure I would be meeting with the brightest minds of the Democratic Party—I even told my boss as such. What she said I will never forget, and has proven true in the years since; a dynamic made evident throughout the pandemic, a 'return to normal' and the ineptitude that led to a second Trump administration: 'the people you think will show up, aren’t always the ones that do.'"

This is an important take on the dynamics of disability policy and politics in the US. There is a lot of unhappy truth here. You don't have to fully absorb or agree with all of what Imani says. But her post offers sincere, essential insight into why a lot of otherwise committed and engaged disability activists feel increasingly hopeless about working with mainstream politicians who we have typically seen as our allies and advocates. Pessimism and disillusionment probably aren't exactly helpful in disability activism, at least in the long run. But they are often understandable and well justified.

Systemic failings in health care system led quadriplegic man to choose MAID: coroner

Michelle Lalonde, Montreal Gazette - November 26, 2025

"MEMO-Québec issued a statement Wednesday noting that Meunier’s situation is not an isolated case. Since 2023, at least 12 members of MEMO-Québec who have requested MAID were experiencing situations directly related to a lack of care, primarily concerning pressure ulcers."

This is a horrifically well-documented story of how assisted suicide can become a grisly relief valve – not for disabled and terminally ill people, but for incompetent and under-funded health care. It strikes me even harder knowing that it took place just an hour north of where I live, in a province I have always love as a visitor. Normand Meunier "accessed MAID" not because life with quadriplegia is unlivable, but because health care providers in Quebec allowed his condition to become unlivable. All this is clear from the article, if you already understand what you are reading. But it's telling how little the article has to say about the ethics of providing Medical Aid in Dying for people so spectacularly failed by medical and governmental systems – people who would almost certainly not ask for MAID at all if not for these systemic failures and decisions. Maybe we can connect the dots. The article does not.

“Edward Scissorhands” exposes the cost of being the “exceptional” disabled person

Kristen Lopez, Salon.com - November 26, 2025

"'Edward Scissorhands'” does an interesting job of enhancing its disabled coding by examining the little nuances of disability. Edward identifies as disabled, the camera capturing clippings he’s saved from newspapers about other people like him. The headlines shout out things like 'Boy without eyes reads with his hands.' Edward starts the narrative with a sense of incompleteness typical of internalized ableism. He thinks he lacks something that will make him whole, that will make him abled. Edward tells Pam Boggs (Dianne Wiest) upon meeting her that he’s 'not finished,' that his creator/father (Vincent Price) meant to complete him by crafting him a pair of conventional hands, but died before they were completed. Edward tries to come to terms with this throughout the movie. Others offer him unsolicited solutions, including one person saying they know 'a doctor who could help you,' which excites Edward."

I look forward to reading Kristen's book, Popcorn Disabilities: The Highs and Lows of Disabled Representation in the Movies. This excerpt has me intrigued!

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