3/16/26 - Paralympics, suicide, and fetishization

Good afternoon!

Today's articles got me thinking more deeply than usual, for some reason. I would love to read others' thoughts on these issues. As always, you can send feedback to me at: apulrang@icloud.com. I will share summaries of feedback at the end of the month.

Also a reminder that if you enjoy this newsletter and want to help support it, you can upgrade to a monthly or annual subscription using the buttons below. It also helps to share the newsletter on your social media, or with people you think might like it. Whatever you can do to help, I appreciate it.

We're Not Winning Because We're Not Investing

Kara Ayers - March 12, 2026

"This isn’t a call to replicate China’s model wholesale — centralized state control of sport comes with its own serious problems, particularly for athlete autonomy and human rights. But the US can absolutely choose to fund Paralympic programs through USOPC at a level that reflects genuine commitment. The UOPC could uphold its commitment to treat athletes fairly-not to mention protect their basic safety-Congress can choose to treat Paralympic sport the way it treats other national priorities. Broadcasters can choose to cover these Games."

I watched quite lot of the 2026 Winter Paralympics, as I did the Winter Olympics a few weeks ago. I watched them using the Peacock streaming app on my Apple TV box. I didn't see any of it live. I chose which replays to watch on my own schedule, based on my own interests. I actually like that system better than trying to conform to live broadcasts from across the world, or over-produced and sentimentalized primetime network shows. So personally, I didn't miss the lack of regular network coverage of the Winter Paralympics. But Kara Ayers' points here are absolutely valid, and I support her conclusions. Incidentally, the final medal count wasn't as bad as it seemed when she wrote this piece. The United States came in second to China, which isn't a terrible result. On the other hand, the U.S.'s total medal scores were only a little over half of China's – not so good. The Paralympics are fun to watch, and deserve a lot more attention and support. And for those in my country who care about such things, we have a lot of work to do.

How different countries approach assisted dying

Joe Wood, Disability Debrief - March 11, 2026

"As former Paralympian Christine Gauthier puts it, 'Are you serious? Like that easy, you're going to be helping me to die but you won't help me to live?'."

I really appreciate this exploration of "assisted dying," including the fact that the author doesn't take a stand for or against. I am strongly agains. However, my position on this is heavily influenced by the fact that I live in a country, (one of the few), that doesn't have a comprehensive health care system for all, regardless of ability to pay. We do have a somewhat more developed and I would say empowering system of long-term care than some countries that have better health care systems. But our long term care systems are in the process of falling apart and being defunded right now. So that leaves little reason to feel confident that killing myself could really be purely a choice here in the U.S. The quote above explains the problem well. So does a cartoon I have seen many times in which a person in a wheelchair looks at a set of stairs leading to depression counseling in one building, and a ramp to assisted suicide at the building next door. There are also many racial, ethnic, religious, wealth, and class aspects to this question that far too few people are willing to contend with.

I maybe could support some kind of assisted dying for people with terminal illnesses. But I could never support it including non-terminal people with physical or mental disabilities – especially when we are denied access to services and supports that might enable us to choose a decent life instead of suicide. Put another way, failures in support and accessibility should never be a legal reason to allow someone to kill themselves And I am sorry, but I have little time for disabled people who campaign for assisted dying. I understand where they are coming from, and I can feel compassion for them. But, I don't think that justifies making such damaging policy out of a few disabled people's personal preferences and fears.

Instagram investigating AI profiles 'fetishising' disabled people

Jacob Evans, BBC - February 26, 2026

"Alison Kerry, head of communications at disability equality charity Scope, said the practice amounted to 'discrimination dressed up as content' ... She added: 'These AI images don't appear from nowhere – they're built from real disabled people's images, often without consent – and unmoderated comment threads turbocharge objectification and harassment.'"

The fetishizing or sexualizing of disabled people is a topic unto itself. To be absolutely clear, it's not the same thing as appreciating the beauty or sexual desirability of disabled people. Fetishization is objectification, robbing disabled people of our humanity and agency in yet another way. And it's been "a thing" for far longer than Artificial Intelligence has existed. But once thing AI does seem to do on a regular basis is turbocharge some of human beings' most hateful, disgusting, or simply problematic tendencies. Can AI actually learn the difference between alluring or sexualized content created by a disabled person, which arguably should be permitted – and exploitative content that uses disabled people's images for someone else's gratification and profit? I wonder.

Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. You can help promote Disability Thinking Weekday by forwarding it by email or posting on your social media. You can also comment by sending me an email at: apulrang@icloud.com. Collected comments are shared on the first of each month. A free subscription sends a newsletter to your email each weekday. Benefits of paid subscription include:

• A monthly recap with links to all of the previous month's shared articles, organized by topic.
• Listing as a supporter, and a link to your website if you have one.
• You can recommend one disability-related article for me to share per month in a weekday post.

To to subscribe, upgrade to paid, or make a one-time donation, click one of the buttons below:

I am so grateful for your help and engagement, in whichever forms you choose!