7/27/26 - Ableist rhetoric in politics, evaluating disability art, and a disability graphics store

Good afternoon

How is everyone's summer going? Mine has been good so far, though a week or two of intense heat and wildfire smoke from Canada kept me indoors for quite a while. Lucky for me, I'm not much of an outdoors person, so it's never that much of a hardship for me to be "stuck" inside.

Let's get back to some regular article shares ...

Mitch McConnell’s Disability Isn’t the Story. His Fitness for Office Is.

John Loeppky, Disabled Journalists Association - July 9, 2026

"Still, it’s hard for some to see the current rhetoric as anything other than being rooted in vitriolic ableism. Similar to when body-positivity advocates call out critiques of Trump’s body instead of his violent policies, some disability advocates find it hard to take that Trump’s—and now McConnell’s and Kean’s—detractors have resorted to the same brand of attacks on their bodily capacity."

This is the problem I've had with the discourse about ableist rhetoric in politics since around the start of Trump's 2016 campaign. Is it okay for disabled people, with our own disability-based reasons to fear Trump, to use his age or speculation about his physical or mental health against him? My concern wasn't so much that it might be unfair to Trump himself, or to any particular politician. My fear was that using these fuzzy measures of "fitness" for office in cases that might seem reasonable would open the door for widespread ableism that would harm anyone with a disability running for office. Listening to what's considered normal political rhetoric in 2026, we have to admit that this fear in 2016 turned out to be justified And as was the case ten years ago, there are still plenty of more substantive criticisms to be made about politicians like Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell – or any Democratic politician for that matter. We don't need ableism to discredit bad, harmful politicians.

I Identify as a hater

C Somnus McGill, C Somnus McGill Substack - May 14, 2026

"I don’t like writing critique about work produced by someone who is just writing to a different audience. Regardless of the foundation of my own arguments it’ll always be hollow. My only issue is truly that I am not who the book is meant for. When I’m teaching I’m constantly trying to remind students that their writing is not for everyone and they need to understand that. That sometimes we don’t like something just because it is not for us, but the folks it is for are given intense wealth from experiencing the art. I pump so much applause for Lachi because I want to make it clear that she is not a bad artist nor does she produce bad art, even if it is not for me. I want folks to read and listen to her work!"

This is the first piece I've read from this blogger, and it spoke to me. There is a lot of authentic disability content out there that might be good, but isn't "for me." That makes it hard for me to judge whether it's worth sharing, and what to say about it. I like the way this blogger handles the situation – admitting he doesn't particularly enjoy a thing, but understanding how it can be appealing and helpful to a wider disabled audience. There are a lot of things in disability culture that are good and valuable, but not "for me." Maybe one of these days I'll try to map out what topics and styles of disability content I tend not to like, so I can be more aware of it and not let mere personal taste completely shape what I do here. I might even discover something really great by keeping a more open mind and making more of an effort to give things a fair chance.

All in Frame

Photography website

"A free stock photography collection led by disabled creatives to help marketers, advertisers, and creative teams tell more authentic stories about disability."

This is maybe the second or third disability stock photography site I have seen in the last several years, and it looks like a good one that could last and become a real resource. My own approach to graphics in my work has always been to avoid depictions of people, because most photos of disabled people send the wrong message or come off as inauthentic. And in any case, no matter how hard you try, depicting human individuals inevitably limits what an illustration can say. Maybe that's something I should rethink though. If I do, I know one good place to go for photography showing real disabled people, chosen and assembled by disabled people.

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