Disabled Hikers

Thank you everyone who came to our hangout in Portland yesterday! Creating disability space that is by us for us to build community is what we're all about. There's something so special about gathering as a cross-disability group to learn and share with each other, amd even better to do it in such a beautiful place.

Shout out to Portland Parks and the Forest Park shuttle team for supporting these events!

ID: 1) group photo of 13 people. Several are sitting in wheelchairs, others are standing with and without mobility aids. All are wearing a face mask. 2) the same group gathered around an overlook of a creek. Some are sitting on a rock wall. There are lush trees in the background.

Jimothy is the disability icon we need and deserve this year. 😆

Jimothy is a raccoon in Seattle who recently became internet famous for his disability. Jimothy likely has a congenital spinal formation that shortened his neck and body. He is a round little raccoon with long legs living the best trash panda life, and in this dumpster of a year we think he is an icon.

(This post is for a little levity and joy. Disability is natural even among our animal kin!)

ID: a photo of Jimothy the raccoon next to a tree on a background of the disability pride flag. Text around the photo reads disability icon of the year.

We are gathering in Portland in Saturday! Join us for a community hangout and accessible stroll at Lower Macleay Park. You can even take the new, free, lift-equipped express shuttle to the park!

Open to all members of the disability community. Your family, friends, and caregivers are welcome. Masks required (unless your disability prevents it). If its warm, we'll have a fan and cooling supplies. We will be under a covered shelter and the trail is shaded. You know where to find details!

Why Disability Pride?

It's okay to have complex feelings about Disability Pride Month - disability is a complex experience! But recognizing Disability Pride Month is important for so many reasons:

- the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects our civil rights, has only existed for 36 years.
- our rights are still under attack.
- Disabled activists have fought for decades to protect those rights and continue to do so, from the 504 Sit in, the Capital Crawl, the bus blockades, and so much more.
- Disabled people do not have marriage equality.
- Disability is not a "tragedy" or a "fate worse than de*th."
- Eugenics is still the default.
- Ableism, including internalized ableism, is still rampant.
- Disabled people have inherent value, and our communities are resilient.
- Celebrating the full spectrum of our lives, including pride, is important in a world that thinks we don't matter.

Disability Pride Month is about cutting through the isolation so many disabled folks experience, celebrating who we are, and (re)committing to the fight for our rights and value to be recognized.

It is not only about "raising awareness". It is also not ok to oppose Disability Pride because it reminds you of LGBTQ+ Pride. The months are distinct, but intersectionality matters. Bigots don't.

Of course, being disabled can suck. Living in chronic pain and fatigue and not having access to places and things isn't easy. But that doesn't mean our lives aren't valuable and worth living.

So we'll keep celebrating Pride even when it feels hard, and continue fighting for (y)our rights!