Tremors: a zine about being an artist with chronic shaky hands!

hello !! I’m atomic, and we’re an artist with a mild hand/limb tremor, so what better thing to do then make a zine about it 👀

Just thinking about the fact that I turned in a photo of me using my wheelchair with the text "Disabled people have sex!" overlaid on it for an extra credit assignment in my human sexuality class this semester.

I don't even remember what a no pain day feels like anymore, I've gotten so used to the aching and throbbing pains, I can't even fathom having zero pain.....10+ years of this already and I finally have a doctor's appointment with someone whom I hope listens to me and is able to help me.

Anyone who has gone to a hospital’s emergency room expecting to receive medical care — not knowing where else to turn, uncertain whether a loved one is having a medical emergency and what can be done about it, or unsure if they can pay — has relied on a law they couldn’t name: the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). It's now in danger from the Supreme Court.

Almost cried at Olive Garden yesterday

(cw eating issues/TMJ)

I rarely go out to eat, but my client wanted to go. I almost didn't order anything since pasta and soup are a pain to eat with a mask, and everything else was too chewy/large/crunchy, etc. (Even salad was out since the greens are too thin for me to chew right now 😩)

I asked the server if I could get the spinach dip and substitute the flatbread crisps for something softer. She didn't get it so I said I have TMJ, and she suggested I use the bread sticks. I was a bit deflated since that bread is really chewy, but planned on just taking it home and eating it with a spoon or wrapping a slice of bread in a moist paper towel and microwaving it (sad TMJ hack, lol).

But the server came out with a big smile, saying that she'd worked there for 14 years, and had never seen the cook like this. She'd told him what I said, and he cut up the flatbread into small pieces and focused on cooking it just enough to be as soft as possible so I wouldn't have to open my mouth too wide or chew too much.

It seems so fucking silly, but that little bit of kindness almost had me tearing up in front of my client.

I was a bartender for 6 years, and I know how annoying/inconvenient it can be when customers ask for unusual things.

But I am so grateful to all the servers, cooks, etc. that take a couple minutes to make existing in this world just a little less shitty 🖤🙏

I’m so tired of being honest about my pain level and having no one believe me because I don’t show pain the way they expect

Hello! There is a project in my sociology class for college that requires interviews! As someone with disabilities (physical and learning) and is in STEM myself (neuroscience major), I really wanted to do my project on this :D! So, if you have the time and identify with being disabled please fill out this form! It is completely ANONYMOUS! As for what is STEM, I am accepting anyone that is studying and/or has a job relating to the STEM field including social sciences. Hopefully it should not take too long to fill out!!! I would be SO appreciative!

People with low spoons, someone just recommended this cookbook to me, so I thought I'd pass it on.

I always look at cookbooks for people who have no energy/time to do elaborate meal preparations, and roll my eyes. Like, you want me to stay on my feet for long enough to prepare 15 different ingredients from scratch, and use 5 different pots and pans, when I have chronic fatigue and no dishwasher?

These people seem to get it, though. It's very simple in places. It's basically the cookbook for people who think, 'I'm really bored of those same five low-spoons meals I eat, but I can't think of anything else to cook that won't exhaust me'.

And it's free!

I think the reason a lot of leftists struggle with disability justice is that they haven't moved past the concept that discrimination isn't bad because it's objectively "wrong." yes, sexists are objectively wrong when they try to claim women are dumber than men. yes, antisemites are objectively wrong that jewish people are inherently greedy and run the state. yes, racists are wrong when they try to claim that white people are the superior race. and so on.

but then with disabled people, there are a lot of objective truths to the discrimination we face. people with IDs/LDs do fall behind and struggle with certain concepts. physically disabled people are often weaker and less capable of performing demanding tasks than able bodied people. many of us with mental illnesses are more reckless and less responsible. a lot of us are dependent on others and do not contribute much "worth".

and guess what? disabled people still deserve a place in the world. disabled people still deserve the supports they need. because they are people, and that should be enough to support them and believe they deserve a place at the table.

if your only rebuttal against discrimination is its objective inaccuracies, you are meeting bigots where they are at. you are validating the very concept that if and when people are truly incapable of being equal to the majority, that means they are worth less. this causes some leftists to then try to deny the objective realities of disabled people and/or become ableist themselves.

your rallying behind marginalized groups should start and end with the fact that people are completely worthy of life and equity, because they are fellow human beings and that should, frankly, be enough.

This is a big thing that I continue to work on unlearning/relearning

Sorry I Spent all mY spoons this week already and it's fucking Tuesday. We're heading to the knives