(Nov. 7)

@Shepherds4Good: Palestinian children in Gaza hold a press conference outside Al Shifa hospital, speaking English so the world cannot pretend not to understand them: “We come now to shout and invite you to protect us; we want to live, we want peace… we want to live as the other children live.”

Ghost Plant (Monotropa uniflora)

Family: Heath Family (Ericaceae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed

Over 80% of plants form mutualistic relationships with soil-dwelling fungi, linking their roots to the fungus' hyphae and providing photosynthetically produced sugars in exchange for hard-to-access nutrients that the fungus takes in from the soil. The Ghost Plant, which is found mainly in temperate shady forests across much of Asia and the Americas, also connects its roots with the hyphae of fungi (specifically members of the family Russulaceae,) but contributes nothing; it is a parasite, stealing nutrients not only from its host fungus but also from other plants (particularly birches) that its host is also connected to. Living entirely on stolen nutrients means that Ghost Plants have no need to carry out photosynthesis, and as such they lack the green pigment chlorophyll that almost all plants use to absorb sunlight, giving them their namesake eerie white appearance (although on occasion pale pink individuals are recorded) and allowing them to survive in dark, shady conditions that other plants are unable to colonise. Ghost Plants bloom rarely and unpredictably (as they do not photosynthesise they have no need for aboveground leaves or stems when not reproducing, but apparently develop stems and flowers rapidly during periods of wet weather following prolonged dry conditions,) baring a single bell-shaped white flower with a black-and-yellow interior that attracts various species of bees and flies. Following pollination the plant's tiny seeds are forced through gaps in its petals and carried away on the wind, remaining dormant in the soil they settle on until they detect a suitable host fungus growing nearby.

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Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/49477-Monotropa-uniflora

Love how shit the media is.

I wish people would understand this

Having to continue to exist as normal on high pain/flare days is so shitty. Especially with a 6 and 4 year old that have needs that must be met no matter what, it lengthens the flare for so much longer than if I actually got time to do nothing but rest. They're the reason to keep going, and the love I have for them is unmatched; I wish that things were easier for all of us.

Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun 2015 (© Ahmed Hjazy)

Mood.

fucking hate the "well it's not technically marriage inequality that disabled people can't get married without losing their benefits because no one's stopping you from getting married" yeah something is stopping us from getting married. Loss of medical care. Homelessness. Hunger. Death. I don't know how to tell you this but SSI is not a thing that you get because you could technically get a job but you don't feel like it. The process is awful, it's dehumanizing and it can take years even if you're clearly disabled. If you can work you do work, and if you can't work you can't afford to lose your "benefits". It's eugenics plain and simple, it came from a time where you could only fuck if you were married and they wanted to de-incentivize disabled people from fucking so we would stop existing.

shout out to “gross” disabled people.

people who can’t shower/bathe people who can’t shave people who can’t wash their clothes people who need help going to the bathroom people who have nasty habits (biting nails, picking nose, etc) people who can’t brush their teeth people who can’t go to the doctor people who can’t clean their room people who can’t make their beds people who vomit a lot people who wet the bed people who constantly have diarrhea people who’s physical deformities are seen as repulsive

and every other kind of person I missed that deserves to be here too.

you are people, first and foremost. your thoughts deserve to be heard, discussed, acknowledged, no matter what. you are not lesser. you are just another person. you should never be ignored for what you can/can’t do. you deserve care.

to abled people: check yourself. make sure you listen. and you can reblog, just don’t derail. maybe don’t add on, either.

EDIT: reblog this version instead, please.

If it isn't safe for you to do, of course work within your comfort. Stand up for yourself however you feel you can safely. For those of us who CAN do these things, do it.

put spikes on your wheelchair's handles. wrap barbed wire around your cane or crutch so it'll hurt like a motherfucker if someone kicks or grabs it from under your hand. wear a personal alarm and pull the pin every time someone moves you without your consent, leans on your chair, takes a seat on your rollator, taps your hearing aid, steals your AAC device. scream for help when you're abducted. wail like you're in agony when people trip you up or knock into you. take pepper spray to the grocery store. take a knife to the club. leave cards that say "fuck you" under the wipers of inconsiderately parked cars and scratch access codes for bathrooms on the outside of the door. we are not begging for mercy, we're fighting dirty. we have to.

Disabled people should be allowed to exist in public. Yes, I mean all disabled people.

That includes people with tic disorders.

That includes people who smell ‘bad’.

That includes people who can’t help being loud.

That includes people who move ‘strangely’.

That includes people with bulky mobility aids.

That includes people who drool.

That includes people who struggle with incontinence.

We all should get to exist, however that looks, and go out in public, use public transport, do activities outside our homes. And we should be allowed to do those things without being glared at or having ableist things said to us.