Notices by Trekhausen (she/her) (trekhausen@todon.eu)

'Centrism' is the other side of the same coin as fascism; 'centrism' helps create the conditions for the rise of the far right and they actually would rather work with the far right than the left - as shown by how many 'centrists' have adopted far right policies and language whilst crushing mildly left options e.g. Corbyn e.g. Sanders - as the far right do not threaten the status quo, they don't threaten capital and profit. Biden, Macron, Starmer et al, they all aid the far right whilst professing to be the only way to stop them. Fuck the so called 'centre ground', just a way for people to pretend/perform (in a very limited way) that they want to do something about injustices and inequalities without actually threatening any of the institutions and power systems that create and reinforce such injustices and inequalities.

The social security system is shaped by an ideology where as Disabled people, if we aren't creating (or, enough) surplus value for capitalists, our needs, hopes and dreams are deemed to be something we don't deserve. Instead, it's about how 'productive' we are. In the UK, we're asked questions like how long we can sit or stand, and whether we can use a pencil as part of a demeaning Work Capability Assessment where the intent is to make us do something, whether work, or work related activities like job training, to access inadequate levels of income that are increasingly under attack as part of late capitalist divide and rule. Our worth, nor anyone's, should be determined by that revealing question of "what do you do?". We shouldn't need to *do* anything to have our needs met, live fulfilling lives, pursue creative passions without worrying the state will come after us and say, for example; well if you can do x that fills you with some joy and meaning that means you can work and you will now lose the little bit of income you have to survive. Our lives are not defined by work, 'productivity' or 'value', we matter beyond these socially constructed terms and related practices that are central to the inequalities, injustice, and problems we face today.

I have also done a lot of reflection on how this 'pushing through' mentality was also negatively shaping how I approached other things such as activism or how I used Mastodon and how going forward I need to be more accepting of the seriousness of my fatigue and related symptoms and the dangerous game I am playing by trying to 'keep up' because of not wanting to miss out or whatever. If it's something or someone worth my time, me being true to the energy limiting and multi system nature of my illness is essential - people will then know the real me. The amount of time I have spent worrying at night about the damage I am doing to my body and how I am getting increasingly closer to severe and also my fear of what will happen when I properly radically rest is a testament to how I really do need to change even further in how I live with this illness.

Then, talking of acceptance, after 10+ years of friendship I have a friend who also has Long-Covid - since 2020, like me - who has basically told my partner and I she doesn't want to know us because of two things:

1) My approach to Long-Covid - which for both me and my now former friend is very like ME/CFS - in having acceptance in terms of recovery. I said I don't trust these programmes focused on 'recovery' when they are making a load of money promising a 'cure' for people desperate to get better, when there is no scientific proven cure for this illness yet. Their methods also often involve a lot of dangerous stuff like CBT and GET but rebranded as something else. The things that do help with management of the symptoms can be found for free on the NHS or by talking to others in the community and what has and hasn't worked for them. I also said I was concerned about the individual focus that comes along with these recovery narratives and if you don't get better, or get worse, it is somehow your own failure - which obviously is what the state wants everyone to believe, especially given how many people are getting ill during the ongoing pandemic...

...I stated that for my own mental health I accept this is chronic and could be something that I never fully recover from. I think part of her long reply where she says "unfortunately it is largely down to the individual to make big changes in order to recover" is a good enough sum up of her brutal, very personal attacking response. Obviously, I would love to recover, of fucking cause, why wouldn't I. But I don't want my days to be focused on something I can't control. I'll do my best to manage my illness, within the confines of the capitalist bullshit system we live in, and do what I can from an activist point of view to fight for the community in solidarity, not as an atomised individual.

2) She then tied this into her criticism of how my partner and I's approach to the ongoing pandemic - you know, based on science and anti-eugenics and anti-ableism - is apparently scaremongering and fear based and that she does "not believe we are still in the middle of a serious Covid pandemic" and that "there is also not a lot of point wearing a mask for different reasons". She wants "proper human interaction" and other ableist shit. The length of this abusive shit message was very long, so I'm trying my best to summarise key points but will probably come back to this as I try to process yet another loss from this pandemic. Basically, as she sums up why she doesn't want to know us anymore: "I want to focus on recovery and getting out in the world and positive stuff and need to save my energy for this". Ouch.

You might be like, how were you friends with this person. The truth is, this is really sad because she has honestly become like a different person to the person we knew before the pandemic started and the person we have considered a very close friend for many years. I do think this relates to the rise and dominance of right wing, individualistic narratives and the failure of the left to have a consistent robust pro science, intersectional anti-ableist approach to the pandemic. Instead, us covid cautious people are the ones considered to be 'cranks' or toxic people by giving a shit about our own and other people's health. Also, in terms of her approach and views regarding Long-Covid, I can see how her desperation to get better - and people's exploitation of this - has shaped her attitude and behaviour; that isn't to excuse it, it's just important to understand if we are going to change things.

Solidarity with everyone who still wears a mask. Solidarity with everyone who has had friends and family turn their backs on them for being covid cautious. Solidarity with everyone who has Long-Covid and does all they can to make sure no-one else has to live through the daily difficulties we do. Solidarity to everyone fighting against ableism, eugenics, Social Darwinism and health supremacy. Solidarity to everyone who gets shouted at and abused for wearing a mask. Solidarity to everyone who keeps going despite the overwhelming hegemonic narrative that what we are living through is 'normal'. Solidarity to everyone sharing science and facts about how covid spreads and the dangers of covid. Solidarity with you.

#CovidIsNotOver #CovidIsAirborne #WearAMask #MaskUp #LongCovid #NotRecovered #Pandemic #AntiAbleism

...Attacking PIP is a further attack on independent living, disability rights and existence. The amount of money we are expected to survive on - and if not able to work, make do with no options to get additional money (or rely on things like family, which has a range of problems with it. Obviously mutual aid a big help here for many) and if can work, face additional barriers to employment e.g. lower pay - is at a disgustingly low level already. This strengthening of attack against Disabled people, timed for the UK local and general elections, is sadly predictable and incredibly dangerous. We will fight back, together; for instance Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) has committed to direct action as part of this. Fuck this system of power and divide and rule. Solidarity to all people affected by this, you're not alone. As Disabled people have always done throughout history, we'll fight back against this bile and hatred, together. Everything for everyone. We keep us safe.

#DisabilityRights #DPAC #Disability #ChronicIllness #IndependentLiving #PIP

The attacks on Disabled people and social security such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is further evidence of what the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Disabled People reported last week, which "said the UK government had 'failed to take all appropriate measures to address grave and systematic violations' of disabled people’s human rights and had 'failed to eliminate the root causes of inequality and discrimination' since November 2016. It particularly highlighted its failures on the rights to independent living, to work, and to an adequate standard of living and social protection, laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)." - https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/seven-years-on-and-no-progress-on-disability-rights-by-uk-government-says-un/

(Obviously to really tackle the root causes, things like capitalism need to go and no electoral system is going to help here!)

Central to independent living is the recognition that Disabled people face socio-economic and ideologically (e.g medical model) shaped barriers, linking into the social model of disability. PIP - which already has such a harmful, damaging application and assessment process central to it - is intended to help with related extra costs, whether in work or not...

#PIP #DisabilityJustice #UNCRPD #IndependentLiving

"Palestine Action shows us that direct action gets results"

Palestine Action permanently shut down Tamworth Elbit - @Freedom_Press

https://freedomnews.org.uk/2024/03/29/palestine-action-permanently-shut-down-tamworth-elbit/

#FreePalestine #Gaza #DirectAction #PalestineAction

It's now 4 years of having #LongCovid. My health has increasingly deteriorated over this time as more symptoms appeared, existing symptoms intensified. These include: crushing fatigue, headaches, fevers, nerve pain, nausea, brain fog, breathing problems, sore throats, dizziness, body pain, chest pain... I no longer work. I'm housebound and need a wheelchair for journey's outside and even then suffer from the experience. I've had a tour of health departments from neurology to cardiology, with this ongoing. I miss reading books. I get upset when I have ideas of things I want to do and then remember I don't have the spoons for it. Gaslighting, minimising and marginalisation from medical spaces and family/friends has been hard, but finding an online community has helped me so much, including by being a better advocate. I've especially found the #MECFS community very helpful - so many people with #LongCovid also meet the definition of ME/CFS (I am currently waiting on an official diagnosis for ME/CFS) and I think it is important the interconnections between the communities alongside the long-term harm and abuse the ME/CFS community has faced be highlighted today, and everyday, too. #MaskUp because #CovidIsNotOver

#LongCovidAwarenessDay

"It’s the greatest medical scandal of the 21st century. For decades, patients with ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome) have been told they can make themselves better by changing their attitudes. This devastating condition, which afflicts about 250,000 people in the UK, was psychologised by many doctors and scientists, adding to the burden of a terrible physiological illness."

Fantastic article, more here:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/12/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-me-treatments-social-services

#MECFS #DisabilityActivism #ChronicIllness #Disability #LongCovid

"We are calling for active resistance across the UK to these brutal attacks on disabled people."

More here on #NoMoreBenefitDeaths National Day of Action Monday 4th March 2024:
https://dpac.uk.net/2024/02/nomorebenefitdeaths-national-day-of-action-monday-4th-march-2024/

#DPAC #StateViolence #DisabilityActivism #DisabledPeopleAgainstCuts #AntiAusterity

@MediaActivist @PacificNic @Radical_EgoCom @begrudging_recluse @crowgirl @rotfarm @rybson @maxi @trendless @mitosiscollective @onepict @riotmuffin @jzed74 @lislegaard @quietmarc @kathimmel @bluejorts @dentangle @ivy @ophiocephalic @VickiWoodward @lashman @FrenchPanda @noondlyt @rolandelli Aw thank you very much!

Excited to be part of @mitosiscollective - we are a newly formed anarchist intersectional radical communal care collective! We see all forms of oppression as interconnected. Our intersectional values lead us to oppose all forms of oppression and injustice, including but not limited to ableism, speciesism, racism, queerphobia. We advocate for wearing masks, cleaning the air, accessibility, inclusion. Please follow the account for more information and updates!

#Anarchism #RadicalCommunalCare #Intersectionality #CovidIsNotOver

This has been a challenging start to the year. I have finally fully left the little remote/home based work I did because of my Long-Covid and ill health after wrongly 'pushing through' in a state of constant PEM - just varying in intensity - relying on adrenaline surges, my partner caring for me, being pretty much housebound and making myself worse and worse. I regret not stopping sooner. I regret how much extra damage I have done. Though, I understand there was a interplay of structural and agency shaping my choices. I also know I am lucky to have had the choice to 'push through' and how many would not have been able to choose that even if they had wanted to. I have now got a lot of social security applications and appointments which, coming as no surprise, is fucking tough and challenging. The questions you have to answer, the awareness of all the ways the state tries to screw you. I am lucky to have a super supportive partner helping me with this, someone from a local charity helping and can't talk highly enough about the Benefits and Work guides!!!

Cold weather warnings in the UK for this next week and it just makes me so angry, as I think about how so many of us can't afford to put the heating on very much, or at all. I think about people that are roofless. I then think about energy companies making record profits and the late stage capitalism status quo hegemonic rubbish narratives that this is somehow unavoidable, inevitable and not the system working exactly as intended. So many people and the planet suffer because of power, capital, profit and related divide and rule when we could have everything for everyone.

#AntiCapitalism #AbolishMoney #Anarchism

@MediaActivist @antiaall3s Totally can understand this feeling - it so often feels like we are boxed into a corner, which is very overwhelming and isolating. But that corner feels less oppressive since knowing people like you and the @radicalcommunalcare group. Solidarity and here to talk whenever you want to.

@MediaActivist @antiaall3s 100% agree! We have got each other's backs and will keep having them, as we collectively build our own intersectional radical resistance and care networks. This shit is hard but we will build new ways of doing things, connecting and being there for each other. #Solidarity