I can never understand why outright ableism is treated so differently than other forms of prejudice.

If Google had put together a hackathon where we swapped out "disability" for "black," "women," or "queer," no one would quietly be talking about how we should "explore the opportunity" so we can bring them around. We'd be livid and working to boycott the project in general.

What is it about ableism that allows us to grin and bear it, and look for the long game rather than demanding short-term action? Why is the disabled community asked to be quiet and meek, while their "allies" do just as much damage as those who openly admit that they see us as objects or unworthy of life?

Oh, and it's not the "tech industry" that largely ableist. It's pretty much every industry out there.

On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 5:43 PM, Vicky Knox <vknoxsironi@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm no longer in town but I have something to say.

I think this is a good opportunity to explore. I hear your concerns about their approach, Ryan. I am particularly irked by the inspirational music in the video. *shudders*

That said, I would love to take this opportunity to transmit our collective concerns and critiques to them...call it "hacking their framing". :] Whether one likes it or not, these folks have a lot of power in shaping popular technology development and understandings into the future. While we may not revolutionize Google, we can at least encourage them to do their bidding in a way that is a little less evil.

I'm happy that they're directly reaching out to hackerspaces, which means they may take notes. I'm also happy that they're reaching out to us because our social ecosystem is quite a bit more diverse than theirs and therefore has more potential for wisdom (I wonder, have they reached out to Mothership or LOL?). The tech industry (or any business that requires a steep social capital (whiteness, maleness, ability to work 40+ hours/week, etc.) in order to have a better (or any) chance at getting employed), after all, is largely ableist and culturally stagnant. Please excuse my nesting.

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