Week One, Executive Orders and a 'Merit Based' Society

It's been a heck of a week. A problematic inauguration address, flurry of harmful Executive Orders, silencing of public health agencies & more. A look at how the disability community is being impacted

It’s been a very long week. Trump was inaugurated on Monday Jan 20th and since then there’s been a flurry of executive orders that are damaging to the disability community, not to mention our LGBTQ+, immigrant and marginalized allies. In short, it feels like very dark days are ahead.

I’ve posted a number of times about the importance of stepping back and taking time to recharge. Unplugging from social media and the news because of the unrelenting negativity.

I’m not always great at taking my own advice. Researching this article was devastating to my nervous system, because a lot of the news is bleak. That said, I think it’s important to discuss the threats to our community and what various executive orders mean for those with disability.

If you’re feeling triggered, exhausted or overwhelmed, feel free to stop reading. Come and revisit this when you have more spoons. For my part I’ve tried to keep things as calm as possible. You won’t find outlandish click bait titles or blurbs that are clearly intended to stoke fear.

If you’re struggling to unplug and rest and need some advice, I wrote an article that you may find helpful. Remember that even if you can’t rest right now, it’s ok. Just keep trying. Radical rest doesn’t come easy, but it’s worth it.

It's Time to Throw Away the 'Coulda, Woulda, Shouldas' and Practice Radical Rest

Let’s dive in.

First things first, I don’t think it’s possible to discuss escalating fascism without addressing the giant elephant in the room, Covid.

We’ve been in a global pandemic for over five years, and there is historical precedent for pandemics to pave the way for fascism and authoritarianism.

Our governments encouraged us to ‘get back to normal’ and take a ‘you do you’ approach to the pandemic as soon as they possibly could, stating clearly that the vulnerable would simply ‘fall by the wayside.’ As one of the ‘vulnerable’… I’ve been paying attention to what that messaging has created. It’s not good.

Photo by Jonathan Simcoe on Unsplash

Image Description: A photo of the American flag at half mast outside a grey building

“You Do You” Covid Policy and How We Got Here

When Trump won in November, I wrote an article explaining how Covid policies that encouraged tossing the ‘vulnerable’ by the wayside helped pave the way for his victory.

It wasn’t the ONLY factor, but it is a huge one that we can’t ignore. When Trump won in 2016 we could perhaps look at it as an aberration, but this time around the people knew exactly what and who they were voting for.

They knew he represented hate and division. They knew that he would destroy the lives of those who don’t look like him. They knew he would hand the keys to the kingdom to billionaire oligarchs who’ve already promised pain to the electorate.

They did it anyways.

This is what the people want, and that’s a terrifying realization for those of us in vulnerable or marginalized groups.

How did Covid policy impact this election result? One need not look further than the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 which helped give rise to fascism. Where there’s mass death and disability there is fear. Where there is fear there is opportunity. People will embrace a leader who makes them feel like they’re ‘superior’ as a means of coping with the trauma they’ve been through.

When Covid first struck in North America we were ‘all in this together.’ There was camaraderie and accommodations to help protect the most vulnerable. We had measures such as mask mandates, testing requirements and stay at home orders designed to slow the spread of the virus.

Then the vaccines rolled out and the great unmasking occurred. Despite the fact that vaccines do not prevent transmission or Long Covid, people were told to go back to work. To take off their masks. To stop worrying. They were told that ‘only the vulnerable’ were at risk.

Millions of people developed debilitating Long Covid in the months that followed that decision, most of them not clinically ‘vulnerable’. Social media was flooded with posts from previously young and healthy people looking for help adapting to life with a chronic illness. Looking for connection and companionship because they felt abandoned by governments who told them the threat had passed.

The disability community did everything they could to welcome and embrace these people, but society as a whole continued to shun us.

The party line has been and continues to be that if you’re not vulnerable, Covid is “mild”. Just a cold, not something worth worrying about.

The 20 million people dead and 400 million disabled would likely take issue with that statement, but given we’ve entered the age where facts and numbers don’t matter it’s hardly surprising that people have found a way to ignore staggering evidence that points to Covid being a serious threat to all.

It was a spectacular bait and switch in the name of capitalism. The powers that be wanted people back to work, back to spending money, back to global travel. So they told a comfortable lie that has killed millions of people and threw the disability community under the proverbial bus in the process.

Image Description: A grey background with a black and white wheelchair logo on it.

The truth is we are ALL vulnerable to Covid. This is a novel virus with devastating long term health implications and we should be humble enough to recognize that.

We could have applied the precautionary principle. We could have put robust mitigations like clean air and free respirators in place so that going back to work was safer. We could have adapted.

Apparently adaptation was too hard for the majority of people, so disabled, elderly and marginalized individuals who are deemed “higher risk” of Covid have been enthusiastically told to ‘stay home forever’. That their health is their responsibility and no one else’s.

When someone dies or becomes disabled from Covid the first question is almost always ‘how many comorbids did they have?’ as though that somehow means their death was acceptable. Palatable. They weren’t someone who really mattered anyways.

Do you see where this leads? You can’t make yourself the arbiter of another person’s fate. You can’t decide it’s ok to harm another person and expect to hold onto your humanity. It doesn’t work that way.

The only people who benefit from this amount of division and willful ignorance are people like Donald Trump. People in positions of power. The elite. They’ve created a world where people are willing to kill another human and act like it was ok because that person was ‘probably vulnerable anyways’. It’s not ok and it will never be ok.

Trump’s Second Term and the Executive Orders that Most Harm Disabled People

Now that we’ve established we’re in a society that doesn’t care what happens to disabled people, we need to look down the road at the next four years.

We need to pay close attention to Trump’s actions over the next few days and weeks as they will provide context for where we’re headed and how we can fight back.

Last Monday, Trump signed a flurry of devastating and outlandish executive orders. Some weren’t much of a surprise, while others represent the pinnacle of government overreach and make it abundantly clear that we’ve entered the age of fascist oligarchy.

Below are the ones I feel most directly impact the disability community:

• Withdrawal from the World Health Organization

  • Trump withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization, which drastically alters the budget the WHO have to combat threats to global health

  • It also means that the US will not be participating in pandemic negotiations which have been ongoing for years

  • Threats to public health and safety know no borders. In this age of global travel it’s unreasonable to expect a virus outbreak to remain in the country it emerged in. The WHO are instrumental in providing necessary updates on global threats and holding countries accountable for managing and containing them

  • The United States are currently experiencing a significant increase in bird flu outbreaks, and with this withdrawal the rest of the world could be left with no information about the spread of a virus which is a risk to the food supply, wild animals and humans

• Pause on Information and Updates from CDC, FDA and NIH

  • Withdrawing from the World Health Organization means that the United States will have to rely on Federal and State organizations for public health info

  • On Tuesday Trump ordered a pause on all information and updates coming out of the three largest public health agencies in the country

  • The CDC were preparing to provide three critical updates on H5N1 when the restriction went into effect, meaning the US and the world will lack information about their food supply

• Attack on DEIA Programs

  • Trump ordered all federal employees who work within the Disability, Inclusion, Equity and Accessibility departments to be put on paid leave effective Wednesday Jan 22nd

  • He requested lists of employees who were within these departments prior to election day

  • He’s demanded names and a plan to lay these employees off by Jan 31st

  • Many news organizations are reporting on this as ‘DEI’ only, and it’s critical to understand that Accessibility is part of these programs and also being targeted

• Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Treaty

  • Climate change can and will impact all of us eventually. The decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord and ‘drill baby drill’ will have devastating environmental consequences

  • As I’ve said many times, disabled people are often the canaries in the coal mine. Anything that can harm a person will hit us harder and faster than our non disabled peers

  • We saw this recently with the devastating California wildfires, where many disabled people were unable to evacuate and died

  • Food and medication shortages, mass migration, wildfires and devastating storms are impossible to manage when you don’t have your health

• Rescinded Biden’s 2022 Order to Lower Cost of Prescription Drugs

  • Many people with chronic illness are on a number of prescription drugs, and Trump has now rescinded an order that was aimed at lowering the costs of these drugs for those on Medicare and Medicaid

  • The United States already has some of the highest costs for prescription drugs in the world, and now those who most need assistance to pay for their medications will potentially face steep increases in price

• Remote Work

  • All federal employees were immediately ordered back to the office, ending long standing remote work arrangements

  • Remote work is critical for many people with disabilities who may not be able to work safely or efficiently in an office environment

  • Remote work also protects against the spread of Covid, with many high risk and Covid aware individuals choosing to work from home because employers have failed to mitigate Covid risk in office environments

• Executive Order Recognizing Only Two Genders

  • Trump waged an immediate war on the trans population with his executive order recognizing only two genders - Male and Female

  • Intersectionality is critical to the disability movement. It’s important we recognize that other groups are being targeted and stand up on their behalf

  • His order is more than just changing definitions of sex and gender, there are policies that will cause harm to a person’s health. For example, they’re ordering that no federal funds be given to prisons to provide gender affirming care. This is a fancy way of saying they will force inmates to de-transition, a process which is harmful to health and wellbeing

  • They also plan to reassign trans people to prison populations that align with their biological sex and not the gender by which they identify. This puts them at risk of abuse

• Covid Related Actions

  • Trump immediately rescinded a number of Covid related executive orders (listed below)

  • Executive Order 13987 of January 20, 2021 (Organizing and Mobilizing the United States Government To Provide a Unified and Effective Response To Combat COVID-19 and To Provide United States Leadership on Global Health and Security).

  • Executive Order 13996 of January 21, 2021 (Establishing the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and Ensuring a Sustainable Public Health Workforce for COVID-19 and Other Biological Threats).

  • Executive Order 13997 of January 21, 2021 (Improving and Expanding Access to Care and Treatments for COVID-19)

  • Executive Order 14002 of January 22, 2021 (Economic Relief Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic)

  • Rescinded the requirement for federal workers to be vaccinated against Covid

  • I don’t know what Covid policy will look like going forward, but given his own Vice President spearheaded a policy banning federal organizations from mandating masks, I can’t imagine it will be good

  • I suspect we are seeing the end of all Covid reporting and vaccine mandates. The costs for treatments like Paxlovid may very well go up, and we may see an end to Long Covid research and funding

  • In short, there’s never been a better time to wear a well fitted respirator. Protect yourself from repeated Covid infections because the government are certainly not going to help you

• Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship Claims

  • This order targets non profits and advocacy organizations who attempt to combat misinformation or disinformation. He is making it so correcting misinformation is a violation of freedom of speech

  • He already controls most of the major social media networks and many news organizations are taking a knee and kissing the ring

  • Non profits will be crucial for accessing accurate information over the next few years, and this feels like a blatant attempt to silence them

  • There’s a myriad of misinformation around chronic illness, especially conditions like Long Covid and ME/CFS. When someone becomes disabled there are punishingly long waits for medical care, and they often look online and to advocacy organizations for support

  • If social media is overrun with misinformation and advocacy organizations are prohibited from correcting it, patients will suffer

• Immigration Policies and Mass Deportations:

  • I think we can all agree that Trump’s immigration and deportation policies are cruel. He’s only been in office for a week and ICE officials are already raiding sanctuary cities and deporting people

  • Many immigrants live with disabilities which could make it harder for them to adjust to being sent back to their country of origin

  • Children may be left without their parents and/or primary earner, which will make it harder for them to grow up healthy and happy

  • Undocumented immigrants may be afraid to seek medical care for fear of being ‘caught’, and this could lead to more infectious disease spread

  • Teen Vogue has an excellent article on how to form Neighbourhood ICE Watches to protect the people in your communities. I highly recommend people check it out and consider following their advice. Community will be what saves us in the end

Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash

Image Description: A hand holds up a sign at a protest. The sign has a rainbow on it and reads ‘Love Trumps Hate’

The Inauguration Speech and Move to a “Merit Based” Society

Now that we’ve looked at some of the most damaging Executive Orders, let’s consider what Trump said in his Inauguration Speech about how he intends to ‘Make America Great Again.’

He said he will create a ‘merit based society’. Sounds innocent enough right? It’s not.

‘Merit Based’ is a fancy way of saying that your worth will be judged based on capitalist contribution. There will be no protections for marginalized or disabled individuals, that’s why they’re eliminating DEIA programs. There will be no incentive to hire those who don’t look like Trump, and we all know that many employers DO discriminate based on race, sexual orientation or disability.

This is not the first time we’ve seen governments strongly insinuate that those who are unable to work are to be ‘left by the wayside.’ Ever since Covid started disabling people at a rapid rate, there’s been a horrifying rise in eugenicist thinking and policies.

Take for example the UK Labour Party who posted on Twitter a few months ago about their plan to ‘Get Britain Working for You.’ They said:

“If you have a health condition or disability and don’t want to be written off, we will offer you a pathway back to work.”

Not all disabled people CAN work. Accommodations are a wonderful thing, but we must acknowledge the fact that many people are too sick to work in any capacity. The idea that they should be ‘written off’ is a ghastly example of ableist attitudes that tell disabled people their lives are not a priority.

Image Description: A screenshot of a tweet from the UK Labour Party. There’s a graphic of various people (two in wheelchairs) at the bottom. Text in footnotes.¹

Pierre Poilievre, the man running the Conservative Party of Canada, recently said he only recognizes two genders and that his goal for Canada is for ‘anyone who works hard to get a powerful paycheque’. Those of us who can’t work? We don’t even get mentioned. It’s not hard to figure out that we will not be getting the types of robust social supports we need.

Should you have any doubt remaining about Trump’s hatred of disabled people, and the fact that his followers don’t object to his ableism but actively encourage it, I ask you to remember that he openly mocked a disabled reporter during his first run for President. People cheered and elected him anyways.

His own nephew has said that Trump suggested ‘letting his disabled son die’. If that sounds horrific, it’s because it is. But here’s what I need you to remember, Trump is not the only person who thinks this way. He’s just the loudest about it.

Far too many people in society believe disabled people are ‘better off dead.’ How many of us have heard comments like “I don’t know how you do it, I could never live the way you do?”

They may not realize the undertones of what they’re saying, but they’re not lost on me. They act as though we have some choice in our disability. Like we can go to the doctor and get new parts for our bodies and suddenly be ‘well’ again.

That’s not how disability works. When you say you could never live like us, you’re telling us you think our lives aren’t worth living. That we are better off dead. That if it happened to you, you wouldn’t want to carry on.

People will even go as far as to say that they would end their lives if they become disabled, a statement that shows just how deep ableism runs. People are so afraid of disability that when they picture themselves having to face it, they think suicide is the better option.

The reality is most people can and do continue on after becoming disabled. We build full, rich lives for ourselves. We want to not only survive, but thrive. We recognize our intrinsic value and find ways to give back to our community and the world. We show up for others. We keep going.

Surviving and thriving would be much easier in a world that wasn’t embracing eugenics. In a world that refuses to assign worth based on capitalist contribution. In a world that refused to elect Donald Trump again.

Unfortunately that’s not the world we live in, so we must fight.

How Do We Resist?

I know it feels like we’ve been fighting for years. Many of us are rightfully exhausted, frustrated and burned out. Remember that it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Or as another disability advocate once told me… it’s a relay.

I like the relay analogy, it means that when you need a rest someone else on the team will take over for you. We have each other’s backs because we are a strong community and our spirit will not be broken.

I posted a Note on Substack the other day outlining some of the things you can do to resist:

It’s important to not give up hope. When you lose hope, it’s incredibly difficult to continue the fight.

Even those of us who are chronically ill can still help in our own way. I help by writing and sharing content that assists those in need. I focus on advice for how to resist, mutual aid requests, and tips for living with chronic illness. I believe the antidote to fascism and disinformation is to disseminate accurate, clear and helpful tools to as many people as possible.

You can and should also wear a mask, ideally a respirator like an N95. Believe it or not, that’s a powerful act of resistance. It shows the government that you do not believe people are expendable. It tells them that no matter how much they obfuscate, hide or outright gag public health data, you know that Covid isn’t over.

It also helps safeguard your health. A good respirator protects against more than just Covid, it will help you avoid most viruses and bacterial infections as well as assist with wildfire smoke, allergies, pollen etc. I promise you it’s far easier to resist when you still have your health, so do whatever you can to safeguard it.

If you’re already chronically ill like me, it’s still important to mask up to avoid further setbacks and deterioration of your baseline. We have an intense fight ahead and we need as many spoons as possible to get us through.

Lastly, look for the helpers. They’re everywhere. The Disabled Ginger community is filled with kind, empathetic and compassionate people who believe that we can overcome. Who support those who are marginalized, disabled, unhoused, LGBTQ+ and immigrants. Who stand up for what’s right. Who won’t back down.

Look for ways to BE a helper. You would be surprised how simple this can be. I know I often feel frustrated that my health means I can’t protest or be boots on the ground support, but there are still things I CAN do. Whatever you can do to make life easier for someone who’s struggling right now is a win against fascism and oppression. Love over hate. Always.

A Word for Our Trans Friends

Photo by Katie Rainbow 🏳️‍🌈 on Unsplash

Image Description: A photo of trans wallpaper which is pink, light pink and blue stripes

This article focuses on how Trump’s actions and Presidency pose a direct threat to the disability community, but I want to take a moment to also call out the assault on trans people. Because that’s what it is, a full out assault that’s poised to become a genocide if we don’t rise up to stop it.

Trump is seeking to invalidate their existence, strip them of their rights and dignity. If you want to learn more, you can read about his entire plan on the White House website, but trigger warning applies as it’s particularly awful.

It’s incredibly offensive that he’s coming for our trans friends in the name of ‘protecting women.’ As the victim of sexual assault I’m livid that he’s acting like this is for my safety. He was found liable of sexual assault. He associates with and employs men who’ve been accused of rape, who have a history of misogyny and abuse (just look at Pete Hegseth).

This is NOT about protecting women. This is about conditioning you to accept atrocities.

If you don’t believe me, ask yourself why his administration is going after trans people this aggressively. Trans people are not a threat to anyone. Where they go to the bathroom or what genitalia they have is absolutely not our business. So why are the GOP so focused on this group? Why are they stirring up so much fear that trans people are predators looking to corrupt our children and/or assault women?

As

The Opinionated Ogre

wrote so eloquently, we’re being conditioned to accept atrocities. We’re being programmed to hate, divide and exclude. They’re testing the waters to see just how far they can go before people start pushing back.

Trans people are an easy target because they’re a small group with little support. Trans rights have made tremendous strides in the last few years, but large swaths of the population still don’t really understand them. What we don’t understand, we often fear.

Bullies target the most vulnerable. It’s been this way for thousands of years. They know that trans people don’t have many allies, so they’re going after them first. They won’t be last.

Stand up for trans people. Even if you don’t know any. Even if you don’t understand them. Be a safe person and ally.

I pledge that The Disabled Ginger will always be a safe space for members of the LGBTQ+ community, you will always have a friend in me.

If you want to learn more about the trans experience and meet an awesome person in the process, I recommend checking out

Robin Taylor (he/him)

. His publication “That Trans Friend You Didn’t Know You Needed” is a wonderful resource for getting to know a trans person.

I also recommend

Erin Reed

whose publication “Erin in the Morning” is excellent independent journalism which focuses on trans rights.

Be The Light

No matter what happens from here, I want to remind everyone that by simply choosing to reject hate and help others, you are bringing light into the darkness. Don’t give in to despair.

I’m reminded of a quote from Miep Gies, a young woman who helped the Frank family hide from the Nazis. Almost everyone knows the story of Anne Frank, but many don’t know Miep’s. I highly recommend learning about this incredible woman who has repeatedly said that there was nothing special about her, she simply saw an atrocity occurring and tried to help:

I am afraid that if people feel that I am a very special person, a sort of heroine, they may doubt whether they will do the same I once did. But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room.”

If you need one more example of the difference a single person can make, I encourage you to read about Bishop Budde. She was giving the sermon at The National Prayer Service the day after Inauguration and spoke boldly and directly to President Trump in an effort to plead with him to show mercy:

"They pay taxes and are good neighbours. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras and temples"

"I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away."

As you can imagine, Trump was not interested in showing mercy. He sat in the pew looking cross and then took to Truth Social later that night to lambaste her and demand an apology (which she is rightfully refusing to give).

This isn’t the first time she stood up for the marginalized within our society. Matthew Shepard was only 21 years old when he was brutally murdered in a gay hate crime in 1998. He lacked a final resting place due to concerns that his grave would be vandalized.

In 2018 Bishop Budde led a service at the Washington National Cathedral in his honour, and allowed his ashes to be interned there. She said:

“His death was a wound on our nation. We are doing our part to bring light out of that darkness and healing to those who have been so often hurt, and sometimes hurt in the name of the church.”

People like Miep Gies and Bishop Budde are a reminder that we can all do our part to stand up to hate. Every action, big or small, causes a ripple effect of kindness that we may feel for generations to come. It makes it harder for people like Trump to advance their hateful policies. It shines light into the darkness.

How are you protecting your health and nervous system right now? Are you struggling with how much bad news is out there? Do you have a support network or a safety plan in place?

What are you doing to try and help others? I would love to hear in the comments below, and if you need support please comment or send me a message. Let’s lift each other up during these difficult times.

1. This is what Labour's plan to Get Britain Working means for you

WHAT DOES LABOUR'S PLAN TO GET BRITAIN WORKING MEAN FOR YOU?

If you're looking for work, we'll help you find a job and then help you get on in your career

If you have a health condition or disability but don't want to be written off, we will offer you a pathway back to work.

If you're a young person starting out in your career, we'll make sure you are able to learn or earn.

If you're an employer looking for talent and potential, we'll help you find the person you need.