Safety in a Failing Economy

[Sachita]

Originally Posted by aishah

i feel this so much.

i love talking about sustainability, survival, etc. but i struggle with it a lot when working with sustainability organizers because frequently the solutions presented are NOT realistic for elders and disabled people especially, but also poor people and others. yes, in some urban areas now, if you are poor you can work on a community farm - IF you are able bodied. the truth is, most disabled people are going to be fucked when shit hits the fan because of our society's rampant individualist, independence/dependence model of dealing with disability. and there is still a LOT of 'survival of the fittest,' 'we'd be better off without the cripples' sentiment in the u.s. generally speaking. there's also a huge disconnect (in my experience) between folks who live off the grid due to severe mcs and folks who live off the grid for sustainability reasons, but there is so much in common between those two groups. i also feel like those of us who are working on building interdependent community-built access could probably focus more on working sustainably.. a lot of the work i've been doing over the last several months has dealt with introducing disability justice principles into permaculture/holistic health/sustainable living communities and trying to bridge the gaps between us. i'm not sure what the right answer is yet. but i think it's important to include disability in these conversations.

to answer the original question of the thread...



this is actually why i started doing sex work. if our entire society were to collapse or there were some kind of natural disaster it wouldn't be a viable option for me, but being a disabled person who doesn't have access to benefits and having lost my job during the recession, it is the best option for me right now. so sex work has always been my backup plan, i suppose.

i'm surprised no one's mentioned octavia butler yet...her book 'parable of the sower' is one of my favorites and was my first real introduction to sustainability/survivalist thinking.

I really want to address this but not sure how. I can talk about our challenges in bringing together a sustainable farm community. Everyone needs to do "something" in order for it to work. Exactly what that "something" is depends on the individual and needs of the community. Even if there are programs for each community to assist people with disabilities or elderly there obviously has to be a balance because you can't have a village of 30 disabled people and 5 able workers. The other thing that would concern me is what would define disability. I see able bodied people that could do "something" and not doing anything.

It doesn't cost money to make movement. I honestly get sick of the word "I can't" and hear too much of it. As long as we keep convincing ourselves that is the pattern we'll create. Learn something, teach, do anything but sit there or spend countless hours online complaining about what you don't have. This is not directed at you BTW, but my mindset. I am impressed by your gumption and honesty. I see nothing wrong with sex work if it doesnt eat your power. If you're ok with it and can use it as an effective tool then by all means! You go girl! But if you strive to step up then do it. You seem very articulate and intelligent. I bet you have a lot to offer without using your back.

But I'm not going to get caught up in the PC of it all. I do understand that they must be addressed and its everyone's responsibly.