I’m really glad you’ve found the information helpful, this kind of consideration and inclusion can only make a community stronger.

Just one more point I think I should have included: not all disabilities are visible - from autism to PoTS to chronic pain to mental illness, some people might look perfectly abled but actually face many barriers and challenges, so remember to include them too (and again, not that you would, but in general - don’t doubt or question someone’s disability, like questioning why someone who doesn’t “look disabled” parks in a disabled bay or uses the disabled toilets or can’t stand in a queue but needs to sit even if they look young and fit. Not being visible doesn’t mean whatever it is isn’t having a massive impact).

Anyway, I’ve rambled on enough, and you clearly get it, so I’ll end on a - solidarity, comrade!

Yeah, yeah, “not all”, only enough to make sure there isn’t even a hint of socialist influence left in the party. Also, he doesn’t have to personally have removed someone from the party, for his actions and the actions of those who would fall in line with his establishment backed agenda to affect members of the party being sabotaged out of the party or leaving because they were made to feel unwelcome. The few that are left are relegated to the back benches and left with no real power to speak of.

In this thread there is already evidence of his dirty, unethical, and down right bigoted tactics, you not being comfortable enough to confront it doesn’t change the reality - Labour under Starmer is a neoliberal party that is serving capitalists and the establishment, and doesn’t have a hint of socialism nor solidarity or concern for the working class left in it (because when it does prop up as enough of a threat to the status quo, the threat is removed by whatever means necessary, it’s not like he has to go far when he’s deliberately stacked the party with other bootlickers who easily tighten ranks against anyone they no longer want around).

Obviously they won’t because that same system put them in power

Yes

and is currently holding far-right at bay

No, they’re acting as an establishment backed placeholder while the right regroups in preparation for a surge even further right next elections (when they get to blame all of the countries problems on “lefties”). Also the far right has made pretty significant gains this election.

Either way though you’re right - he has no reason to fix the voting system. People really need to let this sink in - Starmer isn’t there for the good of the country or the people, but his own and that of the establishment.

Absolutely, in case anyone needed more proof that the guy is 100% dedicated to the establishment and furthering his own career, not working class, and definitely not otherwise marginalised people (sadly, many do, so spreading this kind of info far and wide is not only welcome, but necessary).

If you’re not from here, my issue isn’t with you, people aren’t obliged to know the politics of all countries (though wherever you are, something similar is likely happening - the Overton window is shifting to the right globally), it’s the masses of locals who buy in to the idea that Starmer is a leftist that I find frustrating…

Corbyn was also at the helm of a horrible Labour defeat in 2019.

Corbyn lost by less than 3 million votes (E: in spite of a brutal years-long smear campaign literally designating him “unelectable”). A “horrible defeat” is the narrative the neoliberal media wants you to follow because it makes him seems like less of a threat to the establishment than he really was.

E: it’s a bit late and I doubt anyone will see this now, but after seeing it just mentioned on tv I had to add that Starmer won with about a third of the votes, while Corbyn lost with just under half. So no matter how the media or those who believe it try to twist things, and as if there’s really any doubt when you look at the reactions to each, but obviously it has to be said - Corbyn was demonstrably more popular than Starmer is.

The media is pushing the narrative that Labour is on the left of politics as a way to fear monger and ensure his failures will be seen as failures of left wing policies, and shift the Overton window further to the right as a result, but they haven’t even been in the centre, but rather completely past it and in to mild right wing since Starmer took over and purged all the actually left leaning members from the party, and made it clear that he has zero class, or any other conscious.

His entire career in opposition has been proof that he’s nothing but a Tory in a red tie, since he didn’t oppose them on anything of any substance, and his entire election campaign was cantered on benefitting businesses, not the people of the country.

He’s gone against unions, he’s neglected health and social services, he’s ignored disabled people, he’s mocked the fight against racism, he’s made it clear over and over and over again that he’s in politics to serve the establishment, and his own career, not the country or the working class people who carry it on our backs.

So like, yay, Tories are out, but actually, we just have more of the same, only this time the veil is thicker and there is a pretence of progressiveness, that is only going to lull liberals in to a false sense of security, and push centre and right winged voters even further to the right, and leftism remains unrepresented in our parliament, because it’s too big a threat to the establishment (why Starmer was brought in in the first place - damage control after Corbyn).

They could, but aren’t going to.

So far they have u-turned on every pledge they’ve made, specifically those about nationalising services, saving the health and social services from complete destruction from underfunding and privatisation, and stopping further cuts to a cruel benefits system they have no intention of addressing.

Meanwhile taxing the rich more wasn’t even in their pledges, all they talk about is making Britain “better for business” and making the population less “work shy”.

Anyone pinning any hope for significant change on Starmer’s blue Labour, hasn’t been paying any attention (or is out enough of direct harms way to not give a shit about those of us already at the bottom who will continue getting pounded).

What is happening now is the system self correcting. It was designed to concentrate immense power in the hands of a select, corrupt, few, all we’re seeing now is the illusions they’ve piled on to that slowly dissolve as they no longer need to keep up pretences.

Plenty of young people agree with him, because this isn’t a generational issue, it’s a class one.

So clearly I don’t speak for all disabled people, and as you say, and as is with any group, the needs of disabled people are individual and can change depending on many factors, so I don’t know if I can really give a conclusive answer to that.

You do touch on respect, and that’d probably be the top priority (and again, probably applies to interacting with all people) - we don’t need saviours, we need comrades. Respect the individual and their boundaries, they know themselves better than you do, and if they say no to something, trust that they know what’s best and back off without taking personal offence (and if helping is contingent on someone being nice and eternally grateful - don’t do it. Only help another person because you want to help them, not because you’re looking for praise and adoration. Not saying you’d do this op, but far too many do - like people who grab your wheelchair and push without asking or being asked and then get angry when you ask them to stop).

I think other than that, the main almost universal one would be electricity. Even if someone doesn’t depend on it to power life sustaining machinery and/or aids (and many do), or seems like they immediately need electricity to survive, things like maintaining and controlling bodily temperature can be difficult or even impossible for some, so things like air conditioning, or heating pads (which are also vital for many for pain management), are essential (E: also, communication devices!). So having portable generators or other alternative sources of backup power in case of emergency can be a huge help.

Beyond that, the only way you can know is to get to know the disabled people in you community, build relationships friendships and trust, listen to them and let them know you’re there to offer help and support if they need it. If they feel safe and comfortable, they will come to you when and if they need it.

I agree with everything you’ve said, just one tip: please don’t call us “differently abled”, we’re disabled, and there is nothing wrong with calling us that.

Otherwise, thank you for actually including us in the first place, not many people do.

This is like reading a reverse horoscope - you’ve just thrown as many negative traits as you could think of at the wall, knowing at least a few will stick.

Nothing on your list couldn’t also apply to an adult, especially those most privileged and entitled in society.

To add to the extensive information you’ve already been given, I would highly recommend the Anarchist FAQ, which is all good, but specifically section J breaks down the “what can we do about it” part.

The anarchist Library in general is a fantastic resource, another good place to start might be David Graeber’s Are You An Anarchist? The Answer May Surprise You! or Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid.

Happy exploring!

It’s no longer the case that everyone in America is equal under the law.

Is there a “never has been” version of the “always has been” meme?

Them taking the mask off and being open about it is serious and dangerous don’t get me wrong, but lets not pretend the law is, or ever was written nor administered equally - filthy rich and powerful white men in particular have always put themselves above it.

America’s big problem is not Joe Biden, it’s the menace to democracy posed by Donald Trump

It’s neither, the problem is the illusion that we call democracy, and the compromises we (the people, not the rulers, of course) are told we have to make in order to maintain it (AKA the status quo) despite it being designed to keep us down (again, by providing an illusion of choice) rather than serve us.

As another person already said - trump is just a symptom, it is the system that enables and encourages his existence, and it is the system that needs to be abolished if the working class is to ever have a shot at justice, equity, and equality.

Articles like this are acts of systemic self defence - deflection to keep us looking at the illusion instead of the reality.

People saying it’s escapism inadvertently proving that it’s working as intended, because it isn’t there for escapism, it’s a distraction, a very deliberate choice to do with keeping poor people “aspirational”.

It’s about reinforcing the lie that is “The American Dream” (or the “trad life”), and the idea that the people watching really are just the temporarily embarrassed millionaires they’ve been made to believe they are, that are actually just Christian white supremacist patriarchal capitalism doing what it needs to to maintain its control - promote the “perfect” cis-heteronormative nuclear family, living in the house with a white picket fence (now evolved in to a McMansion), with 2 cars in the drive, not only as an ideal, but as the norm.

The idea that a movie can’t provide escapism if the people in it aren’t rich, again, just goes to show just how well this specific brand of propaganda works.