Disability Activists Have Taken Over Donald Trump’s Hashtag
People with disabilities have taken over Donald Trump’s hashtag #CrippledAmerica to spread disability awareness.
#Disabled community takes over #donaldtrump hashtag #crippledamerica. Mock us and see what you get.
— Nina G (@ninagcomedian) December 1, 2015
People with disabilities are now using #CrippledAmerica, originally made to promote Trump’s book of the same name, to tweet about their lives in America. The idea for the “takeover” came from comedian and disability activist Nina G.
“People perceive it as the disabled community doesn’t like the word ‘crippled,’ like it is a negative thing,” Nina G. told The Mighty. “It really wasn’t about that, it was about being heard.”
What I tell people when they say #dyslexia and #stuttering aren’t REAL disabilities. #CrippledAmerica #disability pic.twitter.com/cIT07vS33Q
— Nina G (@ninagcomedian) December 2, 2015
Nina G. wrote a blog post Dec. 1 in the wake of Trump’s alleged ridicule of a New York Times reporter with a disability and the presidential candidate’s comments claiming he’s done a lot for the disability community. Her post called for fellow activists to fill up the hashtag.
It read:
In protest to Trump’s initial remarks of Kovaleski and subsequent comments about how much money he has spent on people with disabilities, I propose we have a Tweet-in protest (just like a sit-in). To help educate Trump and the rest of the U.S. about the American disability experience, tweet #CrippledAmerica (a hashtag he has used to publicize his book released this month). Share your experiences of life, love, barriers, employment, parenting, sex, art and everything else that represents real disabled Americans! Let’s make our experiences heard.
People listened. The hashtag filled up with stories about life in America with a disability.
Tweeters discussed everything from their love lives, to work, to the daily challenges they face in their communities.
Check out some of the tweets below:
Being told I am lying about being deaf, because I am not currently wearing my hearing aids, is my life in #CrippledAmerica
— ????????Charlie???????? (@sailingstarship) December 3, 2015
Disability is largest minority in US. U can’t win w/o us
#CrippledAmerica #stealingyourhashtag— Lara Schwartz (@Lara_Schwartz) December 2, 2015
When most people hang out at the bar, they're drunks. When I do it, I'm an inspiration. #CrippledAmerica
— Brandon R. Friede (@brfriede) December 2, 2015
Went on a job interview several years ago, at a law firm. Turned out they had no entrance without steps. #CrippledAmerica
— TheEmperorIsNaked???? (@hotandhumid) December 2, 2015
People sometimes speak to me with the same voice reserved for dogs and small children. I have a master’s degree. #CrippledAmerica
— Sara Luterman (@slooterman) December 1, 2015
For all the non-Disabled people saying @realDonaldTrump is crippled in the brain. No thank you. We don’t want him. #CrippledAmerica ##IDPD
— Nina G (@ninagcomedian) December 3, 2015
#CrippledAmerica is having to convince able-bodied people that, in fact, you do deserve to exist. #DisabilityJustice
— Ryann (@ryann_patrus) December 3, 2015
College in #CrippledAmerica means there is no space in student spaces for the disabled student bodies.
— ????????Charlie???????? (@sailingstarship) December 3, 2015
When able bodied actors play a disabled character when there are hundreds of disabled actors struggling for employment #CrippledAmerica
— Kristin Duquette (@KristinDuquette) December 5, 2015
Nina G. says the hashtag has been a great opportunity for people with disabilities to be heard instead of being spoken for by people outside of the community.
“It would be great to have able-bodied allies who involved us in the conversation and looked to the disabilty community for leadership,” she told The Mighty. “People need to remember that we’re not talking points, were a community with our own feelings and thoughts. So many times people are being fought about in front of them but nod boy then involves them in that fight.”
h/t Upworthy
Melissa McGlensey is the former News Editor at The Mighty. Her writing can also be seen in Ms. Magazine, on the Ms.Magazine blog and in The Huffington Post’s Good News, Comedy and Impact sections. Melissa is also a New York City comedian who does sketch, improv and stand up. She is passionate about social justice, politics, Thai food, literature, disability rights and more. She is currently in a long-distance relationship with her cat, Sneakers, who lives in California. You can follow her on twitter at @OhHeyMeliss.
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