AuDN4T

This weekend was pretty intense. Yes, I’m going to use the word intense.

Saturday was filled with a lot of events – 3 protests, street photography, short hangout with a friend and a catch up with a friend at her coffee shop.

All three protests were meaningful and represent what’s currently going on in this world – locally, continental neighbourhood and abroad.

With our province, it feels frustrating and tiring. I’ve posted about it on FB. There’s so many things wrong going on and no one is holding the Premier accountable. He just keeps plowing through with dumb ideas that will benefit people in high places. All the while the people that pay him and his staff and other MPPs salaries and tax money just burns into the abyss and nothing is left to take care of the people here or even people outside of the GTA. He’s acting like the Premier of Toronto and not the Premier of Ontario. It’s mind blowing.

Being there felt therapeutic. I just wish we could be there during a work day – when Queen’s Park is in session. Make them tremble in their boots from the noise. Why can’t we just do a day of action like women in Iceland did when they were fighting for their rights?

I did want to speak but I just couldn’t get thoughts put together. I think I have an idea of what I’d want to say during the next protest.

Taking photos around the city was also therapeutic and had some political undertones.

Speaking with my Coffee Roaster Friend was also therapeutic. She’s just got such amazing viewpoints in this world but also just cares about people. We need more people like her.

I feel like I’m posting here and there and messaging is so complex and inconsistent? But if you compile it together, it’ll make sense?

We just need to support each other and fight for what is right. For the interest of us – people. And fighting for the underdogs that need that support because they’ll bring so much to the table. If the mom and pop shops are gone… where does that leave us? If those with disabilities are left behind, what purpose are we giving to them in life? How can we accommodate them? Seeing some people at the protest not be able to be thoroughly accommodated sucked to see. There was someone in a mobility device and couldn’t join us for a march around Queens Park. The very building that passes laws on AODA is not accessible to everyone…. even during protests. The infrastructure around Queens Park isn’t even pedestrian friendly. An acquaintance made a comment that it’s as if our politicians don’t want us there based on how it’s set up. Who planned this space? LOL. Do we really care about accessibility? Do our politicians care? And I mean the ever encompassing accessibility of visible and not visible disabilities or differences? We all at one point could potentially might need to use a wheelchair… and will they feel comfortable with the current set up of environment? Michener Institute had a great simulation for able bodied people of what elderly people may experience.

I think back to a moment I had with an elderly person at Woodbine Beach – she tried to pass me her phone to take a photo of her and her friends while I was at a lifeguard station. I forgot that lifting your arms above your head height may be very limited. Clicks in my head about my mom holding her hands up at the fridge to reset the computer. I keep forgetting she’s no longer 50 or 60 but 70. Shouldn’t have laughed about that mistranslation between seconds and minutes. I feel shitty now.

I know we have more boomers hitting that retirement age and the push to understand them better. But I think we need to have all these different factors included when we’re designing our spaces – young, old, physical disabilities, hidden disabilities, sensory, etc. How are other countries navigating through this? Who’s excelling at this?