Anatomy of Alienation

   In the past 2 years I’ve burnt several bridges in my advocacy for wheelchair accessibility. I can admit a large portion of that is because of my emotional problems and my own inherit flaws as a human being. I’m inpatient, and I’m especially short with those who have no concept of solidarity. Numerous people are going to say I’m grandstanding by doing The March for Wheelchair Accessibility next Thursday, but I must at least raise address a wrong that was never rectified.

  Next Thursday will be the 2 year anniversary of the most difficult thing I’ve experienced being a comedian. As I’ve exhaustively recalled on Halloween 2022 I was set to perform on the Roast Battle that was in the Main Room of the Comedy Store. Unlike previous times the way the stage was setup that night made it impossible to use even my own ramp, and I had to be physically lifted by a friend and colleague on and off stage into a stationary chair like some a mangled marionet, no way to treat an invited perform.  This experience was alienating enough but the deeper alienation was slower to reveal itself.  In the following weeks and months, despite my best efforts to get the owners, management, the producers, and even other comedians to understand the nature of the problem and its implications I was met with a tired indifference even though I had been proving my own ramp and accommodations to do battles and shows that everyone enjoyed since 2014. The Comedy Store owner let me write a professional grade accessibility assessment memo outlining everything they needed to do, only to silently indicate it's too expensive, that it was because the city's faulty regulations& the building is too old. But there's no city government regulations stopping a private establishment from becoming more accessible

 That’s no excuse for the things I found myself saying to people who once considered me their friend. It wasn’t their fault that I had been complicit in the lack of accessibility by bringing my own ramp. It's my fault that I fooled myself into believing that my quality of jokes would somehow inspire people to implement appropriate accommodations

This is more of a reason for next week’s demonstration. Even if this alienates me from doing future shows, I need to try and affect some improvement to the current situation. Furthermore,  If you enjoyed seeing me Roast Battle, I ask you to support the March for Wheelchair Accessibility because the lack of accessibility and my impatience  has alienated me from that performing on that show. 

There’s no point in explaining how the ADA actually does cover performance stages An accessible route must connect stages and other performance areas directly to seating areas where they are directly connected by a circulation path as well as to dressing rooms and other ancillary spaces used by performers (§206.2. 6).

Finally and most importantly for me personally, the lack of accessibility in the Belly Room specifically affects potential customers with wheelchairs by the fact that it’s not safe for anyone who is carrying someone or their wheelchair into the Belly Room, and it should no longer be acceptable to do nothing, because inaccessible stages in inaccessible venues lead to inaccessible opportunities, which should concern us all because were all just one bad day away from being in a wheelchair. 

The Case for the Economic ADA

By Joe Eurell

In the chaos that is the 2024 presidential campaign, public policy related to Americans with Disabilities is rarely discussed, but no less significant. The plight of disabled Americans is continuing on its stagnant trajectory of an unemployment rate of 7.2%. If this were the unemployment rate of the ambulatory population, it would be an economic crisis strong enough to boot both candidates from the race. 

For those on Social Security disability often unemployment is the result of the system that we exist within. A policy known as means testing, or as social security deems it, Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) is an income restriction on Social Security disability benefits. According to Google, as of 2024, one may stop receiving SSDI benefits if you earn over $1,550 a month. More stringent income restrictions exist across other assistance programs, with the most notable being the one that applies the Medicare that prevents certain couples from being able to get married for fear that they might exceed the income limits two receive benefits, and in some cases have resulted in couples having to divorce legally to maintain benefit levels!  Even means testing policies for in-home care forces one to bear the brunt of their own care, which is a burdensome fixed cost only exists by virtue of having a disability and remains regardless of their financial situation. Just as the Americans with Disabilities Act expanded accessibility into public spaces, we need an economic ADA to end all means testing policies to do the same in fulfilling employment environments.

Within my own experience, I have had unnerving levels of frustration being limited by income restrictions. In August 2021, I successfully used GoFundMe to purchase a vehicle for my comedy career and to attend gigs. Despite doing so in complete transparency in regards of paperwork, I was penalized 1/3 of my Social Security for three months six months after the transaction. That's right, despite only having the money for 36 hours, in early August I was docked six months later. In my opinion, the fact that this was done a third at a time is social security’s admission that the punishment is too harsh. These limitations would also limit any future hope for a Netflix special. Although some would consider my jokes to be the real obstacle to my getting special. I, like millions of other disabled Americans am forced to choose between my ambitions and my well-being unnecessarily. While certain types of bank accounts exist that are not means tested, they remain subject to regulations of *how* the money is spent.

The reality is that income has nothing to do with the level of impact disability has on one’s life. No amount of money earned change how cerebral palsy physically disables me. There's no gainful activity substantial enough to lift the burden of a disability on the recipient or their loved ones. Means testing policies are a violation of the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities act as it for a person with a disability to choose between having a job in the way that everyone else does or acknowledging their disability as real. In effect, SGA’s deny people with disabilities accommodation from the whole economy. 

To me, our capitalist society resents people with disabilities, because when it's a tax dodging billionaire it's an automatic subsidy via tax cuts, but when it's a person with a disability it's a stagnant "entitlement", w/ income restrictions limiting to punish for them not working.

However, if it was to be framed in a free market way, these policies ignore that people who have disabilities have a different economic margin than their non-disabled counterparts because they have an experience that is individual to their own needs for a disability that limits their freedom of choice and their self-determination. Ending all means testing policies with an economic ADA legislation would be a neutral way to increase economic accessibility for Americans with disabilities.