In this personal solo episode, Mandi explores the hierarchy of disability, the ways ableism operates as a system, and how internalized and lateral ableism can shape our relationships with ourselves and other disabled people.

Drawing from her own experiences growing up as a physically disabled person, Mandi reflects on the pressure to distinguish herself from people with intellectual, developmental, and cognitive disabilities and the harmful messages she absorbed about whose disabilities were considered more acceptable, valuable, or worthy of respect.

Through the lens of disability justice, she examines how ableism encourages disabled people to compete for dignity rather than challenge the systems that marginalize all of us. She also shares how her understanding of disability, community, and liberation transformed as she moved from separation toward solidarity.

This episode is an invitation to engage in honest self-reflection, embrace accountability without shame, and imagine a future where every disabled person belongs.

Links

Buoy Hydration Drops

Mandi Mail

Music Credit

Attribution Code

"Basic Implosion" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/