Just want to quickly point out how much of a lifesaver delivery services are for many disabled folks. As someone who is disabled I find it very strange how critical abled people are of these technologies, even going so far as to use our situations in arguments against it without actually getting our opinion on it.
I'm not telling anyone to do anything. If people want to get vaccinated that's fine by me.
I do not believe that I'm "protecting" people, and I certainly would not waste my time trying to protect able-bodied people who are fully capable of protecting themselves.
But I do work hard to help disabled people when they ask for help, particularly those with similar experiences to myself.
To be clear, I think vaccines do far more harm than good. I agree that serious, acute vaccine injury is very rare, but I would argue that a slow, debilitating degradation of health from vaccines is very very common. There is a rapidly growing body of research and real-world data indicating that vaccines significantly reduce our immune systems ability to defend against evolving viral threats. Short term, some vaccines appear to be a good idea, but long-term they may be a net-negative.
I was nearly killed by a series of vaccine injuries. It was excruciating and slow. I'm alive today because I'm a biochemist and was able to pursue experimental treatment.
I'm going to do what I need to survive. I will not be a sacrifice for your fake greater good.
There are several practical options for defending against respiratory infections. There are no practical options for defending against serious vaccine injury. We either cure ourselves or our lives are destroyed. We do not get any healthcare.
There is a daily, constant conversation about the benefits of vaccines. I don't need to bring that up. It is implied.
There are people whose lives have been destroyed by vaccines. That isn't nothing. It seems they are just too much of a minority for you to care. Or you don't believe they exist. And that's why I asked you that question, because we can't have a conversation without understanding where each of us is coming from.
If you don't want to talk then don't talk. But don't attack and insult me. I'm not making you do anything.
I'm curious, do you still not believe that vaccine injury is real? The FDA and CDC have now repeatedly acknowledged it's existence with the COVID-19 vaccines.
If you do believe that it's real with respect to the COVID-19 vaccines, what is your reasoning for advocating for "restraining" people who are concerned about this issue?
Uber hasn't raised their base rates in my city for years now. I drive for Uber, and it's more profitable than ever.
This is because of surge pricing and higher volume. Even when there is no surge profitability is quite good as long as it's busy enough for back to back rides.
If you're patient and ride during slower times you pay a similar amount to what the price was years ago.
No, I think history and present times makes it clear that this is an inherent property of democracy.
In democracy without any limitations (like the US constitution), a little over 50% of constituents can do whatever they want to any minority comprising less than 50% of the population.
There are plenty of modifications that have been tried, but none of them solve this fundamental problem...
...because when push comes to shove the modifications are ignored. E.g. the US constitution is routinely ignored without consequence for those in power.
I don't think any political system humans have invented exists in reality. Our political systems are a veneer over the reality of consensual interaction sprinkled with generous amounts of violence, manipulation, and control tactics that have always been used to maintain power. I would argue that since these control tactics are inherent to human behavior, a focus on prioritizing anyone's ability to defend themselves is the best solution.
There are a plenty of rebuttals to the Tether criticism, but on sites like Hacker News no one bothers anymore. It's not worth dealing with the vitriol and downvotes to even try.
That being said I also have concerns about Tether, but I think they are way overblown.
But you can accept it and design systems with that in mind.
So I guess I do like theory. But I think having conversations about how to force humans to behave differently is a waste of precious resources.
Human nature is to help disabled people when there is a surplus of resources, and to not help when there's not enough. So I think talking about what should happen during times of scarcity is not a good use of resources, because disabled people will always be abandoned when the resources do not exist to care for them. Nothing can change that.
Better to focus on building systems that reduce the severity and duration of bad times so they are short lived and prosperous times are longer lived.
We can talk about how things should and shouldn't be as long as we want, but that will not change human behavior.
When you're disabled you must come to terms with this reality and accept it quickly. You cannot waste time with theory. Theory will lead to your death. You must be practical and efficient to survive.
This "who should be saved" question is so silly to me.
In reality, the person that gets saved is always the person that the savers want to save. From situation to situation there are a huge number of variables affecting what the savers' desire is. These situations are often unrelated to a person's disability status, and usually have a lot more to do with how much the saver likes the savee.
I'm physically disabled, and some big determining factors as to whether I will be helped or not are: how much I am liked by that person, if I can satisfy their religious or political ideology, if I can give them a way to help me that brings meaning to their lives, and if they can make themselves look like a good person to their peers.
In addition to the options other commenters have mentioned, it is possible to fully control a computer with dictation, although it can be very arduous.
The term quadriplegia does not always refer to 100% paralysis, and some have limited use of their hands.