Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #StrawBan

Most recents (13)

It's hard for me, as an immigrant and largely plant-based eater, to fail to see how much effort white vegans put into advocating for animal rights and how nonexistent is their base of advocates for immigrant rights (you know, the people growing and harvesting plants?).
I want to vomit every time I hear the words "cruelty free" because even if animals weren't harmed, please believe that human exploitation (of immigrants and slaves) was used. Or do y'all only care about the suffering of those who cannot speak for themselves?
Vegan activism is so self-centric, because animals cannot speak in any language that humans can understand. As a result, while the focus is animal welfare, (white) humans get to be the voice and face of the movement. And so many vibe so well to this level of notoriety.
Read 15 tweets
(1/14) So this is going to be my first true long post to Twitter and I am also covering the debate surrounding the banning of plastic straws. As such, I am rather nervous and I can only hope that this turns out alright! #StrawBan
(2/14) I want to focus on an alternative material used in drinking straws. This material is chitosan, which is also sold under the name of “REPA” amongst others. Chitosan is a biodegradable polymer made from renewable materials used to make flexible straws. #StrawBan
(3/14) Firstly, I shall cover the science. Chitosan is a modified form of chitin. Chitin is taken from renewable sources and deacetylated. This typically occurs through treating it with sodium hydroxide in an aqueous solution. #Chemistry #MaterialsScience
Read 15 tweets
As a knowledge translation student I'm profoundly disheartened by the #StrawBan movement. We have organizations, institutions, politicians who purport to care about evidence & public consultation perpetuating a policy that disabled people have repeatedly says hurts them…
If we're not able to institute inclusive, evidence-informed policies for something so basic, what chance to we have for progress on more complex health issues?

People with disabilities have been having to do so much (free) education, over and over and over.
I've been to… 4? conferences in the past year about moving evidence into policy, doing community-based, patient-centred research. I should have a toolkit FULL of strategies to persuade folks that the #StrawBan is bad policy. But I'm at a loss. What should we (I) do differently?
Read 5 tweets
#BREAKING: Heartbreaking stories of straws being separated from their packaging at the California border are starting to trickle out. Cryin Chuck has called on Trump to fix this problem that HE created.

Moron this story as it develops.
The first pictures of straws in cages are starting to come out.

This is not who we are America.
It’s not a straw ban!! @Auntie_Maxine defends the recent legislation stating that it’s only a ban on straws from some majority plastic manufacturers. Maxine also pointed out that the Schwarzenegger administration had a similar ban in place.
Read 5 tweets
Why do so many ableds who want to seem progressive on the #strawban always seem to expect that their willingness to acknowledge that we have a right to exist and to have access to needed accessibility tools means that they can put the work of finding real solutions on us
"oh, I don't want disabled people to suffer, please tell me what we should do instead" is a pretty common "progressive" response and I'm sick of it
start by not expecting people who are just trying not to die to have to fix the problem particularly because the fucking #strawban won't even do anything for the environment anyway Y'all seem happy enough with lies instead of actual solutions
Read 26 tweets
This morning, let’s go down a little straw rabbit hole and talk about how a #StrawBan could affect disabled people. #SuckItAbleism A photo of Mia with some bubble mango milk tea.
Straws, especially bendy straws, were invented to help ppl take medicine & help patients in hospitals drink liquids. The plastic straw was sterile, tolerate hot/cold liquids, & stood up to biting/chewing/fidgeting Disabled ppl do w/o cutting their mouths. #SuckItAbleism
Nondisabled ppl also found them extremely handy (accessibility tools often become integral parts of society including ramps, elevators, and electric doors). So, the straws became ubiquitous in everyday life. #SuckItAbleism #StrawBan
Read 19 tweets
This

but also remember the very real context of

Straw bans won't actually reduce plastic because there is no mechanism to stop the petroleum used to make straws being used to make other plastic

So they are hurting disabled people for nothing

There is no aspect of straw bans that seems to make sense with the overall goal of helping the environment

Despite the gymnastics many people do when you point out the cavernous holes in their logic
Straw bans hurt disabled people

Too bad, their sacrifice is worth it to save the environment
Read 20 tweets
When fighting Ableism, straw bans, inaccessibility, or the general oppression of society, I am uncomfortable that we tend to resort to, "What if you/your kid/your spouse/your friend/family member was disabled & needed this?"

It paints disability as something negative & to fear.
We can, or should be able to, state our truth, or the existence of others' truths, without relying on using hypothetical scenarios that target subconscious negative views and beliefs held by society. #Disabled #DisabledTwitter #StrawBan #Ableism #FightWithoutFears
And just a reminder aside that simulations of disability and disabled life are often harmful, and have been scientifically shown to have a negative impact on an individual's view regarding disability and life with one. #Disabled #DisabledTwitter #FightWithoutFear
Read 4 tweets
For every abled telling disabled folks to just get our own reusable straws that bend and clean them, I present to you one of the greatest child killers of the 19th c: the rubber feeding tube. This is where single-use straws came from, in part. #StrawBan
nourishingdeath.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/mur…
Sterilising bendable plastic is exceptionally hard, and requires boiling and never getting any tears, scratches, or other surface damage to the straw where bacteria can lurk and turn deadly.

That's asking a lot to end 0.003% of plastic pollution. Get it right or die.
And if those reusable straws get any surface damage? They require basically being autoclaved. Special equipment, expensive equipment, for the people most likely to be below the poverty line, just so we can drink safely? THAT is your exchange?
Read 6 tweets
[Eugenics]
I need environmentalists to hear that when they say "some sacrifice is necessary" to save the planet

& they're talking about *tools disabled people use to drink*

What I hear is "it's okay if you dehydrate if it's for the greater good"

I hear eugenics. 🙃

#StrawBan
If you ASK disabled people, we could maybe work together on lifehacks to save the planet that don't limit our access to hydration.

#StrawBan
Read 13 tweets
thread: #WhyStrawAlternativesDontWork

i cannot use metal/glass/bamboo/pasta/corn straws during tics. i will injure myself due to #Tourettes.

i eat paper due to #PicaDisorder. i bite down hard regularly during tic storms. this = mulch. i cannot use paper/card straws.

#strawban
i have a #bleedingdisorder called factor 1 deficiency. during bleeds i cannot drink safely w/o a straw.

the straw needs to be bendable, sterile, & most of all disposable coz i get blood *everywhere*.

gross photos of my typical blood loss here: instagram.com/p/BVXTwnzHTk9r…

#strawban
straws help me (often aided) take my medication during a bleed. they help me drink unaided during a tic storm if i am sat down.

they help me not get drink everywhere but my mouth. i use them for hot drinks & smoothies & soup. straws make the world accessible to me.

#strawban
Read 6 tweets
Instead of plastic straws, you know what I'd like to see banned?

Grass lawns.

They're a waste of water, & people burn fossil fuels to maintain them & douse them in pesticides & herbicides which harm bees and butterflies & make it hard for disabled people like me to breathe.
If you want to help the environment, here are some ways you can do it without harming marginalised people:

Plant a vegetable garden and hand out the extra food you grow to those who need it.
Plant native wildflowers which are hardy and require little upkeep, and feed the pollinators that keep our agricultural system alive.

Plant some herbs and become your local lay healer.
Read 8 tweets
I don't want to yell at people when they offer alternatives to plastic straws, because i know the impulse is good.

but I need people to know that "what about ____ straws?" has joined "have you tried yoga?" in terms of emotional labor and irritation.

#strawban
It feels like maybe people think disabled people did not research or discuss alternatives to plastic straws before engaging in a protracted, exhausting campaign for "opt in for plastic straws" instead of a straw ban.

(We have a chart.)
Read 19 tweets

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