This NPR interview with disabled activist Alice Wong is a must read

By Louise Kinross

San Francisco's Alice Wong is a powerhouse when it comes to disability culture, community and rights. In 2020 we interviewed her when she released her book Disability Visability. Last year she launched a new book called The Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life. 

A week ago NPR did a fascinating interview with Alice. Here are some of the gems:

"My life has changed a lot since last summer, since I lost my ability to speak and eat. Just as I am very Asian I am very disabled now with a new body that has even more significant needs. I'm not sure how people perceive me now but I feel that there is a greater social and physical distance with others, especially non-disabled people."

"Life is not binary: healthy or unhealthy. disabled or nondisabled, low or high quality. We can and should embrace vulnerability and interdependence and not see them as weaknesses."

"Productivity does not make a person inherently valuable."

"Speculative fiction resonates deeply with people who feel different, the other, alien."

"...I resent the fact [of] how hard I have to fight to claim space for myself. In the future, I don't want any disabled person to have to hustle and fight so hard just to get their basic needs met."

Read the NPR interview.

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