By Anthony Corona
The key is distraction, folks. Get us angry. Get us divided. That’s the playbook. We saw it happen just recently—MAGA extremists openly mocked a blind witness at a Capitol Hill hearing. Cruel, juvenile, disgusting—but more than that, it was strategic. They know that when we’re outraged, we’re focused on the offense instead of the bigger picture. They want us tweeting, ranting, and arguing amongst ourselves instead of uniting against the very real policy threats that are happening behind the scenes. Because while they’re putting on this circus, here’s what’s really going on: •
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are forming an alliance that threatens disability rights in ways we’ve never seen before. Musk, handed unchecked power as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), now has access to sensitive government data. He’s pushing policies that put essential disability protections—like Section 504—at risk. • Fourteen state attorneys general have launched lawsuits against DOGE, warning that this overreach could dismantle vital protections. But how much attention is that getting? Instead, the news cycle is filled with reaction clips and partisan bickering. • This isn’t just about the blind community. This isn’t just about one hearing. This is a test run—a way to see if we’ll let anger pull us apart or if we’ll stand together across disabilities, across movements, and across the political spectrum to fight back.
And while this is happening, attacks on transgender and non-binary citizens are escalating at an alarming rate. Laws are being proposed and passed that strip away their rights to healthcare, public spaces, and even their ability to exist legally as their true selves. The Stonewall National Monument—sacred ground in the fight for LGBTQIA+ liberation—is being scrubbed down to just “LGB,” erasing the trans and non-binary leaders who were at the very heart of the movement. The same forces trying to dismantle disability rights are working just as hard to erase queer and trans identities, to roll back reproductive rights, to criminalize Black history, to silence Indigenous voices, to make America a country where only Christian, white, heterosexual, cisgender men hold full personhood under the law. So
here’s the challenge: don’t react to their cruelty—react to their policies. • Support the attorneys general who are fighting against this. Call their offices. Donate if you can. • Reach out to your senators and representatives. Flood their inboxes and phone lines. Demand accountability for DOGE and transparency around Musk’s unchecked influence. • Make noise in the media. Contact journalists, write op-eds, bring the focus back to policy, not personality politics. • Build coalition. The disability community is powerful, but we are strongest when we work together. Connect with other disability advocates. Reach out to civil rights groups. We all have a stake in this fight. •
Join organizations like Blind LGBT Pride International. Organizations like Blind LGBT Pride International are shining a light through the dark, straight at the truth. They spotlight the issues and provide ways—small, large, and in-between—for people to engage in access and advocacy. BPI is the only organization serving the intersection of the blind and low-vision community within the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Get involved, follow trusted sources of information, and support nonprofits and journalists who are speaking their truth.
You can start by joining the Blind LGBT Pride international family, and movement at www.bpi.gay.
They want to divide us. Let’s show them just how united we can be.
Yours,
Anthony Corona
He/Him
Host and Producer of Sunday edition
sundayeditionac@gmail.com
and
Vice President, Blind LGBT Pride International