I Am Defined By My Disability

I have a complicated relationship with my impairment. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that coming to a coherent view on it has been the primary project of my life so far. I’ve thought a lot about what it means to be disabled, how I feel about it and, crucially to me, how I should feel about it. I’m not an expert, but I feel like I have things to say that are worth saying. This post is an exploration of my evolving attitude to disability, a summary of where I am now and an explanation of why a certain strand of ‘disability-positive’ rhetoric makes me uncomfortable.

Constituencies, First-Past-the-Post and Minority Rule

The other day, I re watched CGP Grey’s excellent videos about the Electoral College. In one video, Grey shows how it is possible to become President with only about 23% of the popular vote. The UK’s constituency-based system shares some key features with the Electoral College, so I wondered whether a similar feat might be possible here. A quick search for data and a few lines of code later, I had my answer.