I am going to try and make this post a bit more lively and friendly given how dark some of these stories can feel to people. Keep in mind, I am fine, I am in a good spot mentally, I am just sharing experiences and insights to show the world what living with these disabilities looks like. I have an eclectic taste in music, some of my favorite artists are the Beastie Boys & Eminem.
My brother first introduced me to me to the song "Fight for your Right" by the Beastie Boys back in the day. At the same time I was learning about Civil Rights in grade school. This helped spark my fascination with Civil Rights through out my entire life. Till this day I still rock out to Fight for your Right, Sabotage, Girls, Brass Monkey, Intergalactic all the time and if you haven't watched the documentary on Apple TV about them, I highly suggest it.
Anyone remember the federal court case of "2 Live Crew vs Broward County?" (Click LInk) Essentially a county tried banning rap music and got their asses handed to them by a rap group who knew what their rights were. It is one reason why I encourage everyone to educate themselves on their rights and laws so when situations arise you can stand up for yourself, after all you are your own best advocate.
I have had multiple issues in multiple jurisdictions from things as simple as parking my car with Disabled Veteran plates to flying my drone and having uneducated public officials try to enforce their personal views rather than the law. It comes in handy. If you are not sure about laws or rights, contact your local ACLU or Protection and Advocacy law firm. If you click on the National Disability Rights Network link in the "resources" section of the menu you can find who your local agency is.
I mentioned I like Eminem before too. Here is something about him that not everyone knows, he also suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. It is in part why I like him. He has never hesitated to be himself in his art, publicly, and has had no problem sharing his real life story too. Go look up how he was raised, poverty, single mom, abuse, neglect, and he PERSEVERED to rise to the top. I hope I can rise to the top of the advocacy world, we shall see. I have the different personas of Mikey, RAGE, and Mike, his are Marshal Mathers, Eminem, Slim Shady, and who am I missing? My favorite version of him is Slim Shady, Slim is the best rapper because of the content of his music. He is saying what he wants with no fear of retribution, just go look at any of his music where he is Slim Shady vs the others. Have you heard his new song "Houdini?" That is Slim Shady rapping! He pissed off Gen Z and they are trying to cancel him, not gonna happen, my generation loves him.
In honor of the Beastie Boys, you gotta FIGHT for your RIGHT to, well be you, and if you have to fight for your right to be you, find new people who will accept you for you rather than try to manipulate you.
Thank you,
Mikey