Getting Down to Patience with Purpose

Qudsiya's thoughts in times of uncertainty

Jan 20, 2025

Hello and happy new year to my beloved DTTS community!

I was blessed to begin 2025 by enjoying some very special time with my family, but I must admit it has been difficult to feel excitement with the wildfires raging in Los Angeles and the impending presidential transition here in the U.S.

If you and your community have been affected by the California fires, please know that I and the DTTS team hold you in our thoughts.

And check out Crip News for a list of organizations that support disabled people impacted by the fires, with information about how you can help. Hats off to Kevin Gotkin for curating these resources, and to all those who have been working so hard to support Los Angeles residents and their loved ones.

Patience with purpose

2025 begins with uncertainty. As I thought about my word for the year, the clear choice was “patience.” Initially, this felt somewhat passive, implying that I plan to wait around patiently for the plan to unfold. But patience does not have to be passive—we can be patient with purpose. This year, for me, patience means recognizing that the future is uncertain while grounding myself in who I am, and the things I hope to bring with me as I meet that uncertainty. Some of those things include:

Showing up for my community with every tool at my disposal to meet whatever challenge we may face together.
Telling new stories about disability, design, and intersectionality that will continue to move us towards a more just, inclusive, and accessible world.
Finding ways, big and small, to create joy for myself and those around me.

Share Getting Down To It

On that second point, the team and I are taking some extra time to bring you season 10 so we can make it extra special. And we need your help. We would love it if you could send us a brief audio clip (no more than 15-20 seconds) telling us what Down to the Struts has meant to you, and the impact it’s had in your life.

If audio isn’t your thing, please feel free to send your thoughts in writing. You can email your audio files and written notes to downtothestruts@gmail.com. We will share your testimonials during season 10. Thank you for listening, and for sharing your reflections!

Patience does not have to be passive—we can be patient with purpose.

Community shout-outs

Make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast so you’re up to speed with the announcements and bonus content we’ll be sharing in the lead-up to our next season. Here are a few exciting new projects to watch, resources to revisit, and disability media-makers I think you should get to know.

Aimi Hamraie and the Critical Design Lab have launched the fourth season of the acclaimed Contra* podcast, about disability, design justice, and the life world. This season, Contra* introduces the Remote Access Archives, a project of the Critical Design Lab that captured oral history interviews with disability scholars and activists about mutual aid and pandemic times. This season of Contra* shares some of those oral histories, plus other fascinating resources from the archives.

In the premiere episode, Aimi speaks with Hector Ramirez, a disabled, queer and two-spirit, and biracial disability rights advocate. Hector talks about how remote access transformed during the pandemic and the implications for his disability community and culture. I’m honored to have been part of this oral history project, and so grateful to Aimi for documenting our experiences.
As disabled and communities of color continue to grapple with the California wildfires, I call us back to Justice Shorter’s phenomenal guidebook on disaster justice, designed to speak to, honor the experiences, and share the wisdom of disabled people of color who have experienced disaster and crisis. The guidebook is a powerful reminder of what is possible when we come together as a community to navigate all the crises that we may face.

I’ve become a huge fan of Priti Salien’s newsletter, Reframing Disability, and highly recommend my readers and listeners subscribe. Priti is a Bengaluru-based journalist, researcher, and media trainer. Reframing Disability is a bi-weekly resource that simplifies disability inclusion for content creators. Priti dives deep, with practical tips and strategies to ensure that disabled voices, perspectives, and access needs are embedded into journalism and media creation at the global level.
Finally, remember to subscribe and stay tuned for the Pod Access podcast—a new resource from our friends, Cheryl Green and Thomas Reid dedicated to supporting disabled podcasters. If you have a disability, are a podcaster, or are thinking about starting a podcast but don’t know where to begin, Cheryl and Thomas will break it down for you with their usual creativity and humor.