"About three years ago, one of the most notorious online message board communities decided to create an unusual video game. It would be a Japanese-style erotic dating simulator starring girls with disabilities, a topic not unfamiliar to the 4chan group.
The genesis of Katawa Shoujo, an erotic visual novel set on a private campus for disabled high schoolers, can actually be traced back to a phenomenon that began several years ago on the 4chan /b/ board, where posters enjoy some of the Internet's strangest images and subject matter under cover of anonymity.
What started then, a seemingly sexualized interest in disabled girls by a fervent online community, could have just been twisted or shocking, as could the game that seemed to emerge from that interest. But what really happened involved more sadness and sentimentality than one might expect.
In 2006, stories began appearing from a poster claiming to be a male nurse who had just received as a patient a half-Japanese seven-year-old girl missing an eye and all her limbs save one arm, injuries from a car crash that had also left her orphaned.
The poster seemed aware that this situation would entertain the board users, an anonymous collective notorious for their often-shocking culture of extreme imagery and offensive humor. As one might expect of this group, the board users quickly made an occasion for pedophilic jokes and snark about the child's injuries. Less expected was the genuine sentiment that emerged as more stories and updates on the tragic patient from the ostensible nurse began to appear.
The story may not even have been true. At first, the board users were as interested in attempting to verify whether the poster, whom they dubbed "Nurse-kun," and his patient, to whom they widely referred as "ampu-chan," were real based on scant details. Eventually, however, many stopped being concerned with verity as they became immersed in the updates on the child's difficulty coping as she recovered in the care center.
Readers were captivated by glimmers of positivity – such as Nurse-kun's stories of the girl learning to play DS one-handed with her nurse's help. They became indignant on the child's behalf when she was the victim of a racist rant from an elderly World War II veteran receiving care in the same center. They closely followed the Nurse's growing investment in her well-being – which, despite the initial joke, he maintained was non-sexual. If the posts are to be believed, Nurse-kun ultimately succeeded in adopting the orphan whose plight had touched him so deeply, and then stopped writing.
The board users never stopped making sexual jokes. They were accustomed to the puerile body forms common in anime and gaming and to expressing themselves within an anonymous internet culture that thrives on extremes. It's clear at least some of them found, or pretended to find, an element of the erotic in the vulnerability of the amputee child. But the nurse's story certainly had its sincere followers, those who claimed to be moved and who offered well-wishes. They pressed for contact information so that they could send donations and gifts (the nurse understandably declined). The reason was probably muddled and a bit backward, but still the "saga of Nurse-kun" had struck a chord."
A BBC investigation has uncovered appalling conditions and abuse in adult institutions in Romania, 20 years after the fall of Nicolai Ceausescu exposed conditions in the country's orphanages. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8425001.stmA BBC investigation has uncovered appalling conditions and abuse in adult institutions... more
A disabled Montana artist is able to paint his stunning landscapes through the assistance of a custom-designed robotic arm.A disabled Montana artist is able to paint his stunning landscapes through the... more
DECEMBER 8--Meet Elsie Egan. The Florida woman, 53, is facing a felony domestic abuse charge for allegedly striking her boyfriend several times in the head with a raw steak, according to police. Egan, pictured in the below mug shot, was busted last night after a confrontation in the Dunnellon home she shares with Peter Schabhuttl. The 49-year-old Schabhuttl is described in a Marion County Sheriff's Office report as disabled and terminally ill with cancer. He told cops that Egan, his live-in girlfriend of 16 years, struck him "on top of his head with an uncooked steak (approximately 10-16 oz.)" after they quarreled about bread to be consumed at dinner. Schabhuttl wanted a roll. Egan, however, wanted him to eat sliced bread. "He said that when he refused, she attacked him with the steak," reported Deputy Carmen Gallup, who noted observing slight redness on Schabhuttl's right cheek and the crown of his head. While Egan denied wielding the steak, she admitted slapping Schabhuttl several times "so that he can learn."
A short teen made film about a young disabled woman from New Hampshire and her chance to give back to her community.A short teen made film about a young disabled woman from New Hampshire and her chance... more
A quadriplegic who is physically unable to hold a gun or pull a trigger has filed suit against a town and its police chief, contending a decision to deny him a firearms purchaser ID card amounts to discrimination.
James Cap, a 46-year-old Manville resident who suffered a devastating spinal cord injury during a high school football game three decades ago, argues he can safely handle a gun with assistance.
A friend could place the weapon on a special wheelchair mount, he contends, and a mechanical device would allow him to aim and fire with breaths through a tube.
Learning to surf is not easy if you are able bodied and a strong swimmer. How about when you are paralyzed, wheelchair bound and 15 years old. Patrick Ivison is a truly inspirational young man who refuses to let his disabilities get in the way. He is a man on a mission and I wish him the best of luck in his quest to walk again. This film outlines his dream.
I hope you enjoy this video – Please take a moment to comment afterwards and give your thoughts on how we can encourage disabled children into sports and help them live full, active and independent lives ?Learning to surf is not easy if you are able bodied and a strong swimmer. How about... more
A wheelchair-bound man had to be rescued off Snowdon after a group of six martial arts enthusiasts who carried him up there had to ditch him, leaving him on his own, after they were too knackered to carry him back down.
The group were taking part in a fundraising record attempt and had planned to take him all the way to summit but decided to leave him before the reached the peak and collect him on the way back down. When they reached him on the way down, they were too tired to carry him and were forced to leave him on his own while they fetched rescuers, who have since criticised the group's actions.
What's not clear is why they left him completely on his own. Surely one or two of them could have kept him company, out of politeness at the very least?
(Picture not from this particular incident)A wheelchair-bound man had to be rescued off Snowdon after a group of six martial arts... more
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bronze statue of Helen Keller was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as lawmakers praised her as a trailblazer and an inspiration for those with disabilities.
"Some are still dismissed and cast aside for nothing more than being less than perfect," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said at the unveiling ceremony. "The story of Helen Keller inspires us all."
The statue shows Keller -- who lost her sight and hearing to illness when she was 19 months old -- standing at a water pump as a 7-year-old, a look of recognition on her face as water streams into her hand. It depicts the moment in 1887 when teacher Anne Sullivan spelled "W-A-T-E-R" into one of the child's hands as she held the other under the pump. It's the moment when Keller realized meanings were hidden in the manual alphabet shapes Sullivan had taught her to make with her hands.
"W-A-T-E-R," said Alabama Gov. Bob Riley. "Five simple letters that helped rescue 7-year-old Helen Keller from a world of darkness and a world of silence.
"It is this defining moment that we celebrate today. And in time, this moment so vividly depicted by this statue helped the world to understand that all of us, regardless of any disability, have a mind that can be educated, a hand that can be trained, a life that will have meaning."
...More...WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bronze statue of Helen Keller was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol... more
Slowly losing his eyesight a 57-year-old Chicago Marathon runner pleads for help and is "deeply touched" by the response.Slowly losing his eyesight a 57-year-old Chicago Marathon runner pleads for help and... more
Thursday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show here on CURRENT TV on Tues, Thurs & Sats.
In today's show :
Please welcome my special guest - Motorized Millie.
Full marks to the hotel.
Mad person.
She jumped forward.
Play Talk closed.
No sore throat.
She's dressed up.
Plan ahead.
Tattoo.
A couple of gifts.
The London Eye.
Disappear in the background.
Injections.
E.L.O.
Do what the doctor says.
An inspiration.
Travelling with a disability.
TEXT the show : UK - 07815 907 896
Int - +44 7815 907 896 chris@unitedkingdomtalk.co.uk
WWW.UNITEDKINGDOMTALK.CO.UKThursday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show here on... more
I am sorry to say, but as a Christian, I cannot lie, us disabled unable to work Americans are treated worse than any other population. I kid you not. I am embarrassed at how America's Forgotten, as I call us are treated! Like Dirt, Like Many think I should just curl up and die. I would be HOMELESS or DEAD if it not for my wonderful Mom and Dad who love me. Please sign my Petition, and Pass it on! Thanks so very much, and I will continue to fight for all of us!I am sorry to say, but as a Christian, I cannot lie, us disabled unable to work... more
Brain injuries are a hell like no other. In the “old days”--someone with a head injury would be described as “just not being right in the head” after that. They say brain injuries are the the "signature wound of this war" and we have “little understanding of its long-term consequences.“
An artist who was brain injured and BLIND for 5 years--and then BEAT the brain injuries and blindness all the MD's said were permanent--share's what it's like. With some serious food for thought and some scary stats about how our soldiers and veterans are not getting what they need!Brain injuries are a hell like no other. In the “old days”--someone with a... more
Greg Wallic loves that people are working on who they are, but thinks that these efforts should be kept to oneself.
U People Stories are stories from regular everyday people, gay, straight, black, white and with varied beliefs who have had been made to feel like the "other". These are the kinds of stories that we all have carried with us; where it would make you cry if you thought about it but makes you laugh when you talk about it.
What the U People Story Archive does is build a bridge of understanding that unifies our struggles while at the same time lifting an emotional weight off the shoulders of the storyteller. These stories are humorous, moving and timeless. They are individually a testament of how discrimination and the emotions that result connect, effect and can change us all. www.iloveupeople.comGreg Wallic loves that people are working on who they are, but thinks that these... more
When you think life is too hard, life is unfair. When your troubles seem insurmountable, stories like these are here to give you the kick in the ass you need.
A woman has sailed around Britain using her mouth and three straws. No, she's not nuts - Hilary Lister, 37, has a degenerative disorder which has resulted in her losing the ability to control the rest of her body.
Mrs Lister successfully became the first female paraplegic to navigate the island, using a “sip and puff” system of three straws linked to pressure-sensitive switches on her keelboat.
I'd love to say congratulations and 'wow, what an inspiration' - but no. Thanks to her awesomeness in the face of real adversity, the rest of us - more abled folk - feel like we have to try harder to do stuff now. And have less excuses.
Grrr! :DA woman has sailed around Britain using her mouth and three straws. No, she's... more
This is a short documentary I made with Nick Ahlmark about an intellectually disabled band that have been creating a storm in the music industry. They are all about challenging preconceptions of disability through rock'n'roll.This is a short documentary I made with Nick Ahlmark about an intellectually disabled... more
Sarah turned 30 this week, and promptly began to fall apart. Fortunately, modern medicine is here to help with her arthritis, incontinence, and bone loss... for now. Watch out Sarah, 31 is just around the corner.
Target Women is a recurring segment on Current TV's weekly television show, infoMania. In each episode of Target Women, Sarah Haskins takes a look at the often-ridiculous way the media reaches out to women.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, Bryan Safi and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com.Sarah turned 30 this week, and promptly began to fall apart. Fortunately, modern... more
Riam Dean, 22, was prevented from working on the shop floor at Abercrombie & Fitch in London because her prosthetic arm didn't match the store's 'look policy'. Now an employment tribunal has awarded Riam £9000.
Riam was sent to work in the stockroom at the store after a manager objected to her wearing a cardigan to hide her disability.
A panel at Central London Employment Tribunal found Riam was “unlawfully harassed for a reason that related to her disability” under the Disability Discrimination Act. The tribunal also found that the firm “failed to comply with its duty to make reasonable adjustments” for her disability.
She was awarded £7,800 for injury to her feelings, £1,077.37 for loss of earnings and £137.75 for wrongful dismissal.Riam Dean, 22, was prevented from working on the shop floor at Abercrombie & Fitch... more
