Abandoned Cybercatworks

CW: Ableism, Bureaucratic fuckery  A little while ago while browsing the news I stumbled upon a strange occurrence. I found a news article which told the story of a woman living in the Dutch municipality of Wijdemeren and how she was apparently eligible for a fine of about 7000 euros(now reduced to 2835 euros after a political uproar) because she was given groceries on a regular basis by her mother while also receiving social assistance and welfare benefits(1).  This is an outrageous story about how a woman got punished by the Dutch state and social services for receiving help from her well meaning mother and although she deserves justice, her story is not exactly new to me. I myself have also been punished by Dutch social services for receiving help or due to circumstances beyond my control on numerous occasions. This is not exactly new but I am using this story as an example because it shows very well the results of the participation society and how neoliberal policies punis...

CW: Ableism, Genocide mention, Talk about social alienation. Disclaimer: This is only a short piece of work that shows the issues of our society in regards to Neurodivergent people. It is in no way meant to be a complete or comprehensive work. I am no stranger to social alienation. As an Autistic person I have felt alienated from many groups and most of society for basically all of my life. My social history can best be summarized as me stumbling from one social group into another. That is not to say that I cannot form lasting friendships with other people but rather that it is extremely difficult for me to "fit in" many social groups. Ranging from small friends groups to activism groups, from societal institutions to hobby groups. Alienation and the loneliness that it entails are second nature to me at this point. It should come as no surprise to anyone that I am not very happy with this. Despite my difficulties with bonding with people and forming meaningful relationships w...