This is my proposal for a Disability Pride Flag

[capri0mni]

[Image description: A black flag diagonally crossed from the top of the hoist to the bottom of the fly by a four-color "Lightning bolt" in stripes of blue, gold, green and red (three long sections running from hoist to fly, alternating with two short sections from fly to hoist), Description ends]

My “Artist’s Statement” about this Flag:

1) The black field:

Black has three significant meanings:

First: the color of mourning for all those disabled people who have been murdered in the name of “mercy.”

Second: the color of the pirates’ “Jolly Roger” flag, representing our determination to steal our lives back from those public (and private) ‘authorities,’ who use their power in an attempt keep us marginalized.

Third: A reference to the Nazi Black Triangle badge, which was used to identify those whom the Nazis considered “antisocial“ and which has been adopted in Britain to protest the government’s austerity measures against the Disabled.

2) The “Lightning Bolt” motif:

Diagonal lines have been traditionally used in the flags of former colonies, to represent breaking free from colonial powers (empire nations tend to have flags dominated by horizontal and vertical lines). And Disabled people’s lives have long been ‘colonized’ by the medical, religious, and educational establishments.

The zigzag shape represents how the Disabled people must continually navigate around the structural and attitudinal barriers erected throughout normate society, and also the creative, ‘lateral,’ thinking we have to use to solve problems each day.

3) The individual colors represent broad categories of disabilities:

Blue: mental illness disabilities

Yellow: Cognitive and intellectual disabilities

Green: Sensory perception disabilities

Red: Physical disabilities

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So -- would you fly this flag? I really am curious.

Comments

Re: LIKE!

[capri0mni]

Thank you!

That's a great compliment.

It also breaks a couple rules of vexillology (flag design), as well. But the "Disability community" is so broad and diverse, something had to give, if the flag were to be inclusive and meaningful for all ('cause if it isn't, there's no point).

Another thing to like about the simplicity is that it would be easy to do up as embroidery or applique. :-)

...Or with colored duct-tape and black poster board bought on the fly from the DIY store the night before a rally, for your picket sign or sandwich board ;-)

I actually did this in MS Paint, with only the rectangle and straight line tool (and copy/paste/flip horizontal). The fussiest part of the design was figuring out the proportions (the angles, and lengths of the zigs vs. zags). But I figure if people don't get the proportions exactly right, the image is distinctive enough to still be recognizable.