Reader’s Reviews > Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice > Status Update
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I forgot to mention in my comment on the cover— Leah is spelling Piepzna wrong. Leah’s great-grandmother, Mrs. Louise (Piepszna) Smolen married Joseph Smolen. They came to the U.S. from villages in Podkarpackie, Poland. The Polish spellings of their names were Ludwika Pieprzny and Józef Smoleń. In the U.S., Louise Smolen spelled her maiden name using an s before the z in Piepszna.
— Dec 12, 2025 09:38PM
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Maybe Leah could be considered a “child” of Frida if we consider the ways Frida performed marginalized identities for personal gain and activist clout, fabricated lore, and engaged in theft at the expense of Indigenous sovereignty…
— Dec 14, 2025 03:23PM
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Although much like Leah, Frida was a person of European heritage who fetishized Indigenous people, engaged in Indigenous cultural identity theft, and performed fabricated family lore with culturally appropriative clothing and hairstyles
— Dec 14, 2025 03:17PM
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Leah’s Irish great-grandfather Anthony James Conlon was a star of early 1900s basketball. Born in Ballina, Mayo County, Ireland, he immigrated to the U.S. as a child with his father and brother, Pat & Patrick Conlon who settled in Fitchburg, MA. Anthony married Emma Bergner June 11, 1901. Her ancestors immigrated from Saxony, Germany. Leah also has ancestors from Bützow on her dad’s side.
— Dec 14, 2025 02:49PM
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On p. 9 Leah thanks Frida and Harriet’s Children workshop participants. This is an example of the ways Leah has profited from cultural identity theft. Leah created a workshop Leah is not, nor is anyone in her family a “child” of Frida or Harriet. This is fraudulent representation and exploitation of falsely claimed marginalized identity for personal gain and activist clout. Leah is German, however. Not bipoc.
— Dec 14, 2025 02:40PM
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Still on page 9. I am a survivor of The Seattle Disability Justice Collective. It was a destructive group where physical and sexual assaults occurred with extreme exploitive labor practices, theft, and abuse. Most evidence of DJC Seattle has been scrubbed by narcissistic abusers & financial predators dodging accountability for criminal behavior. Susan Naomi Finkelstein aka Bear has a long record of assault and theft
— Dec 14, 2025 02:20PM
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Clarification on the last comment. I was in the Sick and Disabled Queers Facebook group from its early days. It was not always secret & changed to a secret group later. I was not in the bipoc SDQ group and do not know who moderates that, but it’s my understanding the moderators of that group removed several white people misrepresenting themselves as people of color. Leah’s accomplices were among those removed.
— Dec 14, 2025 02:14PM
Reader
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Still on page 9. Leah thanks the Sick and Disabled Queers group and the Sick and Disabled Queer and Trans People of Color Facebook group. These are secret groups moderated by high-control narcissistic abusers. Sick and Disabled queers was founded by a white race-shifter— notoriously racist Erika Maria Reinstein, who has also used pseudonyms Billie Strain, Billie Rain, William Maria Rain, Mix William, & Rain-Shadid
— Dec 14, 2025 02:03PM
Reader
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Leah thanks the Harriet Tubman Collective. Like Leah, Talia A. Lewis is narcissistic & has enabled Leah’s harmful behavior for years. I guess when you have a book written by a movement narcissist, there is going to be a long list of enablers and other narcissistic abusers in the acknowledgments section.
— Dec 14, 2025 02:09AM
Reader
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One more comment about the Deaf Poets Society. There was previously a group with the same name that was legitimately a Deaf community group featuring Deaf poets. That’s not what this is. One tactic of predatory journals is to select names that are the same or similar to legitimate groups. It’s a deceptive tactic intended to manipulate people. Hearing disabled people: it’s not okay for you to behave this way.
— Dec 14, 2025 02:02AM
Reader
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Leah also thanks the Canaries. I don’t have direct experience with that group but as a neurodivergent person I have experienced abuse from Leah specifically targeting me as a neurodivergent person. She’s been extremely harmful to other ND people. The majority of those she has abused are neurodivergent. She exploits neurodivergent and Autistic communities intentionally. Stop giving her access to new victims.
— Dec 14, 2025 01:24AM
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Source: Louise Piepszna
Mentioned in the Record of Anna P Conlon (Louise Piepszna's Daughter)
Social Program Document • United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007
Name Louise Piepszna
Sex F
(From Social Program Correspondence public records)
Source: Obituary: “In Homes of Mourning: Mrs. Joseph Smolen,” published in Webster Times on Thursday May 16, 1946, page 8
TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. Joseph Smolen
Mrs. Louise Piepszna Smolen, 78, died Friday at her home on Granite road after a long illness. She leaves her husband, Joseph, two sons, Anthony and William, four daughters, Mrs. Roland Guenther, Mrs. Charles Conlon, Mrs. Charles Morgan and Mary Smolen. The body was removed to the Sitkowski Funeral Home on School street.
Funeral services were conducted Monday morning with a requiem mass in St. Joseph’s Church, Rev. Thaddeus Janeczyk officiating.
Bearers were Charles Morgan, Charles Conlon, Roland Guenther. Charles Puls, John Jarosz and William Kozlowski.
Burial was in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in charge of Edward C. Sitkowski.
Card of Thanks:
For the countless messages of sympathy and condolence received in our great bereavement, and for the floral and spiritual offerings received we wish to express our sincere thanks and grateful appreciation. To St. Anne's Society, neighbors and friends for their kindness we are very grateful, and to all who in any way helped to lighten the burden of a great sorrow, we are very grateful.
Joseph Smolen
Mary Smolen
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Conlon
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Morgan
Mr. and Mrs. Roland Guenther
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Smolen
Mr. and Mrs. William Smolen