#ablism

[aspiring-apparition]

(I bring a sort of “Everyone has inherent worth regardless of their productivity” Vibe to every conversation that ableists don’t really seem to like)

[mysharona1987]

[wishful-seeker]

Tips on how to avoid being unintentionally ableist

1. When a disabled person says they cannot do something, and you wish to offer solutions, do not make a solution that involves them powering through pain, or something thats not accessible to the disabled.

Example:

Disabled person: "washing dishes hurts too much and i cannot do it."

Abled person: "what if you did one dish at a time throughout the day?"

This statement is not respecting that this disabled person just said they "can't". Always respect that. No matter how simple the task would be for you.

Disabled person:" i think ill use plastic silverware so i don't make dishes."

Abled person: "plastic is bad for the environment!"

This statement shuts down the most accessible and disabled friendly option that this disabled person can actually do because of the abled persons personal beliefs. This is not helpful, and ableist.

Better yet, instead of offering solutions, ask them directly "is there anything you need that you do not have that would help you do this?" This allows the disabled person to think about what would work, and they will always have a better idea of what would work than you do.

To add on to this, when we say we have no more energy to solve a problem or do a task, or change our lifestyle, we mean it.

2. If you feel discomfort when a disabled person is talking about their health, good and bad, that is ableist. Your discomfort is coming from a place that deams disabled peoples very existence as a bad thing and you need to fix that.

For example:

Disabled person:" this week has been rough pain wise, ive been through a lot, felt like my body was on fire. Lucky i got new meds though and i think they're helping!"

Abled person: "can we talk about something else, this is a bummer."

Disabled people should be able to exist freely without worrying about your personal comfort. Do you really think its appropriate to tell someone in constant pain that their life is making YOU uncomfortable?

3. Do not treat disabled people as tragedies, do not romanticize their old life or put their current one down.

For example:

Disabled person: "yeah my life is pretty difficult sometimes, ive lost a lot but i still have happy moments."

Abled person: "it makes me so sad to see what disabled people go through :(. You used to love rock climbing and running, i would love to see you move around more again."

This statement is putting more value on the disabled persons abled past, and ignoring their life as a whole.

4. Do not avoid speaking to disabled people because it hurts to see your loved one disabled.

For example: my grandmother avoids conversations with me because it hurts her to see me in pain. While she has good intentions it leaves me being unable to be close to her. This is very isolating to the disabled.

5. Do not stop inviting your disabled friend/loved one out even if they are never well enough to attend. Unless we specifically ask you to stop asking if we can go out, good chances are we want to know you still care because again, disability is very isolating.

6. When a disabled person says certain things in their health have gotten better or worse, do not challenge this because you don't see a difference.

For example:

Disabled person: "yeah things are getting a little better"

Abled person sees disabled person using their wheelchair like usual: "i thought you said you were getting better?"

Better and worse are usually small changes only the disabled experience, its not like abled people healing from a broken arm. Better to a disabled person could mean they can stand for 10 more minutes.

7. Do not expect disabled people to ever be abled again, and again, do not put more value on an abled life.

For example:

Disabled person:"I have been using a wheelchair for 2 years."

Abled person: "oh you're young, im sure you'll be walking around in no time!"

This statement invalidates and ignores the disabled persons current life by hoping they get a more abled bodied life. Its fine to hope disabled people get better, but you don't get to decide what better looks like.

Hope this helps, stay punk.

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Ableist Things Autistic People May Internalize About Ourselves

Neurodivergent_lou

[visciously-face-fckd-by-a-cactus]

ok. imma do this again because im so sick of this neurotypical label-centric world we live in and the inability that people have to understand individuality, masking, and nuance in presentation of disorders.

edit: this is not meant to exclude all the various neurodivergence diagnoses other than just adhd and autism- this poll was created first and foremost because i was curious about those two in particular, but also because there's not that many button options for the poll itself and if i added more than those variables the permutations would skyrocket

[they-are-a-prolife-autist]

Who the fuck are you to end someone’s life “for their own good,” before they’ve even had a chance to live it? You can really see into their future and get to decide with your God-like wisdom that they’re better off dead before they’re even born? Who died and made you judge, jury, and executioner? You really look around at people in poverty, or with disabilities, and think to yourself, “damn someone should have ended them a long time ago.” What in the ever-loving arrogant audacity.

[53rdcenturyhero]

As long as the general population is passive, apathetic, diverted to consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable, then the powerful can do as they please, and those who survive will be left to contemplate the outcome.

Noam Chomsky.

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

Is it just me, or is the way WoF presents disability... actually not that bad? Don't get me wrong, it is FAR from perfect, and I would love to see better representation as the series continues! However, I'll make my case:

I think the thing people criticize the most is when Turtle mentions that he and Anemone were working on a spell to restore Starflight and Tamarin's sight. This is definitely alarming; it plays into the tired idea of disabled people needing to be "fixed." But I think people forget that Turtle and Anemone are two young children with a limited view on the world. Their mother is extremely judgemental and believes in genetic superiority 😭 They might not understand that there is nothing wrong with being disabled, and that you can happily live with a disability. We also don't know if Tamarin or Starflight even consented to the spell, so it may have never been realized anyways. I would like to see Tui properly address this in future books, though. (And if it wasn't clear, I'm not justifying Turtle and Anemone's actions; just saying that there's context here that most people don't consider).

I'm also aware that the series villainizes some of its disabled characters (Queen Scarlet, Chameleon, Queen Battlewinner, etc.) Disabled people have a long history of being villainized, so it is understandable to feel uncomfortable about this! But it's not like WoF lacks ANY positive representation. Tau, Clay, Tamarin, and Starflight are all characters who I think are really cool!! And I like Mayfly and Osprey too (even though they're minor characters). I think even Peril could count...? And a lot of her character arc is about learning to live with her firescales.

And yes, there's stuff like The Weirdling Tower... but that is EXPLICITLY treated as a bad and gross thing, so I don't get why some people use that as proof that Tui hates disabled people. Same goes for ableist characters like Burn and Scarlet (who are also EXPLICITLY presented as horrible and evil).

My biggest criticism for the way Tui writes disability is that most of her disabled characters that are considered positive representation don't play a huge role in the books. We have Starflight and Clay, but when they get their disabilities, the arc that focuses on them is close to over. It would be nice to see more disabled characters that are more involved in the story.

.

[jackedjacket]

"wow, I wish i were in a wheelchair, it must be pretty great to sit all day"

no, it's not. being in a wheelchair is incredibly painful. It is easy to get pressure sores, muscle cramps, or back pain from sitting.

ever sat on a cramped flight for several hours, unable to move much or stretch your legs? That's what it's like being in a wheelchair, except all the time. It's horrible. Stop saying that being in a chair must be "fun" or "easy"

[odinsblog]

Yes, you are the asshole

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

Hmmm I wonder what happened in 2020 that might have caused this...

This is literally what a lot of people were saying could happen during the pandemic.

And now Sunak wants to punish these people further. Fuck him.

[batwynn]

This is an anti-abled-curse post specifically for disabled folks or any kind:

If you see a post saying you’re not allowed to feel impending doom and despair about the upcoming election and everyone needs to ‘fight’ or ‘stand up to—‘ etc. , it’s been vanquished. You do not need to feel guilty for feeling fear and grief for the potential death sentence that this election is for us, or for the fact that you are unable to participate in ‘the fight’.

Abled people very frequently forget about us in their revolutionary posts to begin with, but we also aren’t required to feel even more shitty about an already shitty situation because they are feeling very brave and hoo-rah about it.

Hold this in your heart: You are allowed to feel however you feel about how this personally affects you and your loved ones/community AND you’re allowed to express these feelings. You are allowed to be afraid. You are allowed to grieve. You are allowed to be angry. You do not have to grab an axe and join in the imaginary revolution that most of these people will most likely not be participating in anyway.

Abled curse vanquished. Go on with your day.

[drspleenmeister]

Good for Yuki to apologise publicly. Shame on the commenters saying that only snowflakes find the word offensive. Presumably these people also think that the N word is fine to use willy-nilly too.

[wishful-seeker]

Stop gawking at disabled people in public

I don't care if its a wheelchair, i don't care if their dressed nice and that suprises you, i don't care if they're young and pretty and that suprises you, i don't care if we look weird, or mean, or nice. STOP STARING AT US. We are not exotic animals, im not a unicorn. I. Am. A . Person.

Teach your children not to stare too.

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

What is Ableism?

The Autistic Teacher

[whereserpentswalk]

Bigotry is not hatred. You need to recognize elements of bigotry that aren't hateful or mean. Bigotry is believing and enforcing someone's status as marginalized. But you don't have to hate someone to believe that they're lesser then you, or desevre less rights.

There are bigots who will treat you as a child that needs protecting, and who can't be trusted with your own freedom. They won't be mean to you, but they think of you as lesser then them none the less. This is especially common with bigotry twords disabled people and twords people society views as female.

When looking to see if someone is bigoted asgisnt a group, don't ask weather or not they hate them, as weather or not they think they deserve less rights.