#systematic ableism

[disagigglebilities]

Disability hearing went weird today. They had an "expert" cardiologist who completely ignored my diagnoses and then proceeded to tell the judge he thought I had somatic symptom disorder.

I was literally sobbing by the end of his testimony and the judge practically booted him from the call as soon as was possible. I now have a psychological evaluation sometime in the next month.

My lawyer said the judge appeared to not be happy with the way the "expert" treated me and my health issues and that the so called "expert" had been super unprofessional and that all and all it might end up helping my case still. But damn talk about traumatizing as fuck. My friend had to calm me down after all was said and done, I was crying so hard.

[mashedpotatodragon]

i get the metaphor, I do. But as a disabled person I get why people in the notes are so defensive. A lot of the time the disabled community is unintentionally used as a way to describe an awful, imaginary discriminatory practice, but the thing is, it’s not imaginary here... this is also just... how it is for disabled people. This is it. This is how business and society has always been built. It doesn’t have to be an “imagine if this wild thing happened...” scenario, it just... is. 

I actually think the comparison is helpful, don’t get me wrong, it is a fairly straightforward thing to compare to systematic racism, and can help some people understand it I hope. Though... it’s also just an accurate depiction of real world systemic ableism that also exists comorbidly with systematic racism, and this post as it is unfortunately ignores that fact.

Two things can be true. 

I just wish it was worded like... “Just like this system exists physically in the world to create systematic ableism, a metaphorical version of this exists for systematic racism.” That’s it. Just an acknowledgement of “this metaphor is a real thing, actually, but it’s helpful for illustrative purposes.” A lot to ask from a quick reddit analysis, but I thought this might help people understand why this rubs disabled folks (including black disabled people and poc disabled people) the wrong way.

[pearlboybby]

systematic ableism

nobody ever talks about this. there has been several instances of police brutality against autistic people, a lot of which were KIDS. these three were KIDS. these are just 3 examples.

police often see us autistic people as “threats” , they see us as “violent” “destructive” “crazy” “uncooperative” etc, a surprising amount of people dont know how autism works , esp those of us that are less functioning, and think we’re on drugs and will call the cops on us, i am terrified of cops as as an autistic person. esp one who is nonverbal.

start talking about ableism in the system as well. it needs to be talked about! police need to be taught how to handle and detect disabilities!

[pinkpinkmermayyy]

so…are we going to discuss the ableism in cars 2 or what??

@thisismisogynoir @fancylala4 @punkeropercyjackson @champmorado @kaderp @y7kierre

[deoidesign]

Hi! I was thinking about writing a character that uses a cane, but is also a renowned fighter. The cane would possess a kind of magic that eases the pain during a fight while turning into a sword. If it gets knocked out of the character's hand it stops working and it's overall short lived. I was wondering if it's in some way offensive to do that? I really don't want to come of as ableist or downplaying the injury which does affect the character's life in a major way

Ok I get a lot of asks like this so since this one is anonymous and generally kind I'm just going to make a blanket statement!

I'm not an authority on ableism. I'm not an authority on writing.

As with everything when it comes to writing, context and execution are one million times more important than concept.

Some things that might seem ableist in concept end up being beautiful representations of really complicated experiences, and things that might seem totally fine end up being incredibly ableist or eugenicist when viewed as a part of a whole.

All I can say is do your research, and treat your characters like people. Just do your best to be respectful and understanding! Seeking to create a story that's perfect and completely inoffensive 1: is impossible 2: denying the infinitely varied realities of those around you and how they'll perceive your work and 3: will stop you from producing anything meaningful to anyone.

Write. Listen to those around you and learn from them, and use it to write better. But to do so you have to write, and to write you will mess up. But you have to do it anyways.

So good luck. Idk if your concept is ableist or not cause idk how you'll handle it in the narrative. Care enough to try again should you fall short the first time.

I probably won't answer other asks about "is my idea ableist" this is my opinion on the matter so if you're asking that just read this post!

[goodluckdetective]

There’s been a push to make workplaces more accepting of neurodivergence or mental illness recently and that’s great, honestly, but there’s one thing about it that has me frustrated.

I really dislike all the emphasis on the person who is neurodivergent or mentally ill to do so much of the work.

Like in some ways it makes sense: the people who need the changes should be the ones in charge. But sometimes it feels like the good idea that “the people who are margalized should have the largest voice in the room” gets used as “and if those marginalized are having a rough time, well they should have just disclosed their situation.”

It feels like the blame goes from “society is ableist/unaccepting of diffeeence” to “if you had just SAID SO well it would be fine!” Without considering the many very good reasons people might not want to speak up. Stigma has gotten better but it’s not gone.

You can add all the stress balls and wellness seminars into your workspace as you want, but for me personally, that doesn’t mean jack shit if the only way I MAYBE can get slight flex in my lunch hours for doctors appointments is to disclose my mental illness to not only my Supervisor, but my Boss and HR. You can add in discounts to Yoga class, but if the only talk of mental stuff in a workplace is about hypothetical “other” people, can I really be blamed for not exactly wanting to play those cards?

Is it really my fault that I don’t want to label myself when that label might become the first thing people associate me with?

I’m not saying people shouldn’t do those things like get accommodations: they absolutely should and I hope no one has to fight for them. I can get defeatist at times and I want to be very clear that getting what you need is worth it and if anyone gives you shit, they’re dicks. I just wish that that more concrete policies to help people who are neurodivergent or mentally ill didn’t require folks to share what they might not be ready to talk about.

And that if that isn’t possible, to not act like the only barrier to acceptance in the workplace is created by those who need it the most.

[constantvariations]

The situation with the paper pleasers is so fucking contrived, yet another example of characters and logic being strangled so plot can happen

Our introduction to ascension was someone being unable to go to the tree himself, so a hole opened up and took him there. When the papers asked the tree for help, all it did was send them leaves. (Was it for poison tea? They don't have mouths and I can't think of any other use for the leaves.) Why didn't it open up a tunnel for them to use?

Even more stupid, why didn't they wait until Jaune was asleep to leave? These fucking papers are more willing to electrocute themselves than stay up past bedtime??? What the absolute shit, MKEK??

[disagigglebilities]

Welp might be getting kicked out twice in a two week period for being disabled. I do hate my life rn

[thenetvvork]

"well when you as a system experience ableism it isn't SPECIFICALLY because you're a system it's just because you're Not Normal so actually systems aren't oppressed for being a system" I think people were put on this earth just to piss me off

[semiconducting]

autism discussions on the internet are sooo fucking white

[mosspapi]

"Yeah we're trying to get u into see ur doctor at her new office now, but her patients list is already 50% full and there's a huge wait to get in to see her still. I don't get why?"

->Well she's the only doctor who's ever treated me like a human, so I'm not surprised people are tripping over themselves to stay with her lmao. Hardly a surprise.

"What??? What do u mean? All doctors treat you like a human? You are a human?"

->No, they don't. I've never once had a doctor treat me normally or respect me as a human until I stared seeing her.

"I'm gonna need a list of all the things doctors have said to you that make you think that. It's not normal and doctors aren't like that to me, I've only had perfect experiences with them, so something is wrong."

.... ma'am how do I explain to you, a fully grown woman with multiple degrees in science/medicine, that of course you have normal experiences with doctors, you are a straight cis white ablebodied non-mentally-ill woman. Doctors are violently ableist and transphobic towards me. You would not experience that because you do not experience ableism or transphobia.

[bombsareforbabies]

This is eugenics and ageism. Full stop, this is eugenics and ageism and ableism. Holy fuck, this is some of the most evil shit I’ve read in a while.

[brick-van-dyke]

A little ramble about Socialist Alternative, leftist radicalisation and privilege. Mostly a vent of sorts so it's going to be messy.

//TW: mentions of suicidal thoughts, effects of capitalism on mental health and physical health, mentions of systematic abuse and oppression, etc.

"What radicalised you?"

If you're familiar with Australian leftist politics or just been to an Australian university, you've probably heard this line from Socialist Alternative at some point, particularly if you're a young leftist. At first, I personally didn't know how to answer this, but now? Now I do:

That's the wrong question, it's not about what radicalised me, it's about when I realised I wasn't allowed to exist. I think my main distrust of socialist alternative can be drawn here, as much as I respect their activism (as much as I don't like certain other parts of it and the organisation itself because of how it functions and is set up, among other things) and how they've helped the movements around me grow, I don't like their ethics because it always centres on feeling in the right when, honestly, that isn't what this fight was ever about. It's not simply about what pushes people to some realisation that capitalism isn't working, for many of us, it's about realising when we noticed that we were broken clogs that would always be discarded; realising that we wouldn't even live past 30 in a system that sees us as faulty parts and that'll end with us either starving to death or choosing to kill ourselves to have some semblance of control in a system that is so damning that it actively tries to kill us. And no I'm not even exaggerating, especially when it comes to disability and generally most marginalised groups. It's actively hostile to people like us.

This is taking out one strong example for myself here, but I just feel like every interaction has had an undertone of not really understanding the gravity of what's at stake on an individual level. I think, like Marx, they really don't have anything to lose but their chains, but for the rest of us? We have our lives, something I think others just can't quite comprehend here when I say being anti capitalist isn't a political choice, it's a matter of life or death because here just isn't any other option in order to survive. Don't get me wrong, I agree with Marx on many things, but I do think there's a difference between able bodies, white, middle class activism because capitalism is uncomfortable compared to when you're a minority that's doing this to be allowed to exist, and specifically I think there's a powerful element of privilege that's ignored, especially in the case of socialist alternative. Again, I respect their activism, but this dynamic of power and push being from a white, abled and middle to upper class lens (yes there are people who are minorities within the org, but they don't hold power and much say imo) has led to, in my view, a distorted sense of reality and, more pressingly, policy and vision that is about saving the working class rather than making a world where labour isn't a price you have to pay in order to be allowed to exist. It's not just the exploitation of the working class, though that's a huge part of it, it's also how hostile this system is to people who can't be used; who can't work or who are seen as dirty or wrong for trying to.

So when asked "so, what radicalised you?" I can only really think to reply with "when I realised that wanting to die wasn't my fault, but the people around me that convinced me that my lack of ability to produce is somehow my fault and that I somehow don't deserve basic survival". Because that's the reality and I think, at least with the SAlt members I've spoken to, that isn't something that's really understood; the gravity of this situation on a personal level and that it's not as simple as doing something to make yourself feel good or to have a moment of pride, sometimes (or oftentimes) it's literally survival.

Most of all, I think what cements this for me is the reply I get to when I've asked (genuinely and in good faith) about allegations about their internal environment being "toxic" and "cult like" and, as I explained to them, this is from many different people from different friend groups who all don't know each other but have had he same experiences:

"They're just jealous of us and our activism."

But jealous of what? In a fight for survival, none of us have the opportunity to feel jealous over how it's done because this isn't about feeling a bit better, it's about being allowed to exist. I think this really is what made me realise that this isn't about the right to live for them, but the ability to feel good for fighting on the behalf of people like me and my friends. And, to me, that's something to have healthy caution over when pity is how people have tried to control minorities in the past, and in my own personal experience.

[bioethicists]

it's very important to understand how a personality disorder diagnosis functions in the psychiatric system, even if you identify with the diagnosis or find it useful.

personality disorders on your medical record will be used to discredit anything you say or do. they indicate "don't bother listening to this person; apply treatment regardless of their wishes but also they're probably manipulating/attention-seeking so maybe don't bother treating them". needing support becomes attention-seeking. behaviors that would be treated + supported in someone without this diagnosis are ignored or treated as manipulative. providers are instructed to "withdraw warmth" (a real thing in the DBT provider's manual, btw) in response to self-injury or suicidal ideation.

if you have been dx'd with a personality disorder professionally, you likely understand this.

now, here's the important part: this is not an issue of 'stigma' against a politically neutral, pre-discursive True Disease which is being Unfairly Maligned. these diagnoses were formulated based on the idea that some patients cannot be trusted, that some patients seek care too much. they are applied to patient charts as a justification for withdrawing care or as a dismissal of someone "not getting better" fast enough. in the uk, they are often employed by the nhs to shame or problematize people who use large amounts of nhs resources, arguing that receiving a lot of care through the nhs is a negative behavior stemming from a disordered personality.

there are elements of personality disorders which resonate strongly with many people, including myself, but you need to be clear-eyed about the origins + functions of this diagnosis. as a whole, they were created + function as ways to discredit + mistreat noncompliant or "difficult" patients. 'reclaiming' them is not going to change how they function systematically- it is going to make it easier to engage in this systematic neglect by evoking 'ableism' or 'stigma!' when people question the utility or application of the diagnosis.

[cyanomys]

yes, there are that many really disabled people on the internet actually

When I was less sick I used to think, "It seems like such a large portion of people on the internet are disabled, it can't possibly be that large of a percentage of the population" and then let my ableism demons tell me it was because they were faking (the same ones that told me I was faking, until I made myself really ill.)

But now that I'm sicker and wiser I realize I was logically just wrong because

The internet is disabled people's lifeline. There are more disabled people on the internet because OF COURSE. People who aren't disabled can be less chronically online because they don't have to be. This is textbook selection bias!

But actually also I was almost right, because there are way more disabled people in society than you would think! They're just systematically hidden and excluded from public spaces for abled peoples' convenience! 🙃

Anyway maybe this will help you understand and/or explain to abled friends and family.

[disagigglebilities]

Complaining to the city for having shitty sidewalks and housing with no sidewalks because it's dumb and I'm disabled and I can't just walk the side of the street like an abled person (the incline messes with my cane :( )