A Year of Bad Behavior and Ableist Responses to It

The year 2020 showed us it was a force to be reckoned with and so far 2021 is pulling no punches. With the loss of life, power, and water in the wake of Winter Storm Uri in Texas, this year continues to frighten. As my family and friends back home went days without power or water, I felt powerless to do anything. Folks checked in on me as well offering to send supplies but when all the stores are closed, the city is shut down, no deliveries are happening, the roads are unsafe to drive, and all the hotels are booked, what comfort can one offer. Even the emotional support of calls and texts can feel burdensome if they’re draining already rationed cell phone batteries.

As we’ve continued experiencing these challenges, we’re also continuing to see how poorly they’re responded to – by elected officials, companies, influencers, school administrators and so much more. In response, people have understandably expressed rage. But too often, those expressions have been framed by ableist language like blind spots, tone deaf, or even hot wheels to refer to Texas’ governor who uses a wheelchair.

I do think that there’s such a thing as over policing language and I think it matters most when marginalized people fear being policed by the just educated, just elite enough woke folks. But language matters and we should be considerate of and intentional about how we use it to discuss people who are systemically disadvantaged. We cannot keep responding to people’s inhumanity towards us with words that minimize the humanity of large swaths of people beyond just them, perhaps including people we love.

To be clear, this issue existed long before the pandemic. E.g. 45’s racism, sexism, xenophobia, incompetence (need I continue?) is no reason to comment on any aspect of his body or whether his minor child has a developmental disability. Black men using the b-word to describe a Karen likewise need not happen. Isn’t now a good time to stop?

Here’s to change,
L

P.S. If you’re struggling with crisis fatigue, I found this episode of Between Sessions to be really helpful https://open.spotify.com/episode/53AIlGHrkqTD4IhQFBgb74 and if you have no idea what happened in Texas, listen to an account from Kimberley N. Foster (of For Harriet) https://youtu.be/RwGyurRRSXQ