CW ableism. A few days ago I got in a Facebook argument with someone I didn’t know who insinuated that disabled people, including me, are benefit leeches who should think about what other people pay for us to live because we owe them something for letting us stay alive

This all stems from bus systems refusing to support disabled passengers because of COVID. Anyway, in the course of this thread I was accused of being a benefit leech (I’m not on our provincial disability income program because I don’t qualify/need it) I was also accused

Of not thinking about others, and lying about my disability. He questioned my claim that I had brain damage (which is what cerebral palsy is) because I could have a coherent argument, and explained away his ableism by saying “I’m not being discriminatory, my sister has downs.”

The ableist battles I’m in every fucking day to prove my humanity are taxing and it’s inescapable. It’s not enough to say, oh isn’t that horrible, show up, help your friends, support their identities rather than just commiserating (I’m speaking to ableds here, obvi)

I guess this pandemic has made me feel real pessimistic and that fucking sucks. I feel like this situation is stealing my empathy little by little. I got irrationally angry at seeing an Alberta MLA post about taking a vacation to social distance. Things I could laugh off before

Are proving harmful and I don’t find anyone outside of my immediate circle and crip community listening. When I say it’s sapping my empathy, it’s like my brain keeps wanting to make a hierarchy of suffering. Last week I just wanted to scream, my friends are worried about dying

I don’t care about your concert. Which, from a Dis cultural perspective is absurd. I’m always the helper, and the weight of that is staggering right now because I feel like I’m failing literally everyone.

Tldr: John is frustrated/sad and needs some solidarity to happen, stat.