CW ableist slurs.
I just got blocked by someone for calling them on ableist language they were using to mock and insult. They used “Dum Dum” and “stupidity” about statements from a political figure who consistently says outrageous things while acting in bad faith. 1/ https://twitter.com/ebthen/status/1251953891337535488

Understanding ableism and intellectual ableism is essential, particularly in these times when there are calls to sacrifice disabled people’s health in the face of a pandemic. Eugenics is a road to hell and we should all steer clear. 2/

Using intellectual ableist slurs to attack people who do things we don’t like is problematic. It doesn’t describe the bad behavior. We’re really usually talking about a moral problem like bad faith, greed, violence, or chosen ignorance like racism. 3/

We think our ableist slurs target the person who is acting badly, but our words really strike bystander disabled folks and don’t point out the thing that is the actual problem behavior. That’s what happens when we call someone “stupid”. Intellectual disability is ok. 4/

One of my favorite people in the whole world was a guy by the name of Mark Davis. Kind, generous, friendly, always brought a smile to my face. He helped a lot of people out and made a lot of people’s days. Diagnosed as DD with an IQ below 60. Yes I know IQ is ableist. 5/

I’ve known a ton of guys with ID/DD, lots and lots of women and girls too. Every time we say “stupid” it’s a slap in the face. It’s ingrained, isn’t it? But we can change. 6/

The first step to a change in behavior is to bring our awareness to the language we use, including our self talk. (I still beat the hell out of myself with ableist language.) We catch it before it crosses our lips or before we hit the Enter button. 7/

And there’s a side benefit too. We can get good at identifying and articulating what bad behavior is. We can better recognize ignorance in its various forms. White supremacy, patriarchy, greed, and colonialist attitudes become clearer, both internalized and structural. 8/

By looking deeply within and finding the seeds of our own ableist self talk we can begin to better discern the socially constructed attitudes that value some of us less or more than others. 9/

We can look outside ourselves and find the voices who speak with clarity to cut through the learned confusion, people like @EbThen, @slooterman , @coffeespoonie , and the brilliant @DisVisibility. We can read this incredible piece by Kairani Barokka 10/ https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2020/04/13/how-colonial-visual-cultures-have-worsened-this-pandemic-and-what-needs-to-change/

This thread stretched out a bit. I’m not the most articulate person but this hits deep. We’re in the middle of a pandemic and ableist language reinforces the eugenics threatening so many of us and our loved ones. It’s devastating. Stay safe my homies, I love you. x/