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On "Crayon Eating" (I am disabled, I will not be debating this with anyone who is not); Ok so. The joke was originally intended to be a joke about Marines being able to eat anything, which is fair enough in and of itself, there was no malintent in it& #39;s origins. However-
As the meme spread, it& #39;s usage expanded and it& #39;s meaning has since been reinterpreted to be shorthand for & #39;low intellect& #39; and it is often used in place of the ever popular in gaming community R slur. Now, jokes about low intellect and the usage of the R slur very often-
if not always come at the expense of disabled folks, especially those who are neurodivergent or have learning disabilities. I at this time do not believe that the widespread usage of this & #39;meme& #39; to be following the original definition, especially not with how it& #39;s used.
It& #39;s always used in a derogatory way, most frequently aimed at players using the percieved & #39;low skill& #39; loadouts in PvP, another topic I like to talk about is accesibility and the idea of low skill loadouts that r accesible being bad is ableism but that& #39;s a seperate conversation.
This is why we& #39;re upset. The joke started out with the meaning to be relatively harmless (comparing Titans to Marines) and IsaKole isn& #39;t really at fault for it as she had innocent intentions. However meanings can change over time and the way it& #39;s used now, is ableist.
It& #39;s ableist because the community uses it as a means mock players who are seemingly & #39;lower intellect& #39; which is literally ableism. The way they do this is by crutching upon the ableist notion that disabled folks (especially those with learning disabilities or neurodivergency)-
have no control over themselves, that they are childlike and will eat anything even if it& #39;s harmful to them or not supposed to be eaten, that they do not posess the intellect to control themselves. It perpetuates stereotypes about disabled people that dehumanise and belittle-
them as people. I will point out that not all disabled and neurodivergent ppl find this joke harmful or offensive, however the point still stands that many //do// find it harmful/offensive. Therefore it& #39;s still in bad taste/ableist to make these jokes as it is harming someone.
The best way to deal with being told a joke is upsetting a group of people or someone. Is to stop making/telling that joke.
