if you're an abled person, I would really appreciate it if you could just

stop trying to decide if someone is "really disabled" or "a faker"

it is so harmful. please do not.

@annieelainey has a great video about this

Basically every disabled person I know has been labeled a faker at some point, or been asked intrusive questions about their medical history by a random stranger who thinks maybe we are "faking", or fears this

I have yet to meet anyone who is *actually* "faking" a disability

[ableism]

Thinking also of my HS teacher who didn't come to any reunions because the Vice Principal was like "oh be careful, people might think you faked your disability to get benefits"

Friends, he was on dialysis

[ableism]

And honestly, abled people just have no idea what a "fake disability" looks like

Like, #AmbulatoryWheelchairUsersExist

Using a wheelchair does not equal never being able to stand ever

[ableism, dietary restrictions]

And don't even get me started on the people who decide people are "making up" their food allergies or intolerances

Especially the ones who try to secretly feed us something we're allergic to in order to "prove" that we're not really allergic

[ableism, death, harassment]

In case you're wondering what sparked this thread:

Amy Lee Fisher died recently, and the awful people at certain reddit forums are just continuing their awfulness

The reddit forums are all about "spotting fakers" https://twitter.com/JessicaXDiamond/status/1380151284959952900?s=19

PS yes, disabled people can do the whole ableist "try to spot the fake disability" thing, too

But this thread is not focused on that, because I'd really like to stay focused on A Thing Abled People Can Do for Allyship

And not intra-community politics