Moon joyJul 3, 2023

It makes me so sad that so many #disabled people take on society's view of them as deficient, shameful, and deprived. We internalize and individualize systemic #ableism and then blame ourselves for our misery.

It just shows how badly a #DisabilityPrideMonth is needed...

I'm sad for my younger self because I grew up thinking the same way. And indeed even my current self: I'm not totally free of internalized ableism, probably never will be. But at least now I have a better chance of spotting it.

Show threadMoon joy
This was explained much better on the post where r/blind explained that blind mods can't moderate the subreddit any more.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/14nzwkm/they_finally_did_it_reddit_made_it_impossible_for/
They finally did it: Reddit made it impossible for blind Redditors to moderate their own sub

Since the [latest "accessibility" update to the Reddit app](https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/14n9426/), the amount and magnitude of new...

reddit
Jul 3, 2023 at 12:11pmWeb
Show threadMoon joyJul 3, 2023

The other thing I wanted to say for #DisabilityPrideMonth is to the people who aren't sure whether they can or should call themselves disabled.

I'd like to say: welcome.

(If you want.)

Disability can be defined as a condition that significantly impacts your life. It can be defined as where society disables you.

It's not just for mobility or sensory impairments. It's not just for physical pain. It's for invisible conditions, variable conditions, mental illnesses, energy-limiting conditions...

Show threadMoon joyJul 3, 2023

I think, like with queerness/transness, people get nervous that they're somehow "appropriating" disability. That they're "taking the label away" from people who "really need it" or "need it more."

Welcome! This is a very common disabled experience!

But you aren't taking anything away from the "real" disabled people by counting yourself among us. A lot of us are disabled by narrow societal expectations.

I hope you can find solidarity and community among us. Those things do us all good.

Show threadSpeed demon 🇪🇺 🇳🇴🇺🇦🇵🇸Jul 3, 2023
@bright_helpings
"A lot of us are disabled by narrow societal expectations."
-- Well put!
Show threadLiamJul 3, 2023
@bright_helpings
Thank you for highlighting this.
As someone with ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the term 'Disabled' and how it applies to me.
It's very easy to fall into a lot of the 'Am I appropriating this? Am I making light of others' disabilities?' kind of thoughts.
But, at the end of the day, the society I live in does not build things with me in mind, and frequently doesn't accommodate the differences in how my brain works. How my brain does it's thing frequently gets in the way of how I'd like to be getting things done. That's disability, and it's not helpful to pretend it's not just because I have it reasonably well managed.
Show threadHawksquill (I've migrated!)Jul 3, 2023

@bright_helpings in case it helps anyone else, I'm sharing what finally made the social model of disability click for me.

Needing glasses is a disability. Glasses are an assistive device. And yet needing glasses is so common that various social and bureaucratic structures have been modified to accommodate it: a special type of endorsement on drivers' licenses, for instance.

Society sets the parameters of which bodies are disabled, and which disabilities are stigmatized and destigmatized.

Show threadLindis🦖Jul 4, 2023
@bright_helpings it has taken me a very long time to *realise* I am disabled now, and that more than anything has given me a new understanding of how truly universal disability is. There is no clear divide, no scarlet letter, no them and us.
Show threadMOVING > https://cooltrans.men/SympathyTeaJul 7, 2023

@bright_helpings Thank you for this thread.

I am a hypermobile person trying to come to terms about this myself, I have been through hell trying to even get a diagnosis for my problem and I've been turned away multiple times because doctors think me dislocating my joints or bending them in places they shouldn't is me faking it. I've only recently started considering myself disabled.

I don't know what exactly I am, all I know is that I am both neurodiverse in some manner and have hypermobility in my joints. Trying to call myself disabled has been rough, and posts like these help alot 

Show threadTattie (old account)Jul 3, 2023
@bright_helpings thank you. I've been very hesitant to call myself disabled re: my autism, but, y'know, it's something I need provisions for (and which society usually does not provide).
Show threadMoon joyJul 3, 2023

@Tattie Absolutely! Society disables autistic people in so many atrocious and horrifying ways.

Show threadLydia SchochJul 3, 2023

@bright_helpings @UnCoveredMyths Thank you very much for this.

I was one of those people who had those thoughts and wasn’t going to use that hashtag because of it. It’s nice to know I can be included after all.

Show threadMoon joyJul 8, 2023

Somebody asked me how a blind person can make a screenshot, and even complimented me on mine here.

So here's a quick PSA:

"Blind" doesn't always mean "can't see anything at all." Many blind people can at least see the difference between light and dark. Some have okay visual acuity but very little visual field. Or vice versa. All of that can be described as blind.

Many conditions affect sight and everyone is different. You can't assume much about a person if all you know is that they're blind.

Show threadMoon joyJul 8, 2023

Also, it's not good to compliment a disabled person for doing something you who do not have that disability think they shouldn't be able to do!

I've been called "so brave" for just walking down the street (by myself? maybe?).

It's infantalizing.

It was someone else walking down the street who said this! Did she think she was brave?? Or was it just me, alone with my white cane, who was so brave she had to grasp my arm to tell me so (also don't touch blind people, but that's a whole other PSA).

Show threadMayanaJul 8, 2023
@bright_helpings This, so much.
No, people, you're not being kind to me when you tell me how inspiring I am for just frying an egg and eating it on my own.
You might as well be implying you thought I am less than an animal, unable to even feed myself without a sighted person's assistance.
Can we have a shoutout to "You're so amazing! If I went blind, I'd probably kill myself," too? Because look at that. Think about it for a moment. Then tell me how the fuck that's a compliment! How!
Show threadHell's Kitchen Bitches! 🦮🔥Jul 8, 2023
@Mayana @bright_helpings The really wild thing is that blind people who are hearing say this about me all of the time… Things like "if I were Deafblind I would kill myself." Or "you're so inspiring to live on your own!" When if sighted people do the same things to them they become angry… Yet somehow… It becomes acceptable… To do it to me.
Show threadMoon joyJul 8, 2023
@Pawpower Yeah it's disgusting. Where we should be in solidarity, people are instead desperate for any little power imbalance that goes "in our favor" for once. @Mayana
Show threadKara GoldfinchJul 8, 2023
@bright_helpings Yep, exactly that.
Show threadBelle (she/her)Jul 8, 2023
@bright_helpings @skye Adding this to my business card ko-fi list of things people need to give me a donation for. 🤣
Show threadMoon joyJul 8, 2023
@RavynWitch Absolutely! Honestly I ended up doing enough labor in the resulting conversation that I wish I'd been paid for it! @skye
Show threadBelle (she/her)Jul 8, 2023

@bright_helpings @skye

I’ve already added “you’re too young to have [fill in the blank]” “have you tried [yoga/acupuncture/diet]” and “do your knees still hurt?”

I keep thinking about this and the more I think about it the more I want to actually do it. 🤣

Show threadparamilitary organizerJul 8, 2023

@bright_helpings trans people 🤝 disabled people
getting called "brave" for existing

  

Show threadMoon joyJul 8, 2023

@t54r4n1 another similarity!

Oh yeah, I still owe you a "social model of transness" link from the other day don't I....

Show threadparamilitary organizerJul 8, 2023
@bright_helpings yes please!
Show threadJesse's KittenJul 8, 2023
@bright_helpings @celrock YES!!!
Show threadPratik PatelJul 8, 2023
@bright_helpings There are also tools that let us take screen shots of certain things like Window, desktop, focused area, etc. for those of us who can't see. Being #blind also doesn't mean we can't understand the structure of the operating system we're using. Most people don't understand this part. This is one of the reasons why we insist on having accessible tools so that we can do things like take screenshots.
Show threadD.Hamlin.MusicJul 8, 2023
@ppatel @bright_helpings there should be a warning when you are about to screenshot and forgot you still had curtain down.
Show threadDJ ForeplayJul 8, 2023
@bright_helpings you can't assume anything about a person even if you've lived with them. People change and circumstances arise.
Show threaddeilann v -0.2.1.  Jul 8, 2023

@bright_helpings when people ask me how I take decent photographs...

i have a lot of usable vision and i didn't forget how photo composition works because my vision's shit

then my phone makes sure it's in focus and will tell me if it's not or my lens is dirty

Show threadTim MillsJul 8, 2023
@bright_helpings Same for deafness. Awesome conversation - thank you!
Show threadsignerinkbeastJul 3, 2023
@bright_helpings
I can't thank you enough for coming out and saying this. It's incredibly difficult to keep that truth in mind when everything everywhere in society keeps screaming the opposite. We need to keep telling ourselves and each other that we matter and deserve to exist despite the constant cuts and digs everywhere. We must do what we can to stay grounded, because isolation and constant rumblings of the negative messages will eat even the best of us away. We aren't made for that.
Show threadmoth bitchJul 9, 2023
@bright_helpings My favorite part of this: "We're not disabled because we can't see like you can..." We're disabled because your systems that work for others and thus you refuse to change cannot work for us.