Speaking Up, Change
I've made a few comments about ableism in the FB OTO forum. Today I commented on an OTO sister's post linking to an article about dietary restrictions, and mentioned ableism (as it was displayed in the article.) Then a different OTO sister tagged me in a comment saying that she couldn't hear herself think over my "constant screams of ABLEISM".
I was pretty surprised by that (the kind of "what? what the fuck? huh?" reaction I always get when totally insane things happen) until I realized that to people who do not want to share rights and liberty with other people, a few mentions is "screaming." It reminded me of the anti-gay rhetoric I heard in the early 90s: "I don't mind gay people, but why do they gotta rub it in my face?" Or "It's wrong for them to want special rights." To those people, not hiding one's queerness in terror is rubbing one's queerness in someone's face. Suggesting that you are a human being was "wanting special rights."
That's what she reminded me of. In her view, it isn't even okay for a disabled person to speak up. It isn't okay for someone to say "I am human and I have needs." NOT TO EVEN SAY IT!
This is depressing, because wow. And this kind of thing, it makes me feel really sad about the OTO: the issues involved in the discussion were misogyny, ableism, downright lies, classism, and it is depressing as shit to see a so-called Thelemite defend those things. But it's also heartening, in a way, because look at how far queer people have come in the last 20 years! Maybe in less than 20 years, disabled and neurominority people will have also made such social progress.
Her attitude is the attitude of the oppressor. It's the attitude of the *losing side*.
I was pretty surprised by that (the kind of "what? what the fuck? huh?" reaction I always get when totally insane things happen) until I realized that to people who do not want to share rights and liberty with other people, a few mentions is "screaming." It reminded me of the anti-gay rhetoric I heard in the early 90s: "I don't mind gay people, but why do they gotta rub it in my face?" Or "It's wrong for them to want special rights." To those people, not hiding one's queerness in terror is rubbing one's queerness in someone's face. Suggesting that you are a human being was "wanting special rights."
That's what she reminded me of. In her view, it isn't even okay for a disabled person to speak up. It isn't okay for someone to say "I am human and I have needs." NOT TO EVEN SAY IT!
This is depressing, because wow. And this kind of thing, it makes me feel really sad about the OTO: the issues involved in the discussion were misogyny, ableism, downright lies, classism, and it is depressing as shit to see a so-called Thelemite defend those things. But it's also heartening, in a way, because look at how far queer people have come in the last 20 years! Maybe in less than 20 years, disabled and neurominority people will have also made such social progress.
Her attitude is the attitude of the oppressor. It's the attitude of the *losing side*.