Migrating some previous writing | Thoughts on ableism (are non-disabled folx affected by it)

Note: This piece is a Facebook post that was part of a conversation on the public Facebook group “Supporting All Abilities, Welcoming All Voices”, otherwise known as “SAWV”, the Hmong word for “rise” or “stand”. The SAWV admins’ Wednesday question that week was whether or not non-disabled folks can experience ableism. Many folks in the group answered “no”, I answered “yes”, and this was my response to someone’s assertion that non-disabled folks cannot experience ableism.

Side note: At the time I wrote this piece, I was using the word “folx” as opposed to “folks”. I won’t get into the details as to why I’ve moved back to using the spelling that doesn’t use “x” in my more recent writing, but I want to recognize that some of you might notice how I have used these spellings interchangeably in my writing history. Bottom line, please don’t assume I haven’t thought of this aspect of my language use. I have, and I do, a lot. But I digress; this is not what this piece is about. Thank you for your understanding!

Another side note: The assertions made in this piece do not come out of nowhere and are not originally mine. I have to credit other disability justice advocates who have shaped my understanding of what ableism is. Namely, I want to point to Talila “TL” Lewis, whose working definition of ableism you can find here.

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I definitely see what you’re saying. Clearly non-disabled folx do not understand the extent to which disabled folx experience ableism, much less how non-disabled folx themselves perpetuate ableism–even if they are aware of it and think they don’t. Non-disabled folx have the privilege to ignore ableism and thrive off of not only ignoring but perpetuating ableism. As disabled folx, we don’t have that privilege. Ableism is so upfront in our daily lives that it’s near impossible to ignore once we have found a way to name it. So I understand the sentiment that non-disabled folx don’t experience ableism. In my frustrations, I want to say the same thing.

But I also want to point out the statement you’re making, that ableism is akin to other oppressions such as racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia. I 100% agree, and I want to expand on that.

Ableism is actually so massively pervasive–it is everywhere, and that is particularly because it is akin to other oppressions. To me, ableism is one and the same as any other oppression that exists. Because ableism, to me, is a system that assigns value to people on everything that we are, from how normal we are, to how smart we are, to how fast we are, to how beautiful we look, to how productive we are, to how much we own, to how much we can contribute. Racism is ableism because it assigns value based on how we look, to how close to whiteness we are. Sexism is ableism because it assigns value based on how we present ourselves, to how close to maleness we are. Classism is ableism because it assigns value based on how much we can produce and prove ourselves, to how rich we are. Homophobia is ableism because it assigns value based on how we love and care for one another, to who we are as a person.

When we think of ableism in this way, then I think yes–anybody can experience ableism, disabled or not.

I also think of how disability is such a vastly tangible yet intangible thing–there are so many different ways to be disabled, and beyond that there are so many different ways that people perceive disability. That’s another reason why ableism is so pervasive and why basically anybody can experience ableism. It’s really fucking easy for someone to look at someone else and pathologize them for doing the simplest thing, regardless of their disability status. How many times do we see people calling each other stupid or crazy or trying to justify their bigotry by using eugenics (i.e. “This person should never have been born.”)?

I think we’re hitting the nail on the head when we say that disabled folx experience ableism and non-disabled people do not. But maybe we’re not hitting the nail hard enough, because when we say that we don’t capture how radically everywhere ableism is. Ableism is the nature of how humanity exists, which is really fucking demoralizing when you realize it.

Disabled people definitely experience ableism, and I believe non-disabled people experience ableism too. And I’m not saying this as a “kumbaya, let’s all hold hands, we’re all in this together” type way. But I’m saying this in a “non-disabled folx, wake the fuck up because we’re all in this together and can’t get out of this without you” type way (sounding pretty similar to this Covid-19 situation we’re in, right?). Until non-disabled folx realize that they’re affected by ableism too, there’s no way that we’re ever going to reach collective liberation.