Listen up, people.
When we know better, we do better. And to know better, we have to listen when marginalized communities tell us that something is offensive, hurtful, dismissive, or all of the above.
So read through this list of 14 phrases that can be taken as ableist, then do your best to remove them from your vocabulary – it won’t hurt you to quit using them, but it might hurt another person’s feelings if you choose not to.
Easy decision, no?
14. Why on earth would anyone think this is okay?
#YouMightBeAbleistIf you park on the lines next to the handicapped parking spaces… they’re there for a reason!! pic.twitter.com/v57eRYI3xy
—
Amanda Dillon
(@adillon845) December 29, 2019
13. Promise.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf you repeatedly dismiss my description of my disability with an “oh EVERYONE has that problem”
No TF they don’t. Pound sand.
— René Brooks | Black Girl, Lost Keys (@blkgirllostkeys) December 29, 2019
12. That last one, though.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf
"You don't look sick."
"You just want attention."
"Everybody has pain."
"You should go gluten-free."
"You're too young to have X."
"Do you really need that cane?"
"It's just pain."
"It's not PTSD if you weren't in the military."— Mira Wells
(@MorgaineCoonCat) December 29, 2019
11. Maybe they just think the other person is awesome?
#YouMightBeAbleistIf you congratulate every teen taking someone with a disability to prom. They don’t need medals for treating people as human
—
????? (@hathatsgayyy) December 29, 2019
10. I want to shout this from the rooftops.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf you think a subminimum wage is ok bc “at least they have something to do”
— 1 of 42 Million Vicious, Horrible People (@4WheelWorkOut) December 29, 2019
9. None of these are at all helpful.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf
*Get some fresh air, you'll feel better
*You don't "look" sick
*It's all in your head
*Church will help
*Just pray about it
*You were fine yesterday
*You're doing this to yourself
*The meds make you this way
*Just force yourself to do it— Liddle Jessica Savage
(@losingminddaily) December 29, 2019
8. Maybe just skip the labels.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf you call someone “high functioning” as a compliment. pic.twitter.com/mjAZXhMtKH
— René Brooks | Black Girl, Lost Keys (@blkgirllostkeys) December 29, 2019
7. They’re not there so you can have a moment.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf you are inspired when you see a disabled person just living their life.
— Maddie (@williams_madd) December 29, 2019
6. This makes me sick to my stomach.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf you went to 8 years of medical school only to tell a black person they can’t possibly have the symptoms they’re experiencing.
Wait…did I do this right?
— Crutches&Spice
5. Stop thinking fair and equal are the same thing.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf you think accommodations are just special treatment instead of what they truly are: an equalizer
— 1 of 42 Million Vicious, Horrible People (@4WheelWorkOut) December 29, 2019
4. Strictly speaking, vegetables aren’t that helpful of a suggestion any time.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf you think "eating healthier" will cure medical issues or disabilities. Eating vegetables will not cure me Karen!
— Tyler J (@wicked_jr89) December 29, 2019
3. I promise it’s not Jesus.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf if you think it's a miracle or a sign of "faking disability" when ambulatory wheelchair users stand up out of their wheelchairs.
— dov (@DovZeller) December 29, 2019
2. Chances are they realize that fact already.
#YouMightBeAbleistIf your first response to someone taking the time to open up to you about their struggles is informing them that there are several others who are far worse off than them.
— Alexandra_Destria (@Alexa_Destria) December 29, 2019
1. It’s not “nice.” And while we’re at it, neither is saying “I don’t see color.”
#YouMightBeAbleistIf you ‘don’t see me as disabled’. It’s not a compliment. I want you to see me as disabled, because I am disabled. When you ‘don’t see the disability,’ you attempt to erase a fundamental aspect of my identity.
— Carys Llewellyn
(@blindandb0ujee) December 29, 2019
Now that you know better, do better!
The post You Might Not Realize These Phrases and Actions Are Seen as Microaggressions to the Disabled Community appeared first on UberFacts.