The difference between a reason and a excuse

 I am studying at the moment but saw a post from a disabled creator on this platform talking about internalised ableism and I get that is a thing, as I know that I have it most of the time but where do we start to draw the line and say that we aren’t responsible for educating everyone we meet about our disability and that there is sometimes for hidden or physical disabilities a time to meet society’s expectations, for what we are about to do.

We can’t expect the world to change for us when we aren’t willing to put in the work  and I know that this opinion will cop a lot of backlash but we need to be accountable to the best of our abilities and acknowledge how far we have come and we need to be thank full for what we have as we have more than the people who came before us and fought for us to have equal access and are still fighting for equal access, but what I don’t agree with is equity as this removes all the learning opposites and provides a space for learnt dependence and this can lead to support worker abuse something that we don’t talk enough about in the work place and how to fight it and there is no easy way to fight it but education around what they do and how they are able to help people. But we see that they are often subject to emotional, verbal and at times physical abuse so how is this ableist to say that having a support worker is a privilege and not a right.

As I have some, but I fear that with the NDIS cutbacks I will be reliant on family and friends again and this is where the support workers fill the gaps as well. So we need to start the conversation around boundaries in that we don’t need to police every word we say, we need to be polite and take a stand but we don’t need to justify everything we do or say and not everything needs to be turned into a learning opportunity’s , there will be natural opportunity’s   to learn but we see that people often  are turned off when they are gatekept from learning and asking questions around disability and I don’t mind the words they use as long as they are asking about my life in good faith as some of the older people in my life  have grown up with disabled and special needs being a bad thing and they are now learning that its not a bad thing and have lots of questions for me but to constantly see things about ableism  and disablism from the “disability community” that don’t welcome me but claim to be inclusive I see that maybe the fire is coming from inside the house so we need to be clear that not every person with a disability wants to be identified as a person with a disability as it might cost them a job or a relationship or opportunity’s  but we are also seeing that people are outing other people “ to get the help they need” but maybe they don’t qualify or don’t want the help and I am really annoyed at the gatekeeping of the disability community of who is saying we talk for everyone with a disability then  include the diverse voices that you don’t agree with the support workers, the parents, the people who are higher functioning, who are working instead of being angry that people are using the wrong words then  start using your platforms to start to talk about this issue and the issues that are effecting every one of us, in Australia these being.

·       The digital divide

·       The NDIS cutbacks

·       The health cutbacks

·       The exclusion of people with a disability from workplaces

·       The fact that if you are working more than 15 hrs a week your pension is cut off,

I don’t see anyone except Jordan shanks talking about them I am seeing disability “activists” talking about book week and as of writing I see that this is going on and it’s a great thing but where are the posts talking about the costumes that would be inclusive or would go with mobility aids or limb differences.

I know that this has been a rant post, but I feel it needed to be said and I have stayed quiet on this topic for far to long. So, I am putting my line in the sand my disability isn’t your excuse so in the words of the dowager countess of Downton Abby “you have a brain and reasonable talent so stop wining and find something to do”