#like ableists realize that disabled people ARE PEOPLE? and that people like having fun?

[enigma-the-anomaly]

Read a well-written article from ign by grant stoner, detailing how a new weapon in splatoon is negatively impacting disabled players’ health and caused them to stop playing until Nintendo hopefully fixes the issue. I go to the comments. It’s full of people saying that if you are photosensitive or otherwise disabled, you shouldn’t be playing in the first place and that it’s unreasonable to demand changes in accessibility.

Victim blaming and ableism, gotta love it :/

the article in question:

[thebibliosphere]

I work in elder care as a social worker and the sheer number of people on this 'leftist' site that called prince Andrew a 'skeleton' and a 'mummy' and made memes about how 'ugly' and 'disgusting' he looked made me ILL. They weren't mocking him for being a billionaire dipshit. They instead made fun of a sick old man for looking like a sick old man. Most vindictive block spree I've gone on since the days of ace discourse.

Sadly, it is deeply ingrained in our society to ascribe looks and health to morality. It's a narrative many of us have been fed from birth and don't even recognize as an issue until someone points it out. And even then, some people remain resistant to the idea that it's an issue at all because they don't like to think they've been doing something wrong. Which is understandable. No one likes to feel like they're a bad person.

And they're not.

They just need to unpack some damage and realize that health and physical appearance are morally neutral things. I know my relationship with my own mental health and other disabilities got a lot better when I started making a conscious effort to decouple them.

By all means, criticize people for their actions. Hold them accountable for their deeds. But you can do that without perpetuating what is often ableist, classist, racist (etc.) values in the process.

[oscconfessions]

TRANSFEM TISSUES PROPAGANDA ATTACK!!!

why do another nonbinary arc when you can do the transfems justice? sure, we already have lightbulb, but lightbulb happened in between seasons and it was never even canonized! wouldn’t it be great to finally make the transfems happy and give the world an actual transfem arc?

tissues is easily one of the contestants i have the most problems with. firstly— the way their sickness is made fun of when it’s genuinely a disability. let’s add more to this walking ableist stereotype and build on that! make them have niche interests— since they’d probably be bedridden a lot, maybe make them a super geeky person! make them like fandoms and spending their time drawing fanart for their favorite shows— make them have super geek freakouts when they learn someone else has heard of their favorite obscure anime!! make them an enjoyer of horror media, or make them an otaku!! make them indulge in media so that they can imagine themselves in a world where no one makes fun of them for their condition!

my next point is to make them have an arc where people realize that there’s more to them! have one of the new contestants reach out despite their illness! make them learn all about who tissues is, make them learn about tissues’ rich inner worlds that they’ve built up to escape the reality of their sickness. make them become really close with tissues and make them share their interests with them as well. make them open up to eachother— i could see this happening with cabby or clover, maybe even tea kettle! …and then have one of the older contestants refer to tissues as “the sick one”, or some other dismissive term that references only their condition. make tissues’ friend angry at that contestant for only seeing tissues for their disability, make them yell at that contestant and let them fucking rant. and make tissues be in the background, hearing all this and realizing that they… really don’t deserve to be treated like that, do they? make them realize that all this time they’ve been trying to escape when in reality, they can stand up and fight. just like their favorite heroes do. just like their friend did for them.

(btw its very important that their friend is a girl i should mention this)

let them get more confident over time, starting with them glaring at people who joke about their condition. then have it escalate into them taking a stand against anyone who says mean shit against them— have them tell people off for being ableist fucks (not words used in the show most likely) and make their friend be proud of it. make them grow closer with their friend over the course of the show, and have a scene where the two are alone. tissues would ask “…what’s it like to be a girl?” their friend would be a bit confused, but would explain it to the best of their ability. “…huh.” their friend asks why they asked “…i know… that some people don’t feel like the gender they were born with… and i always kind of identified with that.” “i was wondering because… because i felt strange about being a man. and i… i feel exactly like what you said.” Have their friend realize that. oh this guy is a girl actually. Have them offer the best advice they can, whether it be analytical or motherly or even a little awkward. and i want tissues to feel inspired to change. i want tissues’ title to change from The Sickness to The Adapter. someone who can change and grow no matter the situation— if only they try.

please consider this

-🥜🪶

.

[thisismisogynoir]

I cannot with this.I get that 'narcissistic' as an insult is inherently ableist but Hobie's not 'an ableist fuck',he's a fictional character and it was a one off line💀Like this just screams white,imagine hating like the first mainstream black punk character that's actually as popular as they should be and is like the blackest designed superhero ever PLUS a literal fascist killer and huge activist that took in a trans girl bc her abusive dad kicked her out........because of one line he said that was never backed up or referenced.We never should've let yts have Spiderverse ong

I agree so much with this. Now I won't deny that using "narcissist" as an insult is ableist and I can understand op being upset at Hobie for that, it's still a wild reach to claim that Hobie is ableist because of that one line. He is a fictional character who does not exist in a vacuum, he is controlled by writers who chose to make him use narcissistic as an insult. If there's anyone you should be upset with, it's the writers.

Hobie has always been shown to be nothing short of open-minded and woke and respectful of other people's cultures and identities, and promoting freedom and anarchism in general because, fuck, that's what punk is all about! Even I, someone who has a very low opinion of men as a whole, think Hobie is amazing and would love to hang out with him if he were real! He just seems like a really warm and welcoming fellow! And at the end of the day, no one is perfect, even woke and open-minded people have their blind spots, so even if we separate the art from the artist we could always say that Hobie, as someone from the 70s, isn't aware that using narcissistic as an insult is ableist, and would definitely apologize and do better. Like demonizing cluster-bs is something that is so normalized and embedded in our culture that even the most progressive and super well-meaning people can still fall prey to it. Yes, even other disabled and neurodivergent people, including those who ARE cluster-b and don't know it. Hell, I'm cluster-b and consider myself a progressive person and in the past I used to use "narcissist" "sociopath" and "psychopath" as insults because I just didn't know better. Once I did realize it was bad, however, I stopped. And the same could be true for Hobie.

If OP is so mad about it(which is fair, but still) they could always just write a fanfiction or create a headcanon where Hobie learns the true implications of using cluster-b terms as insults and stops doing it. Hell they could even hc Hobie as being cluster-b himself! But taking it out on the character and calling him an "ableist fuck", when, once again, you're all right to be upset, but that's a little bit too much. I bet if Hobie was white or non-Black this person would have patience for him and understand that it's not his fault, but the writers' faults, but because he's Black, because he's dark-skinned and Black, and alt to boot, he's a big bad scary monster who would definitely beat up narcissists and sociopaths for fun and therefore he must be demonized, attacked, and mistrusted according to this person.

TLDR OP get a grip.

[unhingedechobean]

I'm gonna rant for a second cause I'm pissed off.

Stop saying you are "transabeled" or "transautistic" or what ever fucking term you are using as an excuse to be ableist! I don't like hating on most people and I want to make it clear I support transgender people all the fucking way.

But being "transabeled" IS NOT A FUCKING THING!

I am a disabled wheelchair user who is also autistic! DISABILITIES ARE NOT FUN OR TRENDY! THEY FUCKING SUCK! JUST FUCKING ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE PRIVILEGED! DISABLED IS NOT SOMETHING WE CHOSE! IT IS NOT FUN OR QUIRKY TO USE MOBILITY AIDS OR OTHER ACCOMODATIONS DISABLED PEOPLE NEED TO LIVE THEIR LIVES!

SOME OF US WILL NEVER HAVE A NORMAL LIFE AND SOME OF US NEVER FUCKING DID! YOU DON'T LIVE YOUR LIFE IN PAIN, YOU HAVEN'T BEEN FUCKING TRAUMATIZED BY DOCTORS WHO PUT YOU ON SO MANY MEDS YOU CANT FUNCTION OR STRAIGHT UP CALLED A LIAR EVEN WHEN YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE BOTTOMS OUT!

WE CANT JUST FUCKING DECIDE TO FUNCTION ONE DAY AND NOT THE NEXT! THAT IS NOT HOW IT FUCKING WORKS! MOST OF US GO THROUGH HELL AND BACK JUST TRYING TO LIVE OUR LIVES EVERY. FUCKING. DAY!

YES I KNOW AUTISM IS A FUCKING SPECTRUM AND A LOT MORE PEOPLE ARE ON IT THEN THEY REALIZE. BUT DO YOUR FUCKING RESEARCH INSTEAD OF WATCHING A FEW TIK TOKS AND DECIDING TO TAKE THE LABEL FOR YOURSELF! AUTISM IS NOT A FUCKING SUPERPOWER NO MATTER WHAT THOSE "AUTISM MOMS" SAY! AND NEITHER IS ADHD. NO OUR LIVES ARE NOT TRAGEDIES BUT THEY AREN'T FUCKING EASY EITHER!

AND THOSE OF YOU USING THESE "TRANSABELED" LABELS KNOW THAT YOU AREN'T FUCKING DISABLED! YOU KNOW YOU ARE NEUROTYPICAL! YOU CANT FUCKING DECIDE TO BE DISABLED!

SAME WITH THE FUCKING "TRANSTRAUMA" BEING TRAUMATIZED IS NOT FUCKING FUN! IT SUCKS! IT DRIVES PEOPLE TO KILL THEMSELVES AND I KNOW THAT FIRST HAND! YOU DONT FUCKING KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE!

ALL OF THIS IS THE SAME FOR "TRANSRACIAL" GODS YOU PEOPLE NEED TO FUCKING STOP IT.

If you support this bullshit then get off of my page. Transgender people don't choose to be trans the same way disabled people don't choose to be disabled and that people don't choose their race. So shut the fuck up and fuck you to the "transabeled and transautistic" people who fake symptoms. It's not cute and you would not last a day in our shoes. Fuck you, hope you realize how fucked up all this is.

[aidiscoursebingo]

the bingo card template ^^

(breakdown of each box under the cut)

IP brain: several arguments against AI art hinge on IP and copyright law: e.g., accusations of plagiarism or copyright infringement, navel-gazing wrt "ownership" of art, etc. this means nothing to anyone who doesn't believe in the virtue of copyright lol

all art is hobbyism: anti-AI types frequently pretend that all art is something done solely for fun and/or personally meaningful to the artist and/or not labour

the hands/teeth!!!!: a common argument against AI art is that the hands or teeth look uncanny or unrealistic (even though that's one of the coolest things about AI art lmao)

we NEED overworked animators. To Save Human Artists: many argue against the use of AI to automate more menial aspects of creative labour (e.g., background art in animation), even when the work in question is famously backbreaking. (animation is only an example, and this box can apply to other art-related jobs)

art requires intentionality: a bizarre and common argument--"AI art isn't art because real art is 'intentional'." ignores (a) that there are intentional aspects of AI art (even setting aside the formation of prompts, the decision to choose a generated result and share it publicly is an undeniably intentional one) and (b) that several other art forms (photography, documentary, collage, etc) also preclude artists from having that flavour of foundational "every-brush-stroke" control over the piece

art requires a financial transaction: "it's only real art if someone got paid for it" (in other words, the opposite of the all art is hobbyism argumetn. thank god for the consistency of the anti-AI movement o7)

hyper-conventional conception of what makes "good" art: the manner in which opponents of AI target perceived flaws in AI art (blurriness, spatial abnormality, "count the fingers!", etc) tends to betray deeply reactionary values wrt "good" art as art that pursues representational realism.

"techbros": "-bro" is a commonly used, ill-defined pejorative that generally means "any person the speaker doesn't like." opponents of AI tend to cast what they call "AI advocates" as "techbros" interchangeable with NFT shills. besides being implicitly gendering, it's also hilarious--which side in this debate is closer to saying "i own this image so you can't right click it"?

"soul"/"humanity": there are frequent pseudo-spiritual appeals to art (even corporate art, apparently!) as having an essential "soul", "humanity", or even "godliness" that AI art lacks. this is of course meaningless to people who don't see any value in spiritualism

motte & bailey/strawman: opponents of AI frequently switch gears whenever they get cornered--when they realize that "we need stronger copyright law" is an indefensible position, they say "well REAL art requires effort!!", and when they're defeated on THAT front too they switch to "well AI is making artists lose their jobs!" and they keep doing this ad nauseam instead of acknowledging the flaws in their arguments. really it's less motte & bailey and more bailey & bailey & bailey & bailey &

ableism: people critiquing AI frequently choose to be ableist for some reason. the most common trick is inspiration porn (i.e., "so-and-so disabled person learned to paint with their teeth, what's your excuse?!")

"stolen"/"theft": two of the three favourite words of the anti-AI crowd. even if you accept the fundamental IP-brain premise (which, to be clear, you shouldn't), a baseline knowledge of how training datasets work should still make claims of theft fall flat.

reactionary BS (free space): arguments against AI tend to rely on several foundationally reactionary concepts, be they luddism, copyright, or the ~essence of humanity~

(in)directly insults collage/readymades/photography/etc: a massive portion of diatribes against AI include arguments that also lock several other mediums (the above plus music sampling/covers, choreography, film direction, etc) out of "counting" as art. frankly, a massive portion of them are indistinguishable from the reactionary outrage against duchamp's fountain

"you know it's not even ACTUALLY AI right??": people love to point out that "AI" is a buzzword and that computer programs are not actually sentient, and then pretend they've done something

AI artists are immoral/lazy/etc: several pejoratives tend to come out. see also: stupid, talentless, heartless, abusive, etc

"collage": the third favourite word. to be clear, AI image generators are NOT "collage machines", and if they were, that would be a good thing

classism: another thing that jumps out frequently. right-wing ideas about labour and poverty abound

art requires effort: another bizarre idea--the implication that more effort = better art. surely by this logic the amount of labour hours behind Avengers 16 must make it the ultimate opus

"just commission an artist": an annoying adage

stealing jobs from artists: same argument as self-checkouts

childish insults directed at AI: lots of people love making juvenile jabs at the AI. there's no sweeter irony than seeing someone write a diatribe about how AI is Not Really A Person then act as if they've just humiliated it

petty bourgeois artists = underdog: a lot of commission fanartists are convinced that aligning themselves with (petty-)bourgeois interests is going to help them in the long run

acting like AI operates independently: everyone seems to think that no humans are even involved in the process and that AI generators just sit in a dark room operating themselves, spitting images into the void

no understanding of how machine learning works: self-explanatory. opponents of AI don't seem to even know the bare minimum about the subject they argue about

(also yes i do consider diagonals to be a bingo, i dont care if it's not proper lmao)

[lightoftheemeraldstar]

Hey so, gonna go on a rant here but can we agree that treating kids like shit is bad? I've seen a trend of a lot content that makes fun of gen alpha for being brand consumerist, or having bad jokes, or even not being able to read. Like guys these are preteens. These a kids who have had the trauma of unfiltered internet access worse than we did, and I was born in the late 2000's. Like it's not these kids fault they've been raised in a capitalistic hellscape, or had a tablet shoved in front of them since they were born, which SIDE NOTE, I think it's really fucked up we are also acting like that's a result of lazy parenting, like people have to work multiple jobs just to stay afloat, many families can't afford nanny's or babysitters, also how lots of jobs these days require you to be "on call" while you are AT HOME. Also on the not being able to read thing, that's just so fucked up, like you do realize how fucked up that is. Not only is it just like ableist as hell to kids with developmental disabilities, but also like did y'all just forget COVID happened? Is *still* happening. We were did education completely online for two to three years, like ofc that's gonna have setbacks, elementary kids cannot be expected to sit still and be able to pay attention. I went into COVID in middle school, and it was hard as hell. Ofc these kids are gonna have setbacks, ofc they are gonna struggle more, we all do, we all did.

Sorry for ranting but when did we start blaming kids for the crime of being kids, I'm not gonna ask you to grow up, because there is no shame in being young, but you are no better than boomers.

[spookietrex]

So I don't use a lot of social media for this very specific reason: I find that there are a lot of ableist and stigmatized attitudes and I no longer have the energy to fight sometimes. (I realize this is a stereotype but I am speaking from my experience.) But outside of Tumblr, I do have a friend/dating (am not dating just use for friends/meeting people in my area) app installed that I mostly ignore. However, today, I got a notification that the app's question of the day was "Would you date someone who is disabled and can't walk?" Here are some of the top posts from that. As a disabled person, I am thoroughly disgusted. (Except by the meme. That person wins.)

I used to be part of this (sometimes unknowingly) ableist culture and actually identified as differently abled myself because I was so high-masking. I used to think that because I was AuDHD I could say differently abled because I was super creative. But that's not showing the full picture. My autism is disabling in the sense that I have meltdowns if things don't go a certain way, I have to have my things sorted in a certain way before I can play with them, there are certain rules/I can be bossy/very rigid when engaging with others because I don't understand social rules. The list goes on.

It's called a disability because it disables you. My autism doesn't make me fucking superman. I can't fly because of it. I can't do things that neurotypical people can't. Sometimes I can notice patterns? But I also have multiple meltdowns and it takes me 45 minutes+ to figure out how to fix an error I made when I accidentally shipped something to the wrong place....I have a master's degree and had a 4.0 in grad school. I was HIGH MASKING because I knew how to play the game. Just because I look like I can do things doesn't mean I'm not just scripting my way through it. I just read a lot and like research. I used to write 20 page research papers for fun. My EDS, fibromyalgia, and POTS all impact my ability to stand and walk. I use a wheelchair the majority of the time. That also doesn't suddenly mean I can see through walls or have telekinesis.

You know what it means? It means I lay in bed the majority of the time with my heating pad, THC cream, muscle relaxers, ibuprofen, and numerous braces, and just try to not go out of my mind. Which is hard when you're also mentally disabled. So like that person is just spreading harmful misinformation.

Let's talk about the person who said they can't run away. O.o Like I assume they're joking but like that's hella creepy. Red flags. I'll hit him with my cane if I have to.

[daisyssousa]

Hi. I hope you don't mind me asking your opinion, as a disabled person, about comments I've seen about Sousa's new prosthetic. I realize no group is a monolith, so you won't provide THE difinitive answer, but I would like hear from someone who actually lives through it.

So, why is Sousa's new prosthetic considered ableist but his old prosthetic was not? Is it because his disability is no longer obvious? But if the new prosthetic works better, why is that a bad thing? Sorry, I guess that's three questions. I really hope this didn't come off offensive, I genuinely just want to understand.

I hope your having a great day and have fun blocking the anti-Dousy trolls😊

Hi there! <333 Thank you very much for the question! It's not offensive at all!

As you pointed out, we're not a monolith, so I definitely can't speak for every disabled person out there, nor am I trying to! If someone is legitimately offended, they completely have a right to their feelings. I'm also not an amputee, so I can't speak to that either.

I think there are some people who feel that because his new prosthetic made it so that he can walk completely normally, they feel like it's erasing his disability. There are a few reasons I heavily disagree with this mindset:

It doesn't erase his disability at all: He will still have to care for his leg the same way he would with any other prosthetic. He will still have to keep it clean and take care of the skin to keep from getting it irritated, injured, or infected. He will have to keep up care of his remaining leg muscles too to be able to use it. It's mechnical and electronic, so the prosthetic itself will require maintinence and upkeep as most tech does. It's not going to be like poof! His leg is magically healed! When you get down to it: his new leg is still not his real leg.

I do think there is room for criticism in the sense that Agents of Shield didn't show this on screen. In fairness, perhaps they thought in showing Coulson and Yoyo previously struggling with their prosthetics, they thought maybe it would be enough since season 7 was already crammed. I do think they should've given us at least a little something though. But still: it didn't erase Coulson or Yoyo's disabilities, so it wouldn't erase Sousa's either.

Technological advances: With all the technological advances of the Marvel world and all of Fitzsimmons' inventions, giving Sousa a high tech prosthetic is completely within reason. It isn't like the Agents of Shield writers magically pulled special technology out of nowhere to specifically "erase" his disability, there was already a precendent set with Coulson and Yoyo (and Bucky Barnes). And also LMDs. Even Daisy's gaunlets are prosthetics in a way, since they keep her bones from breaking when she quakes.

If they'd retconned his missing leg or used some kind of hand-wavy magic to get it back, then yeah I could see the argument. But that's not what happened.

Real world technological advancements are catching up too: there are already prosthetics in development that use the electrical impulses of the brain to move the prosthetic limb and allow the person to feel sensations! There are also battery powered mechnical ones. Should real amputees be barred from using these because it "erases" their struggle? No. (btw I am not aiming this at you anon, this is me speaking in general! <3)

Sousa's wish to walk again is in character: Sousa expressed in episode 2x08 of Agent Carter: "I know desperation. You know what I'd give to be able to walk again? A lot." He even uses the word "desperate." This is fulfilling a character trait he had in Agent Carter. It didn't come from Agents of Shield. He wants to be able to walk and is accepting of the prosthetic.

It grants him more freedom of movement and less pain: Especially considering they were in the middle of a dangerous mission, giving him more movement and less pain to hinder him is extremely helpful. And in general, why shouldn't he be able to use something that helps him be in less pain and do more every day? No one should be forced to struggle just to prove they're disabled! (Again not directed at you anon, in general <3)

Anyway, my brain is turning a bit mushy, but I hope this helps you anon! <333

[blusical]

Ableism in Hockey

[PT: Ableism in Hockey. End PT] Trigger warning: Ableist comments and language, uncensored slur. We already talk about the homophobia, misogyny, racism, abuse and bullying that's almost engrained in hockey culture. However, I don't see many people talk about the ableism that's way too common within hockey. Firstly, what is ableism?

Ableism is a form of discrimination, particularly towards people with physical, mental, intellectual and other forms of disabilities. Ableism towards those with mental illness is called sanism. Some examples of ableism include inaccessiblity, using ableist slurs (such as the r-slur), believing that disabled people are broken and need to be "fixed" or "cured", believing that people with certain mental health conditions are "evil" (ex. the evil alter stereotype towards folks with Dissociative Identity Disorder or believing that everyone with Narcissistic Personality Disorder is abusive). Ableism within hockey fandoms.

Some of you are already familiar with the "blind/deaf ref" joke. Almost everyone has made such jokes at some point (or at least laughed at one). Well, earlier today I was watching an Instagram reel featuring a league of blind hockey players. The comments, while most of them surprisingly supportive, also showed that such jokes aren't exactly harmless...

Worst part, I only saw two people take issue with these comments. TWO. Ironically enough, one of them was a referee who just so happened to actually be blind! While it's easy to assume they didn't know better (and they probably didn't, considering this joke is unfortunately way too common), it kind of serves as a reminder about how we view disabled hockey fans, players, coaches and, yes, even refs (especially those that are blind or deaf). And it's not just blind or deaf individuals being made fun of. It's also very easy to go into hockey spaces and see disability or neurodivergent-based buzzwords thrown around, such as "delusional" (or, and this is the only time I'll say this willingly, "delulu"), without the people saying it even realizing the harmful affects it could have on those who do genuinely experience delusions or psychosis (such as those with schizophrenia).

Ableism within the sport itself.

Within hockey, some youth organizations still use the m-word (shown below so people know what I'm referring to), despite it being considered an offensive term (and even a slur to some) towards people with dwarfism. In 2020, Hockey Canada dropped the term, but some organizations still use it, including USA Hockey.

Ableism by the players is also something we should address. In 2022, the Boston Bruins signed Mitchell Miller, a player who's infamous for bullying a black disabled teen (CW: Uncensored r-slur, brief detail of physical violence and unsanitary actions). He was eventually released two days later after backlash from fans (though the contract didn't end until February), however it was not a good look for Boston. (Man, ableism and racism. Talk about a double whammy). Earlier this year, a video surfaced of Carson Briere and a few other individuals pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down the stairs; the wheelchair was severely damaged and had to be replaced. Not long after the video surfaced, Mercyhurst Hockey cut him from the team. Both of the above mentioned have since signed with a team in Slovakia.

And this isn't even getting into the likelihood of ableist slurs being used on the ice. Lastly, many hockey arenas are still inaccessible, with many disabled fans unable to enter access in some, getting accessible seating is a hassle and many unable to buy tickets due to high prices (something that lots of disabled folks have issues with in many events.). Crowds and noise at venues can also be overwhelming to those on the autism spectrum (Like me!) and unfortunately not many hockey arenas have sensory rooms (However there IS some improvement being made on this end!) And unfortunately, watching from TV might not even be an option for some folks, as digital ads have also raised concerns about potentially causing seizures in photosensitive folks.

Disabled folks are considered an afterthought when it comes to fun events such as sports.

That may seem like an exaggeration, but unfortunately it's not. Disabled folks are always viewed as an afterthought in the world, and whenever basic accessible features are requested, they're told to "grow up snowflake" or that the "world doesn't revolve around you". And sports is no different. As the above show, disabled folks aren't taken seriously, especially when it's so easy to see blind and deaf folks become the butt of jokes when making fun of refs, mockery of addiction (alcohol addiction, gambling addiction, drug abuse, etc). And the worst part: Almost nobody is talking about it. Not until not anyway. We discuss the misogyny, the queerphobia and the racism. But we never talk about the ableism within hockey culture. Well, now's the time.

[lilnasxvevo]

I am aware this post might make people want to kill me with hammers but when people acknowledge that a huge chunk of this website is autistic and then they also make posts about how enraging it is that someone didn’t understand their post that used like, figurative or abstract language or imagery…like. Some autistic people. Have trouble. When encountering unexpected figurative or symbolic language. With understanding that it is figurative or symbolic.

It’s certainly not every post or even most posts complaining about Reading Comprehension On Tumblr that falls into this trap but it’s definitely something I’ve noticed a handful of times where people complain that their post was not understood, and then I go and look at the post and the part that was misinterpreted was something where definitely I would expect that a chunk of the autistic people I know WOULD have problems understanding whatever literary device they used. You know, due to the Autism.

So I guess I just want to say like, generally I would like it if people would be a little more vigilant about that, and not imply that people are The Enemy or Human Scum or Proud Of Their Own Ignorance because they didn’t understand that something you said was a metaphor or didn’t realize you were using hyperbole for humorous effect. And just like…remember that autism is a disability and that it’s not all fun and games and special interests, and sometimes autism Does In Fact, Surprise Surprise, affect how people process information. Any autistic person who’s ever misunderstood or missed a social cue knows this to be true, so just please have compassion with people who are autistic in a slightly different way from you and misunderstand you in a way you aren’t used to being misunderstood. And just like, don’t be a bully. Lmao.

**And again, PLEASE do not read this post too fast and assume that I’m saying that every single post about reading comprehension on this website is inherently ableist. A lot of them are fine. And please do not say “Well I’m autistic and I can understand figurative language just fine” because I didn’t SAY all autistic people struggle with this, it’s just kind of a Known Autism Fact that SOME autistic people struggle with it.**

Okay? That’s all. Please no hate mail for things I didn’t say. Aaaaand post.

[hypezombies]

Stranger Things becoming so mainstream is simultaneously the best and the worst thing to happen to the show. The best cause the Duffers got the chance to bring to life the full vision and can expand on it as much as they want. And the worst because this way the audience is full of people who do not understand the show and are most likely gonna throw senseless critics at it, instead of anything actually good. And I'm not even talking about the zero media literacy. It's a HUGE issue in this fandom but it's not the only one.

The show has been advocating against bullying and conforming since the first season and the fandom is filled with people who act EXACTLY like the bullies in the show and shame others when they don't fit their standards of conformity. Believe it or not the Eddie Munson stans that everyone loves to make fun of are the real target audience of the show. Nerds, outcasts, people who like to engage in fandom culture, cosplay, analyse, theorize. Not the people who are used to consuming only shallow media that is meant to be taken for exactly what is shown and nothing more and who never had trouble fitting in in their lives. Not to mention the Eddie stans act exactly like people in every other fandom do, but most people who like Stranger Things have no idea of what normal fandoms are like and act superior for it too.

And shows, movies, books, fandoms and so on, are a form of escapism for so many people, but instead you can't even enjoy a piece of fanart, or character analysis, or whatever, without stumbling upon someone making fun of others simply for having a different view on something and, way worse, throwing homophobic, racist and ableist insults for this same reason. These are people who have always had everything catered to them and are too stuck in their view of the world to even realize that this show is not for them.

Troy was shoved to the ground and humiliated in front of the whole school for being homophobic and got a broken arm for being ableist. Similarly, Angela got her nose busted for being ableist. This is what the creators of the show think of garbage people like them. And instead we have people like some Mlvn shippers who are openly homophobic, racist and ableist to Bylers, simply because they don't like their little heteronormative, already seen a thousand times before, ship. And then they turn around and throw the senseless ableist and sexist accusations whenever someone doesn't agree with them on Mlvn being endgame or doesn't like them as a ship. This is the literal real life version of Angela making a presentation on Helen Keller, pretending to give a shit about disabled people, while bullying and humiliating El for her disabilities. And this is NOT me saying that you shouldn't ship Mlvn or stuff like that, this is me saying that that part of the fandom is more often than not the problem. And, again, it's because the majority of them are the people who always fit in and always have everything catered to them. It's not a coincidence that they are the ones not willing to even consider other possibilities.

And like, EVERY protagonist in the show is an outcast who doesn't fit in society's standards for one reason or another (let's ignore Steve for a moment). And while people who are like the protagonists get shamed in the fandom, they get rewarded in the show whenever they are themselves and don't try to conform.

The show reached an audience that was never in the mind of the creators, who are so used to always being the target of everything and are actively making the experience worse for everybody. And you just know they're most likely gonna say the dumbest shit when s5 comes out, instead of bringing any good criticism to the table, because they're incapable, or simply REFUSE to see the show and it's themes for what they are meant to

[confused-critter]

Pinned post

'sup I'm confused critter. I'm a shapeshifterkin and I will turn into whatever, but I have found myself circling around the aquatic, equine, bird, and often canine themes. I briefly questioned this one shapeshifting fae, and I think it may be, but I honestly have no idea. My username isn't confused-critter for no reason, after all.

Edit (5/11/24): I would like to note that I also apparently turn into people. Why does my everything need to be so complicated?

On my blog, you will mostly find reblogs of whatever kintype I decided to shift into that day, and maybe some posts of my own if I'm not too tired.

I am disabled, although what kind I won't disclose here.

tagging system-

#in my horse girl era -> horse/donkey kin posts

#creature posts -> I shift a lot. So my kintypes change a lot. So this tag will be used whenever I reblog something that's me vibes. Will include people (mostly streamers because I spend way too much time on twitch) sometimes.

#crashing waves and silting foam -> aquatic kin related things

#cheep chirp -> bird/avian related things and the only tag that isn't an actual phrase

#critter's pile of trash -> my actual posts, made by me

#oh shit i forgot to list the general tag -> my general tag.

DNI:

homophobes

zoophiles

pedophiles

NSFW

anti kin

zionists

racism

sexism

anti-endo

ableists

people who think certian things are "cringe". Cringe culture is dead i say.

A fun fact about me: I accidentially deleted my tumblr, and as I created a new account, I realized I never had a proper tagging system and pinned post. I strive to do better now and hopefully be more organized.

[rjalker]

Bigot online have been accusing me of being 30 since I turned 20, and it's always the exact same sort of people (who claim that criticizing any kind of bigotry online that they think is fun means you're terminally online and a useless hobo who needs to get a job and needs to touch grass and yada yada yada insert the newst trendy ableist insult here) who say this like it's an insult, and they think this means they're somehow winning the "debate".

Someone will post something blatantly bigoted, I'll point out the bigotry, and then they'll be transmisic, ableist, or classist towards me, or all three at once, and then follow this up with "aren't you 30?"

Like, no, I'm not, and more importantly, what are you trying to accomplish with this "accusation"?

Like, do you people think that bigotry is only bad if it's happening to people ages 29 or younger?

Do you think when people turn thirty their opinions on bigotry no longer matter?

Like what is the fucking logic here? Because like, it's literally just blatant ageism, on top of whatever other bigotry they're being criticized for in the first place.

Like oh, sorry, I didn't get the memo that once you turn 20 you're not allowed to think misogyny, or ableism, or racism, or classism are bad. It's Definitely The Law™ that all people older than 20 have to be apathetic and resigned to the world burning down and everyone dying without any resistance at all.

Like it's so ridiculous.

"you're thirty why are you talking about how sexual harassment is bad"

Gee I don't fucking know, maybe because when I'm actually 30 years old morals will still exist and bigotry will still be bad?

Like this is just blatant bigotry but these fucking people always think they're being sooo clever and progressive by just lying about my age like me being 30 would mean my opinions about bigotry that impact my life would suddenly be rendered meaningless.

Like are these people going to walk up to Queer and disabled elders and tell them their experiences don't matter because they're older than 20? Only people younger than 29 are allowed to have an opinion on bigotry being bad, otherwise you're cringey and terminally online and need to get a job????

Like, hello? You do all realize that if you're not already, you're going to be thirty some day if you're lucky, and so will I, and pretending that "Being thirty" imparts some state of "no longer mattering in any way to any conversation" is just....straight up ageist??? Along with being patently absurd???

Like why do you all feel the need to lie about how old I am and then mock me for the age you've assigned me. What fucking sense does that make in your self-proclaimed leftist head.

I think some of you self-proclaimed "leftists" just need to admit you want to go back to highschool so you can be a bully to children who can't fight back again. Because we can all fucking tell you're still riding that high and looking for new victims as soon as you think you find one that's an "Acceptable" target.

If all it takes for you to start misgendering people and making targeted ableist insults is for someone to point out that your attitudes and behavior are classist and ableist, then you're not a good person and you never have been, and it doesn't matter how many times you lie about my age las though me being 30 would somehow be the most devastating insult ever to exist. Like seriously what is wrong with you people. I don't think you know what morals are.

[anonymouslydisabled]

I don't think non-disabled people realize how much goes into socializing when you're disabled. I'm not even talking about disabilities that cause social difficulties when I say this. Besides my autistic social difficulties, here are some of the things I have to think about that ableds don't in social situations.

mild TW: short mentions of violence and eugenics and a lot of fear of ableism.

Great, I'm making a new friend. But will they attempt to harm me when my disabilities cause me to lose control? Do they know the basics about my symptoms? Will they call 911 if I have a seizure in front of them? Will they laugh at my symptoms? Will they fake claim me? Will they treat me differently when I use a mobility aid? Will they infantilize me? Will they question my disabilities behind my back? Will they ask me invasive questions? Do they use outdated and/or offensive language to refer to disabled people?

Great I'm in a really fun class at my homeschool co-op. But is the teacher educated on disabilities? Will we have a classroom discussion on the ethics of eugenics against disabled people? (yes that really happened to me). Will I have a seizure in front of the entire class? Will the teacher be willing to accommodate me? Will I hear my classmates mocking disability or using disability-related slurs? How will they treat me on a day when I have to use my cane? How will they treat me when I have to leave class for a seizure cluster? How will they treat me if they see me tic? Will they talk about my disabilities behind my back?

Great I'm making plans to hang out with a friend. But are they educated on seizures? Will they mock my stimming? Will the place we're going have flashing lights? Will they not want to be around me anymore if I can't do certain activities due to my disabilities? Will they understand my sensory issues? Will I have a seizure or medical episode in public with them? Will they fake-claim me once we're alone together? Will they mock my comfort objects or stim toys? Will I get weird looks because of my disability aid(s)? Will the judgement of strangers make them embarrassed to be around me? Will they exclude me from social events because they assume I cannot do something without asking? Will they understand if I lose speech? Will they mock me if I tic or stutter? Will they compare my chronic pain to their injury? Will they think essential oils or exercise will cure my psychical disabilities? Will they disrespect my disabled Mother? Will they touch my disability aids without asking or treat them like toys? Will they judge me for using disability aids? Will they not understand why sometimes I need certain disability aids and sometimes I don't?

This is all inside the mind of myself who is a low support needs disabled person. It's incredibly hard to be social when you 1. have a disability that causes you to miss fundamental social cues and 2. are constantly worried about common ableist judgements and 3. have unpredictable symptoms.

This fear of ableism is both common and valid among disabled people! We often fear this because we've either experienced it ourselves or heard about another person in our community experiencing it!

Non-disabled people can help by educating themselves on ableist language, comments not to make, and brief knowledge on the specific conditions of their disabled acquaintance or loved one. But most importantly being non-judgemental and open-minded goes a really long way!

TL;DR It's hard to socialize when you're disabled, be non-judgemental towards disabled folks in your life and educate yourself when you can!

[haikyuupaladin]

TLDR; The way ableism in the Whumptober community has been handled this year is incredibly disappointing at best and ableist in and of itself at worst.

I’ve mentioned this in reblogs and sent in related asks to @whumptober before (only one or two of the asks were answered) but I have some serious issues with how Whumptober has been handled this year from an ableism perspective.

First of all, there were multiple prompts that were heavily tied to specific disabilities. The one I’m focusing on for this post is “Seizures” on day 7 because I have epilepsy, but I know day 7 also had “Silent Panic Attack” as a prompt and “Allergic Reaction” was another prompt off the top of my head. (Edit: I have also had the prompt “Withdrawal” pointed out to me as being another prompt that needs to be handled with tact due to addictions, which also fall under the disability umbrella, as well as “ringing ears” which connects to tinnitus, and “crutches” which is self-explanatory). While the prompts are released ahead of time and the event allows you to start working on your prompts as soon as the prompts are released, Whumptober is still a daily writing challenge and the prompts are only released about a month in advance, giving people an average of 2 days to write a prompt if they’re aiming to be completionist. That is not enough time to handle these prompts with the respect they deserve, so these prompts should not be included.

I realize that by the time I brought it up it was too late to retract the prompts, but there was no encouragement to the participants to handle the topics properly in their fills, nor was there any indication that this will be taken into account when selecting prompts in the future. In fact the blog said multiple times that it was ok to be medically inaccurate, and while my ask with my opinion that you should be medically accurate when it comes to disability related prompts was answered and shared, there was far more encouragement to just write whatever you found fun with complete disregard for medical accuracy shared, and the conversation was shut down entirely soon after that ask was answered.

The blog they’ve been reblogging prompt fills to has not been taking into account possible ableism when reblogging fills. I read through almost all of the fills for the seizure prompt and there was only one fic that I remember being handled well (though I can’t remember which one off the top of my head and it was not one of the ones shared to @whumptober-archive). Also, a lot of people made gif sets to fill the seizures prompt, which is inherently, if unintentionally, ableist, as it treats seizures voyeuristically, romanticizing and trivializing the seriousness of seizures. One of these gif sets was reblogged to the archive blog and multiple ableist fics have been reblogged as well. I have asked for them to at least consider taking down the reblog and the more blatantly ableist fics, but have gotten no response on this and the reblogs are still there.

I understand that there’s a lot of work already going into this event, and that how people choose to fill the prompts can’t be controlled, however, taking into consideration the nature of the event, prompts that are likely to lead to ableist fills should not be included, and ableist fills should not be promoted by the event runners.