#to then have several characters use that villain's albinism against him to threaten or abuse or plot to kill him

[habibialkaysani]

on the ableism in black lightning

so I’m going to preface this post with a disclaimer on my own background. I am an able-bodied desi muslim queer cis woman. I’m not going to pretend that I can ever fully understand the barriers and issues faced by black people, those with albinism and those with other disabilities who might also be affected, but I’m not seeing posts about this issue. maybe that means I’m not following the right people - who knows. and in all honesty I’m not sure it is even my place to talk about this stuff, but I would like to see what people with disabilities and especially albinism think of black lightning so far.

to be clear, I think this show has fewer issues than the adjacent flarrowverse, which is chockfull of racism, sexism, ableism and homophobia that are insidious and blatant both. and I love the main characters, especially anissa and jennifer and lynn. the akils have done a great job of addressing racial and social issues so far, especially with regards to police brutality. but also it’s a great show in terms of family and relationships. there have been many elements that I’ve enjoyed so far.

but not everything has sat right with me. I admittedly didn’t know a whole lot about albinism prior to watching the show, but when two friends of mine pointed out that the villain, tobias whale, had albinism, it was immediately a red flag for me because I (as well as - far, far more importantly - a myriad of people with disabilities) don’t like the idea of the main disabled representation on a show being a disabled villain.

and it’s not that I don’t appreciate the show giving us a bit of an origin story, if you will, about how his father abused him for his albinism and his sister for defending him. but the combination of seeing whale’s father, lady eve and now jefferson pierce himself view whale’s albinism as something to hold against whale is just - not easy to watch but also kind of incongruous with a show that fights so fiercely (and rightly) for the protection of minorities.

sure, lady eve and whale’s dad used whale’s albinism to threaten and/or abuse him - lady eve specifically refers to the oppression and murder of those with albinism (referring to how the body parts of people with albinism are used for so-called magical purposes) when threatening tobias and he remembers her exact words when she sends him that envelope with dust in it. in comparison, jeff’s words are not as hurtful, perhaps, and it could be that I’m missing something, but still I’m trying and failing to understand why it was necessary for him to say that he was going to put whale’s “albino ass right back into the grave” (I might be paraphrasing a little but that’s the gist of it). I get that the guy murdered his father pretty brutally and I’m not excusing any of his behaviour but I’m also not excusing the fact that jeff said what he said. needless to say it made me feel uncomfortable given he’s meant to be the good guy in this and I’m sure more importantly that it made people with albinism watching the show uncomfortable too to see him say that.

but it gets worse. jeff then looks up albinism on the internet and ends up using whale’s disability against him - specifically the fact that people with albinism need to be regularly checked by a doctor for certain skin conditions and so on. jeff goes to whale’s doctor, whose concern is for his own family who whale has been threatening for his silence. that doctor ends up turning on whale and calling him under false pretences in order for jeff to then kill him. and jeff doesn’t because lynn talks him out of it, but that’s not the point. I feel like the implications are bad - that a man who is not only able-bodied but also has superpowers is using his nemesis’s disability, to get to him. and tbh that sounds pretty ableist to me.

I also don’t know where they’re going with khalil’s story, but I feel the options are bad regardless. whale tells khalil that he’ll be able to walk again even tho he won’t be able to, medically speaking, that means a miracle cure is definitely likely given it’s a comic book show where people have superpowers, and that’s not exactly desirable. if khalil can’t walk but does become a villain(ous sidekick?) then it’s like a rehash of whale’s origin story which centres on his condition, thus implying that those with disabilities and conditions are destined for a villainous future, which doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t mean to say that disabled heroes don’t exist, of course, but the one that springs immediately to mind is barbara gordon, aka oracle, and rn I’m reading batgirl and the birds of prey which starts with babs explaining how she was cured with experimental tech that enabled her to be batgirl again. so even there a miracle cure isn’t out of the question and I know that this particular plot point is upsetting to those with disabilities irl who can’t be miraculously cured. 

as I said, I don’t want anyone to have misperceptions here. I was going to comment on this issue much earlier, but I didn’t feel like it was my place. I still am not sure if I should be airing my views given I’m not black and do not have a disability or condition, or albinism. but I would like to start up a conversation and I encourage those who have noticed the same issues and related ones to speak up about them. the show is no doubt a breath of fresh air compared to the toxicity in the flarrowverse, but no show is without its problems and every show should always strive to do better. to that end, I think it’s important to start a dialogue about the problems we see and maybe even (respectfully ofc) discuss things with the showrunners, writers and so on.

lastly, I will not pretend to be an expert on albinism or congenital conditions or disabilities or ableism. if I’ve said anything that’s wrong or inaccurate, you are absolutely welcome to correct me. additionally I mentioned above that I haven't seen a whole lot of discussion on this. if you have written anything about it or can direct me to posts/articles/commentary, that would be greatly appreciated.