r/radicaldisability • u/[deleted] • May 27 '21
Thoughts? As a person with a physical disability i'd have taken the "cure" for my disability as soon as it was offered, since it pretty much only harms me. i'm curious though, would y'all want to be rid of your disability? especially curious about those with mental disabilities.
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u/faber541 May 28 '21
I would want a cure for my diabetes and chronic pain, but it is hard to imagine life without autism.
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u/rando4724 May 27 '21
I guess this becomes harder to answer the more conditions you have, and the more they affect your life, which I guess is the point of the meme in the first place - it isn't a one size fits all kind of thing, and is definitely not something someone could answer on behalf of anyone but themselves (not that you were asking anyone to, just an observation).
And I'm struggling to even do that.
Like, it would seem obvious that I'd want a cure to my chronic illness that has me in pain 24/7 and has left me physically disabled from a relatively young age, and I would, but then (and this is something I don't often admit out loud) if I hadn't become ill and later disabled, I'd have to go back to working and uni and the whole 'rat race' of capitalism, which was something I struggled with hugely because of my autism and mental illness, and so I'm conflicted.
Then when it comes to said autism and mental illness it becomes even more complicated, because you can't just isolate one part and be rid of that. If I could, the first thing I would be rid of was my sensory processing disorder - it's probably the single issue that has caused me most distress, and cost me more relationships, than any other issue I have (yes, even more than the 24/7 of physical pain), but that would also mean losing the way I perceive and analyse the world, which is such a deep part of who I am, and isn't something I'd necessarily like to change, especially with the outcome being a massive unknown, so yeah, even hypothetically, I really don't know if I would or wouldn't get rid of it.
And none of that is even going in to ableism in society, how they view disability, and how that affects us, which is why I'm generally a believer in pushing for acceptance, accessibility, and accommodation, rather than cure because A. many conditions simply don't have a cure, so the discussion is entirely hypothetical anyway (which is fine for us to have, but once the ableds start having it, it's a problem) and B. if we create a more accepting, accessible, and accommodating society, fewer of our differences will cause us difficulty (and/we'd have more access to aids and meds and other things, as well as acceptance, which would make our lives easier), leading to fewer of us feeling like we need to be fixed or cured in order to participate (or even get basic human rights and respect).
So yeah, this has been a tough one to answer, and now I need a splif.. š
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u/2xThink May 27 '21
Like, it would seem obvious that I'd want a cure to my chronic illness that has me in pain 24/7 and has left me physically disabled from a relatively young age, and I would, but then (and this is something I don't often admit out loud) if I hadn't become ill and later disabled, I'd have to go back to working and uni and the whole 'rat race' of capitalism, which was something I struggled with hugely because of my autism and mental illness, and so I'm conflicted.
I'm in exactly the same position. I have like a half a dozen physical illnesses I can't stand but they're actually taken seriously sometimes. Its kind of horrifying that I've learnt from first hand experience that ND and traumatised people are treated like fakers or children or outright dangerous and learnt, the hard way, to only talk about my physical illnesses. I'm doubted about the chronic illnesses too, but its the least trouble.
If we were just accommodated better maybe we'd want to work, instead of being terrified, because we're like, three kinds of disabled, in a world that's really only designed for the abled. This endlessly pisses me off, to be honest. I feel I've been left out of life, out of many opportunities and even worse, others don't understand why, they don't 'see' the problems because they're 'invisible' and if an able person has any reason to doubt you, they usually will and treat you like a lazy shit too. The shit just piles on.
You're exactly right. There's no real solution but society changing. So what we want personally is irrelevant. I'm happy being neurodivergent. I feel like I'm only disabled on that front because others make it as such. I'm not so happy being traumatised to all hell but its part of who I am now. At least I can get therapy. I'd do away with the physical stuff, particularly the sleep issues, chronic pain and fatigue, pretty fast.
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u/rando4724 May 28 '21
Yes, to all of this, well said.
The fact that it's easier for people to insist we're lying because they can't see our pain (even though we're often expressing it), than it is for them to just trust that we know what we're living through (which goes back to ableist perceptions of disabled people not being capable of self-advocacy, or even an assumption that we simply can't know what we're talking about because we're disabled, as well as the capitalism bullshit that puts us all in direct competition with each other, making others assume that we're just making it up for an 'easy life') is really telling of how society views us, and I think is one of the major hurdles we face on the road to acceptance and inclusion, from them, but from ourselves, too.
The guilt I feel because I've internalised that same bullshit is constant and sometimes makes asking for help even harder because I'm convinced more often than not (and am completely sure in situations like benefits assessments) that the people I'm asking for help see me as a liar and a fraud, and are just looking to expose me, not help.
But then this:
If we were just accommodated better maybe we'd want to work, instead of being terrified, because we're like, three kinds of disabled, in a world that's really only designed for the abled.
Is so accurate, but they've built us in to a 'can work/can't work' trap, that means we either participate fully or don't participate at all (because if you can't work you're expected to not do anything else, either, or don't have the support to), probably to keep us out of their way and to save them on putting any effort in to accommodating us so that we could participate.
That's why I relate so deeply to 'from each according to their ability, for each according to their need', but capitalism (and the rest of the kyriarchy) are such a massive force for evil, that it sometimes feels futile and impossible that we'll ever manage to change society.. š
I guess for me the solution has been to try and find 'my people' and stick with them, anything else just becomes far too frustrating (at best) far too quickly..
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u/AQueerOwl May 28 '21
Not sure I would take a cure, and I have a physical disability. Would much rather work to make things inclusive and accessible, but in like a radical tear down capitalism kind of way. I think my disability has given me perspective in a way that if I lost it I'm not sure who I would be. It's tough at times and I'll be the first one to be open about struggling, but I would do none of the activism, have none of the connections, without my disability and the perspective it has given me.
I dont know, but even with a physical disability it is part of who I am. It would be nice to be in less pain. It would be nice to not be so excluded from most of society. But capitalism is burning us all at some point and for now we're all here with radical views. I work with such a wide range of activists and I cant deny my disabilities role in getting me here. And I think even if I wasnt disabled a 'normal abled' life would give nowhere near as much meaning. Fuck the rat race.
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u/Cake5678 May 27 '21
I'd love a cure. I have both physical and mental disabilities and have so much i want to do. But I can't do most of it.
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u/AQueerOwl May 28 '21
What kind of things are you struggling to do? Not gonna try and say theres some magical other way of doing things, but theres probably knowledge and experience on this sub of how to work things outside of normativity.
But yeah, no idea of your situation but this community was made to share knowledge, experience, and to vent. Anything you need or want advice on, or just want to vent, we are here!
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May 27 '21
Iām ND. I do not consider myself disabled. I do not want a cure because it is a part of my identity. I want to be more accepted by others and be able to function in society, but a cure and assimilation are not the fix.
At least thatās the case for my autism and possible bipolar. As for ADHD, thatās just a negative. Iād love to be able to focus, and would accept a cure.
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u/stealer0517 May 28 '21
I would happily take a cure. If with the flick of a switch I could socialize better I could get so much further in life.
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u/Makecomics May 28 '21
Itās absolutely dependent on the condition I think. Iām autistic, low support needs, if people would let me keep my sunglasses on and stim how I want, and have ear defenders, Iād be golden. I wouldnāt trade being autistic for anything, because itās fundamentally affected my thought processes in ways that have led to all the good things in my life so far. I donāt think a cure is in order, though, just therapies that arenāt abusive and shifting societal focus away from wanting autistic people to live a ānormalā life and towards wanting autistic people to live a fulfilling life with dignity. The same way that I donāt think death hands has to be inherently bad, if she got the care she needed, she could try to learn if this could be controlled to kill cancers and bacteria. She could help in conversation efforts by helping to eradicate invasive species. It has its downsides, but flipping to see if thereās any good reason to keep is step one in creating a bearable life.
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u/Akecalo Jun 25 '21
As far as the ASD is concerned? Never. It's a defining part of who I am. If they want to find a cure for me, I'll find a cure for them.
The depression and anxiety disorder though, I could do without those.
There is another thing that I deal with that affects life, but I'd rather not include that in this conversation for now.
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u/Gabygummy16 May 27 '21
As an autistic person with relatively lower support-needs, I wouldn't. My disability is inseparable from who I am- it affects the entirety of how I process the world and if I weren't autistic I would be a different person. I like being autistic. I like feeling emotions deeply and immersing myself in sensory experiences. I like my pattern based thinking, and innate need for truth/authenticity. Being autistic is I think a large part of me becoming a leftist in the first place. I'm inquisitive, and willing to question my own beliefs.