Ableism is both necessary for and dependent on white supremacy, imperialism and colonialism, capitalism, queermisia and transmisia, and misogyny.
-‘What I do know about COVID-19’, Autistic Hoya Blog by Lydia X.Z. Brown, dated March 26, 2020
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Hello fellow members of c/disabled. the short “Information Post” about Ableist Language is done. Thank you to everyone who helped make it better! The mods are happy with the state of the document, but we do want you to sign off on it. You can find the “final” state of the document under this link here. Make sure to delete the space between the two parts of the link before hitting enter: https://cryptpad.fr/doc/#/2/doc/edit/ XBOFfyoPSb0-l4vFySADdh+g/
We’ll be allowing final feedback for a couple more days, and if my health holds up, I intend to post it after the holidays but before New Year’s Eve.
Further, @un_mask_me@hexbear.net and @gingerbrat@hexbear.net will be taking the holidays (specifically Christmas Eve and Day) off of mod work on c/disabled. Christmas is stressful for a lot of us, and we will be back after Christmas for you once we’ve dealt with the chaos irl.
Thanks for writing out such elaborate explanations, I really like it.
I do have one question, when you say that sociopath and such should only be used in a medical context, does that mean that people can only use it if they are a medical professional?
I think there should be room for anyone to recognise a pattern of behaviour as sociopathic/narcissistic/etc and openly talk about it. The main question on whether or not the usage of such a word is ableist depends on if the diagnosis serves a purpose and if it’s well thought out.
Thank you for your reply! I hope my explanation helps to clear it up.
“Should only be used in a medical context” is pretty general, so I can see why you’re asking. What we meant to convey with this statement is that you shouldn’t use something like sociopath as a derogatory term when describing someone who’s acting cruelly, but it doesn’t mean you can’t describe sociopathic behavior in someone if you can see the signs. Be sure not to use it like you can diagnose the condition, but phrase it so it’s clear to anyone reading you’re going by what you know about the condition and are assuming the person you’re talking about has traits associated with it. Make sure readers of your comment or post know you’re assuming and are open to be corrected.
As an example: If someone is displaying signs of narcissism, like for example Donald Trump, you can describe that his behavior strikes you as being narcissistic (bc he wants everyone to like him, bc he likes to be the center of attention etc.) but as you are not his doctor (or a doctor specialized in that field) you can only guess. Your words should reflect this room of uncertainty. The line in the info post does not exclude conversation about people displaying certain behaviors that resemble conditions like narcissism or being a sociopath.
Appreciate all your hard work on this
And I appreciate yours!
i always thought the “ableist terms and words to avoid” page was a good resource. nice to know that we approve of it!
It would be negligent not to mention it. It’s probably the most illuminating and easily accessible list of words. I know it helped me a lot already!