Thread by @Imani_Barbarin

So every time I mention the increase in disabled people due to COVID, someone inevitably says that it means that more people will be disability advocates.

I hate to burst your bubble, but I have a little wine in me so gird your loins, my friends.

TW: Eugenics, Suicide

So keep in mind that I was born with my disability, so most of what I’m about to say are observations from my advocacy work.

Not a lot of people consider themselves as disabled from the onset of their condition. Some never do. In fact, the onset of the pandemic may have been

The first time a lot of people told anyone about their conditions and that was because employers were playing with their lives in regards to lockdowns.

You have to keep in mind that much of our understanding of disability surrounds capitalism, so in becoming disabled, the

Vast majority will either have to or feel there is no choice but to work to “overcome” their disabilities. That will only worsen their health.

Many will even position themselves as examples as to why other disabled people with the same diagnoses are just lazy as to add value to

The ableist and white supremacist system.

What the most disturbing aspect to this has been/will be is that not a small amount of people dealing with their diagnoses will commit suicide. Media will begin heralding these people as “choosing dignity” or “being kind to family by

Not being a burden” more and more we will see a cascading effect. As with everything surrounding disability Nondisabled people (or those who think they are) will begin pressuring other disabled people to do the same as to not be a “drain on resources”—you can see an example of

This in the mentions of any parent of a child with a disability as commenters will tell those parents to kill their disabled children our of mercy.

The rest of the newly disabled people will be thrown for such a loop by the lack of support and safety net it’s unlikely

They will have the emotional bandwidth to even think of advocacy work.

History is likely going to repeat itself if we do not address these sentiments. After the 1918 pandemic, eugenic sentiment skyrocketed—and disability has always been the mechanism with which America has

Exterminated Black, indigenous and people of color. This will likely be the same surrounding COVID.

Also important to note that newly disabled white people will be particularly dangerous as they will parrot all of this rhetoric in an effort to remain value within these

White supremacist systems.