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Let’s talk about the difference between this where Gabrielle Union emphasizes resources & information for disabled people over Terry Crews’ tweet that said we should eliminate the dis and focus on ability.
Crews employs ableist rhetoric that suggests one overcomes disability or that disability is antithetical to having talent. It suggests that disabled people can’t do things & we should be inspired be their existence.
Union’s tweet however emphasizes how our society needs to change to be more accepting and accessible to all people so that disabled folks specifically here have the chance to develop to their full potential & live full lives.
We *can* talk about disabled people working hard, being talented & doing amazing things. We might even find their work ethic or talents inspiring. But when we overemphasize inspiration we make disability seem like a tragedy that must be compensated for by extraordinary ability.
The name for this kind of rhetoric is inspiration porn or supercrip. You can read my article on supercrip on my website samischalk.com/articles/
This is a great resource on inspiration porn: themighty.com/2017/10/please…
You can also watch Stella Young’s TedTalk:
