There is no “bringing back” institutions (& asylums). By no stretch of the imagination have they closed. There are still people being held in captivity... some have been for their entire lives. Advocacy efforts to keep them open is alive and well.
The closing of total institutions is the surface. Institutions for Disabled people are scattered throughout all of our neighborhoods. They look like houses or apartments. Go inside and everything is plexiglass w/multiple locks on the doors and minimal furniture.
The surveillance is tight, but not sophisticated. It doesn’t have to be, because the majority of us believe it’s in their best interest. The same way most of us believe people labeled as “criminals” should be surveilled.
Ableism is in part upheld by capitalism. Resources are not limited. States literally pay millions to keep people institutionalized or feed an entire industry built on the underpaid labor of “care workers” who are predominantly migrants & women, specifically Black.
Yes, people profit from Disabled people being under supervision 24/7. No, that’s not the extent of it. Most of our brothers cousins sisters friends is okay with it, because we don’t have to encounter them in our daily lives. We do ableism good.
I've found language and hope and optimism and myself in the work of Disabled artists. Many of them have been where some of us are going. I'm threading a few that are on my mind starting with @shanfinnegan.