Thread by @Imani_Barbarin

Ok, so today’s thread is going to serve as a lesson on language, ableism and just how deeply it’s engrained in our society and I want to talk about the pandemic and a very commonly used phrase:

“I’m sick of you.”

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So, today I was texting someone and we were joking around. Quit often, I say the phrase “I’m sick of you in jest.” I was about to during this conversation and I stopped as the thought of the #coronavirus popped in my mind.

We are now in a situation in which it is not only

Possible, but probable to become sick of someone—both literally and figuratively. So, as this moment of time of sickness and death lags on, will this phrase retain the same meaning?

That’s the thing about language, it’s often fluid and meanings are added, changed, or their

TW: Ableist Language

Roots are discovered and they’re never thought of in the same way.

Well, what if I told you certain words in the English language originated as diagnoses for the disabled and chronically ill. Innocuous things like “st*pid, Cr*zy, and *diot were all

Official diagnoses at one point and because of their origins as such are meant to denegrade the person they’re describing. In fact many current diagnoses are used to put down others: blind is often used as a synonym for ignorant and deaf is used when someone is uncomprehending

We need to think about how our ableism is woven into the way we speak.

I have been more aware and have been more conscious of the words I use. But I often find it difficult to correct others, particularly black and brown people.

Here’s why: I am someone who is forced to be

Quite aware of the racial dynamics of the disability community . And, while I am aware language needs to be inspected, I often see simple corrections in language treated as a method of tone policing black and brown people selectively on the part of some white disabled people.

Disability is seen as a primarily white space and this trend is quite troublesome. Because of structural racism, many of the community-building spaces for disabled people occur In predominantly white spaces. So social media may be the first space in which some racially

Marginalized people engage with large groups of disabled people.

The way you conceptialize and speak is greatly influenced by someone’s environment. So encourage them to reflect with as little judgement as possible.

During and after this pandemic the meaning of “I’m sick of

You” will change for many people, but we will still be interacting with people that find no issue with it.

Language changed, but not for everyone at the exact same time.

That’s all.

Fin.