Thread by @_HannahHeath

Let's talk about #ableism and #disability.

I don't get into politics on here, and I'm not about to start now. What I am going to do, however, is point out how current political conversations are feeding into the dehumanization of disabled people. (1/?)

This thread is not in support of Trump, Obama, or any political party. I do not, and will not, discuss my political affiliation here. These tweets will also not be weighing in on whether or not Trump is disabled. That is none of my business. (2/?)

What this thread *will* be discussing is the blatant ableism I have been seeing on all parts of the political spectrum.

Let's go:

(3/?)

You know all of those tweets and articles and news segments you've been seeing? The ones mocking Trump for struggling to walk? The ones laughing at him for having to use two hands to drink a cup of water? (4/?)

The ones linking these physical differences with his poor leadership? The ones saying that he is unfit to lead because he is "unwell"?

That is ableism. It is bigotry. It is ignorance. (5/?)

Now think about the other tweets, articles, and news segments you've seen. The ones with videos of Obama running up and down stairs. The pictures of him playing with a basketball. (6/?)

Now think about the ones linking his physical fitness with his positive leadership skills. The ones saying that he is superior to Trump because he is physically abled and Trump is not.

That is ableism. It is bigotry. It is ignorance. (7/?)

And it is reinforcing an idea that myself and other disabled people experience on a regular basis. This idea says that level of ability directly plays into your fitness as a leader. It says that being disabled makes you less dependable, less worthy, less human. (8/?)

"They're just words," you may think. "They're just jokes."

No. Not to us. In saying these things, in making these "jokes," people are reinforcing a system that denies disabled people leadership roles. That tells us that we cannot, *should not,* be in positions of power. (9/?)

Let me give you an example.

I just completed leadership training to be an Orientation leader at my university. And guess what? The only reason I am able to do this is because Orientation is virtual this year. Otherwise, as a trainee, I would have been expected to...(10/?)

...sit on a gym floor for three hours a night, once a week, sevem weeks in a row. Otherwise, as a leader, I would be expected to spend 14 hours a day, for at least four days in a row, walking around campus and sitting through hours worth of informational sessions. (11/?)

That's not something I can do.

That's not something many disabled people can do.

This is not the first time that I have experienced something like this. And I can guarantee that I am not the only disabled person who has faced this kind of exclusion. (12/?)

Leadership opportunities, by their very design, often shut out disabled people. This exclusion is often because abled people don't "see" us. They don't consider that we would want to be leaders. They don't think that we *could* be leaders. (13/?)

They don’t understand that not every leader will look like them, move like them, speak like them, use the same tools as them.

And so we are shut out of positions of power. (14/?)

This shutting out reinforces the idea that disabled people can't be leaders. After all, if disabled people *could* be leaders, then where are they?

We are on the sidelines. Not by choice, but because we were never given a fighting chance. (15/?)

And then things like #TrumpIsUnwell happen, and people once again reinforce this idea that disability = bad. That disability = inability to lead. That disability = evil. (16/?)

Maybe this mindset behind #TrumpIsUnwell doesn't seem like a big deal to abled people. Why would it? They don't see what we see. They don't have to experience what we experience. As disabled people, we face the assumption that we must of course be followers and not leaders.(17/?)

We face a reality where our very existence leads to people questioning, mocking, and belittling our abilities, our identities, our value as human beings. (18/?)

If you are going to criticize somebody, criticize their leadership skills. Criticize their policies.

Do NOT criticize them based off of ableist ideas of "fitness." Do not state, imply, or joke that what you don't like about a person's leadership is a result of disability. (19/?)

This is ableism. And it is actively pushing disabled people down and reinforcing power dynamics that make it very, very difficult for us to rise back up.

#StopTrumpingDisability #ableism #disabilityrights #disabled

(20/20)