Tons of other disabled people on Twitter have done a great job over the last few days calling out #Progressives and #Resistance people who play up Trump’s appearance of physical impairment or illness. It’s ableist. It hurts disabled people to hear it. #CripTheVote
What I’d like to add is that it’s also superficial and lazy. #CripTheVote
It’s superficial because the kinds of impairments people are attributing to Trump don’t typically have any impact on what we want Presidents to do. #CripTheVote
It’s lazy because it’s an attempt to escape Trump without having to contend with his ideology and policies ... which will still exist after he leaves office, whether in 2021 or 2025. #CripTheVote
It’s understandable that millions of people who are at risk from Trump’s beliefs, tactics, and policies want to find some nonpartisan disqualified, some reason for the imaginary referees of U.S. politics to put a quick, uncontroversial end to his presidency. #CripTheVote
But ableism is ableism, and ableist habits exist independent of how they are applied to Trump. But ableism is also a multipurpose tool, and it’s a tool people keep coming back to in their opposition to Trump. #CripTheVote
But some tools should never be used, even if they are supposedly used for a “good” purpose. Ableism is one of them. There is no “good” use of ableism. #CripTheVote
And to those who say their “concern” isn’t ableist, but realistic ... let me say again, needing a ramp, walking slowly, holding a glass with two hands, and just appearing “frail” overall has zero relevance to the Presidency. #CripTheVote
As for Trump’s “mental health,” racism, xenophobia, corruption, and selfishness aren’t illnesses, they are bad but fairly ordinary personal qualities made worse when put into action with concentrated political power. #CripTheVote
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