🧵#LongCovidFam is operated by the disabled for the disabled. #LongCovid is a disability. We are exhausted by the constant DEHUMANIZATION & #ABLEISM of the media and the Biden Admin. Our government is refusing to protect us. So now we turn to our communities. #UrgencyofEquity 1/
To the nondisabled—SEE US. We are your community. We share workplaces, schools, grocery stores, places of worship, and Saturday soccer games. There are millions of us with hopes, dreams, hobbies, pet peeves, and great loves. 2/
But right now, we are focused on simply surviving the next few months, and it is a question as to whether we will. We are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, mentors, coaches, faith leaders, and more. 3/
We are mostly likely to contract the virus from a healthcare setting or family. You see, we can't divorce ourselves from the community even for survival. 4/
Our deaths and disability have a ripple effect on those we love and care for. We are not just afraid for ourselves. We cry for our loved ones as we hastily make our wills or consider our options to care for our children if we were to become bedridden after another infection. 5/
SEE US and know when we see you in public w/o a mask, we hear the unspoken, OUR DEATH IS ACCEPTABLE. 6/
The idea that the disabled can just "stay home" or segregate ourselves from society hearkens back to a time of forced institutionalization of the disabled and the "ugly laws" which were on the books until 1974. 7/
Ableism is woven into the fabric of this country. It is a discrimination that favors nondisabled and a systemic oppression that finds common ancestry with white supremacy. We must confront it within ourselves, our communities, and our public policies. 8/
Disability is a club anyone can join at any time. 9/
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
