#cpunk discourse

say what you will about vigilante justice, but the conversation taking place around luigi mangione is going to change disabled people’s lives. not immediately, of course, but it is a small step toward a much larger goal.

to me, there’s something so disingenuous about decrying violent acts while turning a blind eye to the inherent violence of refusing needed medical treatment. being disabled in the united states makes you uniquely aware of the flaws in our healthcare system. and that is in itself a radicalizing experience. so no, it didn’t surprise me at all to find out that the suspect shared many similarities to myself, being a disabled man with a chronic illness whose daily pain was invalidated by doctors because it was invisible. frankly, i’m shocked instances like this aren’t more common, because disabled people have been on the receiving end of medical violence since the concept of medicine existed.

i talk a lot about cripple punk for this reason- society has a very narrow view of how disability and chronic illness affects people. the reality is, many are angry, and hurt, and bitter. we have deep and seemingly irrational mistrust for doctors. we’re exhausted of having to constantly fight just to exist, and a lot of us hold lingering resentment toward those that hurt us.

the fact is, some disabled people are going to make you feel uncomfortable. they might say or do things that you don’t agree with. this is the end result of a system that consistently fails the chronically ill and disabled, and until we address that, true peace will never really exist

able-bodied NDs have it made in this sense. we have TWO communities! we have neuropunk and madpunk, and you can go on any social media platform and easily find hundreds of other NDs on there along with little communities and shit. but physically disabled people dont have it that easy. when they DO find one that isnt just about ND people, it's still full of ableism. i've seen it myself and it makes me sick

so physically disabled people decided to make their OWN community. just for them. no one else. then THATS when able-bodied NDs start getting pissy and call them ableist when they were basically doing the exact same shit before.

you can handle not being allowed in one community. theres two more you can be part of just fine

if youre an able-bodied ND who sees yourself in any of this, maybe you should stop and look at yourself. make some improvements

It's almost as if it's an isolation tactic, hmmm,, Where have I seen this before?

Oh right! The ugly laws that went on all the way until the 70s! Where we were hidden from the public to make it appear that we did not exist because just being alive makes ableds uncomfortable! And because this happened, so much information about phys disability has been either lost to time or is extremely behind on up-to-date modern documentation!!! It's also a reason why the medical industry is such a mess and is filled with malpractice!!!! That's terrifying!!!

I know this isn't nowhere near as big of a scale as those atrocities, but you can't deny that in simple terms, that's exactly what y'all are doing, because even if we did make a NEW space for strictly phys disabled, y'all would drop cripplepunk in a heartbeat to sink your claws into the new one too. I also wouldn't be surprised if y'all demonized it to shame phys disabled people from seeking it out.

It's not about the label, it's about shutting physically disabled people out.

That "MERDs" bullshit is to demonize phys disabled people who fight back. It is absolutely just an opening to harass the outspoken members of our community and to eventually silence us all, I can see right through this thinly veiled "discourse".

And I know damn well that's what this is because y'all don't act like this towards neuropunk or madpunk.

Following so far? Great.

So then why is it that when a marginalized group like physically disabled people want a movement specifically about the struggles we face as physically disabled people, we’re told we’re unfairly excluding others?

Why do people feel entitled the cripplepunk movement, a movement and space that isn’t for them, especially when there are plenty of movements that center their experiences?

There are two main reasons I’ve seen:

“””””internalized”””””” ableism: you feel as if your mental disability doesn’t count as a disability, so when you’re told that you can’t participate in a space for only physically disabled people, you feel as if that confirms your ableist internal belief that you’re not disabled enough. “Internalized” is in quotes because people with this attitude really just externalize it to hurt others.

“””””Lateral””””” ableism: as a disabled person, you hold and perpetuate beliefs that echo the wider structures of institutional and systemic ableism, and you feel entitled to hold those beliefs because you are disabled. This is comparable to trans people who are transmedicalists. “Lateral” is in quotes because most of the time, people who hold this attitude are lashing out at people with a completely different disability than them.

So let me ask you: why do you feel so fucking entitled to a movement that’s NOT FOR YOU?

And before you say “I’m physically disabled and I think it’s fine for non-physically disabled but mentally disabled people to be included”, re-read the “lateral” ableism point. Your ableist opinions aren’t correct just because you’re disabled.

You know that's not the same thing. That's like saying asthma is a neurodivergence because the lungs and the brain are both organs. Please use Neuropunk.

"I'm so tired of physically disabled people gatekeeping Cpunk."

No shit Sherlock, that's their space. It was created specifically for physically disabled people. They have every right to "gatekeep" it. Please use Neuropunk.

"Solidarity between physically disabled and mentally ill/disabled people is important."

Yes, but you don't create solidarity by going into physically disabled spaces and refusing to leave. You have to actually listen to the people you're trying to show solidarity with. Please use Neuropunk.

Aside from taking over one of the few spaces by and for physically disabled people, which is already pretty bad on its own... by ignoring Neuropunk in favor of using Cpunk for mental illnesses and disabilities, you're implying that neurodivergence isn't its own unique experience and therefore doesn't deserve its own space. You take over Cpunk even though you know it's not for you because you feel like the only way mental illness/disability is real is if it's alongside physical disabilities. And then you complain about physically disabled people being ableist, like you're not consciously going into their spaces to avoid neurodivergent spaces. Huh.

I'm tired of Neuropunk being almost barren except for these discourse posts. There's so much potential to create a thriving community in which neurodivergent people uplift each other, but people are too busy arguing about shit like whether or not executive dysfunction is comparable to paralysis. Can we please make an effort to discuss neurodivergent experiences and our rage at ableist society in a way that doesn't hinge on taking over a movement that isn't ours?