The response to someone explaining that they have a disability often being, “Well, society has expectations for us that we are all required to meet” is wild because… that’s literally the plight of the disability and chronic illness community. Congratulations for discovering disability.
If a creator disables comments on a post, that means you are not able to comment on the post because that option has been taken from you. It’s that simple, but I think the reason many folks with ableist thinking struggle with this truth is because it scares them. You cannot be expected to write if you have no hands, but many people are too afraid to imagine what their life would be like if they had no hands. So they pretend everyone has hands and the idea that they could, one day, theoretically, have no hands, is preposterous.
Anyone can become disabled and/or chronically ill at any point in their life. It can happen in a blink of an eye, and we have no control over most of it. Sure, you can make good choices in not putting yourself in harms way—you can choose to eat well, exercise, avoid tobacco and alcohol, have good streets smarts—but can you control the drunk driver barreling down the road, headed right for you? Can you prevent your connective tissue from attacking itself? Can you stop a hereditary condition from becoming symptomatic just by willing it away?
The lack of control really frightens people and they will often lash out on us for it because our presence denies them any more blissful ignorance.
“You’re too young to be that sick!” = “It makes me incredibly upset that youth can be that ill and I’d rather not acknowledge it as reality, and instead suggest that you are exaggerating, or flat out lying, about your experiences.”
“Just eat *insert diet*!” = “The fact that, no matter how healthy I may choose to eat, and no matter how much research I do, I could still become chronically ill, is a terrifying prospect and I refuse to accept it.”
“You don’t really need that mask.” = “I personally do not like masks, and cannot imagine having to consistently wear one to feel safer. I also do not want to acknowledge that not all immune systems are efficient ones, and that mine could go haywire at any moment.”
“Just get over your anxiety.” = “The idea of not being able to control the reactions of my nervous system to certain triggers and stimuli frightens me.”
