#selective activism

Let’s start with the fact that our first reaction to things is cancel people, not try to educate them - And don’t say “Oh, but I tried to educate them and they didn’t want to hear”. Of course they didn’t, because before you decided to be kind and explain to them why what they did/said is wrong, way more angry teenagers yelled at them and said they should kill themselves without trying to explain before why they were wrong -. It reminds me of when I did something wrong and my mom yelled at me and hit me, and even after that she refused to explain to me why what I did is wrong saying that “It’s obvious”.

The fun thing is that the “woke” people doing that act as if they never did anything wrong their whole life and when we say that they are like “Oh, but I grew up”. Yeah, dude, you did, but why don’t you want to give people a second chance? Cancel Culture is the definition of “one strike and you’re out”. It was supposed to be used against rapists and abusive people, but people missed the point really hard.

Everyone should have the chance grow up their character and be better. Let’s not even get into the fact that some people don’t know that certain things are wrong to say. I didn’t know until this year that it isn’t right to say “coulored people”, that it isn’t right to say “morena”, “doméstica”, “criado-mudo”, “sapatão” (those last four are words from my country, Brazil). So many things I didn’t know that were wrong, but that I learned they were because someone took time to explain me instead of just jumping on my throat and calling me racist and homophobic.

Canceling people won’t make a better world. Educanting people will.

Gen Z just seem to be a woke generation, because most people from our generation are just making peformative actvism. They are all woke on the internet, but are assholes on real life. The amount of racists that pretend to support BLM on the internet to earn likes is HUGE. And most of them just stay in twitter canceling people as if it will really help.

Also, when you get to the ones who are really trying to help, a lot of them are doing selective activism. I’ve seen so many people who fight agaisnt racism, but who are homophobic. So many people who fight against racism and homophobia, but who are transphobic.  So many people who fight against racism, homophobia and transphobia, but who are against people inside the aroace aspectrum and other sexualities under the bi aspectrum.  So many people who fight against racism and who support everyone inside the LGBTQ+ community, but who are ableist. So many people who fight against racism, support everyone inside the LGBTQ+ community, support disabled people, but let stammeres out (as strange as it sounds, I’ve already seen people being questioned ablout it and saying that “Stammers aren’t disabled enough”. Whatever the hell it’s supposed to mean).

So yeah, Gen Z won’t change shit if our activism stay being performative and selective and if we don’t take our heads out of our asses to educate people instead of just canceling them and pretending that the problem dissapeared just because we aren’t seeing it.

Oh, really...? They “regret any offense it caused...?” WOW. How big of them.

The fact that this type of quasi-apology (I.e., not saying straight out that these depictions are WRONG) is accepted by the public is part of the problem. Big corporations KNOW that #ableism isn’t on anyone’s radar. #SelectiveActivism is a MAJOR issues for #PWD.

Think for a second of the wording of the statement. They regret any “offense” that it caused. But what about the #stereotypes that it reinforces? I see no mention of apologies for that.

The media needs to stop exploiting those that are physically and psychologically disabled or different. We’re currently only used as #InspirationPorn, as stereotypes (as seen through the eyes of others, with no care about our actual life experience), as people to be pitied, and as villains.

And until we start holding people accountable over this, there will continue to be children that grow up being picked on & feeling terribly about themselves, because of depictions like this - which encourage people to look at the disabled with pity and/or fear over what’s different. All while we’re STILL completely left out of all major dialogue & discussions regarding #diversity.

#Allies, this is where we need your help. Speak up when people joke about the #disabled, or when you hear someone use the “r” word (which I can’t even believe I have to say), or when people try to use the word “#autistic” as an insult.

And if you won’t, stop patting yourselves on the back for being so “#woke.” Ableism is still a major issue, and many of us have had to worry about #eugenics in the case of pandemic shortages. As well, “genetic discoveries” are often driven by the desire to eradicate a gene - leading to the termination of lives, based solely on genetic differences. It’s NOT okay.

A reminder to all of those with a #limbdifference, #ptosis, #scarring, #alopecia, #vitiligo, #scoliosis, #mobility issues, #speech differences, & other discernible differences & disabilities...you’re a beautiful, unique human being. To those with #InvisibleIllness - your struggles are VALID🙌🏻

To everyone else - we’re not villains, or the butt of a “joke.”