On contradiction, exclusions, and the truths society avoids to talk about
Society refuses to fully include disabled people, while simultaneously resenting the cost of excluding us.
– Silje Elsrud Yttervik
From my point of view, there is something deeply contradictory in the way modern society treats disabled people. On the one hand: we are told that all humans deserve dignity. That discrimination is wrong, that modern society values inclusion, and that all human lives matter equally.
On the other hand: the systems modern societies have built for their citizens, tell a very different story.
Within these systems – we; the disabled, are treated as massive burdens from the moment we require support.
And this arises many questions within me. Like:
- why are disabled accomodations viewed as such an inconvenience?
- Why are disabled workers so often excluded from the workforce, despite laws that strictly forbids said exclusion?
- Why are those of us recieving disability support spoken about, as if we are stealing from everyone else?
And perhaps most importantly: - Why -and how are disabled people expected to survive independently, in a system that actively refuse to include us?
The Impossible contradiction
If one takes a second to really think about these things, it becoms pretty obvious that society often demands two completely incompatible things from those of us who are disabled:
1) Be independent.
2) Accept that no one wants to hire you for pay, and that no one wants to provide you with livable means.
And when those two realities clash, it is us – the disabled, who are blamed for the outcome.
As if our illnesses, disabilities and/or cognitive dysfunctions, are moral failures.
And, as if being born different from the ‘assumed’ standard, is somehow a personal crime.
And unfortionately, more than anything, these types of impossible contradictions mirrors a society in which (generally speaking), disabled lives have no value on their own – and the remaining population lacks the integrity to clearly admit it.
What I want my work to say
If there is one truth I want my own work to cover, it is this:
Disabled people are not lacking in value – it is the systems surrounding us that are lacking in imagination.
Contribution does not only exist in the forms society currently rewards.
Not everyone can survive inside rigid, square – fitted structures, built on endless fake energy, social performance and constant productivity.
But that does not mean we have nothing to offer!
Some people contribute through care. Some through creativity. Others through things like writing, thinking, organizing, supporting, observing, teaching, or just surviving .
And many disabled people spend their entire lives adapting in ways that require the most extraordinary resillience – only for that resillience to be ignored, because it doesn’t fit traditional systems of labour.
The questions society refuses to answer
There is also a much darker truth underneath all of this.
Because, at some point this contradiction becomes impossible to ignore.
Now, I do not think most people consciously hate disabled people. I do, however believe that many people lack critical thinking skills, and that many of these people are – simply put, deeply uncomfortable with us.
Because remember; independence is fragile. Health is temporary, And anyone can become dependent, at any moment. And instead of confronting this fear, society at large tends to project it onto others, and we – the disabled, remind people of this fact.
Which in itself opens an even worse thinking process…
Because, if society acts as if disabled people are fundamentally unworthy of support… then what exactly is the only logical alternative?
That is the question most people rarely wish to follow to it’s conclusion.
Because,
If a society refuses to give disabled people a sustainable form of paid work.
And people within said society believes disabled people should not recieve support.
And if survival requires this support in the form of money, housing, healthcare, food and stability…
Then what exactly is the intended outcome for the disabled people who cannot survive independently without it?
I mean, there are only a limitied number of logical conclutions to this.
Either:
- Society must meaningfully accomodate disabled existence
- accept that human value is not tied to their ability
- and create systems where disabled people can survive with dignity
OR - Society must admit that it is comfortable allowing disabled people to dissapear quietly through death, poverty, neglect, institutionalization, abandonment, or selective prevention before birth.
Now, I do want to preface that I DO NOT want this to happen!
But, from a current point of view, this is the only logical conclution.
WHICH SOUNDS INSANE?!
And what hurts the most as a fellow disabled person, is not that disabled people don’t understand this logic – it is that many of us understand it perfectly, while the society around us insist on pretending otherwise.
What i actually want
Personally, I do not want any pity. And I do not want forced inspiration narratives. What I do want from people, however, is Integrity. I want honesty.
I want disabled people to become a natural part of society. Not as a symbol of something bad that could happen to anyone – but as people, point blank.
And if modern society, and the members of said society cannot provide that inclusion, then at least have the integrity to openly admit it!
Instead of pretending that equality already exist – admit that it doesn’t.
Because pretending disabled people are fully included while systemically excluding us, is just another form of cruel ignorance.
__________________________________________________
A small task for you, reader…
The next time you hear someone complain about disabled people recieving support, pause for a moment and ask yourself:
«what realistic alternative is actually being offered?»
If people cannot access work, cannot access pay, stability, and cannot access accommodation.
– What exactly are they expected to do?
Sometimes, in my opinion, the most uncomfortable questions, reveals the clearest truths.
– Silje