this concept of hardship « cripchick’s weblog

this concept of hardship

November 21, 2007

a spirit haunts her
reminding her of times when she didn’t have to beg
a time when she had privacy and ownership over her body.
no her body never did listen to her,
if a leg wanted to flop out on her, it would
if her heart wanted to beat so hard that it was hard for her to catch up, it would
but back then she could tell people to fuck off without there being life-altering consequences
somewhere between then and now things changed
she started needing state insurance (commonly known as medicaid)
in exchange, she had to sell herself
give her body to the government
sign her name to a lifetime of poverty and public scrutiny
so when people talk about her and say “it must suck to be in a wheelchair”
or “bless you for all the hardships you go through”
she wants to scream, cry out,
run over their feet and not apologize
even from the beginning, her disability—those uncertain legs that were scared to hold her—
was never the problem
it was them, the society that refused her.

Entry Filed under: ableism, disability, writing/poetry. .

6 Comments Add your own

1. Lisa Harney | November 22, 2007 at 2:41 am

“Disability is social, not medical.”

I remember seeing some AB people arguing over whether that was a valid statement. I think it pretty clearly is.

This poem illustrates it so clearly it’s almost painful.
2. Pinky Bear | November 22, 2007 at 10:53 pm

Society is very broken and tragic–not us!
3. DaisyDeadhead | November 24, 2007 at 4:07 pm

“Disability is social, not medical.”

I first understood this truth when it was presented as a philosophical question, “Is severe facial scarring a disability?” Everyone in the class I was in agreed it was, maybe even “severe”…but IT ISN’T, it’s just SCARRING. In most cases, facial scarring has no long-term disabling effects at all. It is OTHER PEOPLE’S REACTIONS that make it a “disability.” Collective unwillingness to hire a scarred person is as real and has the same consequences as if a building was not accessible.

Dwarfism is similar… it is uniform size of buildings, houses and fixtures (faucets, toilets, stairways) that make it a “disability”–not just the fact of being short, which children are too but we don’t call them “disabled.”

I learned a lot of these nuances from the fabulous (and groundbreaking) old book STIGMA by Erving Goffman, which if you haven’t read, you should go check out IMMEDIATELY!
4. Some Links « Questi&hellip | November 25, 2007 at 12:59 am

[...] Miss Crip Chick wrote a poem everyone should read. [...]
5. Raging Blogaholic | December 4, 2007 at 12:09 am

Yes! I loved your poem, and it gave me goosebumps at the end. Your words shout an angry truth that cannot be ignored. Powerful.
I have just some across your blog by way of BFP, (if I can recall correctly) and I really dig it. Thanks for speaking up. People need desperately to hear these thoughts.
6. cripchick | December 4, 2007 at 12:16 am

thank you rage, glad to meet you!

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