Why do we undervalue the lives of disabled people so much?
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Why do we undervalue the lives of disabled people so much? Why do we expect them to survive on a disability benefit that keeps them below poverty line - especially when being chronically ill drives expenses up? I spoke to a friend about this & was shocked by the response.
We were discussing CERB - the Canadian emergency payment people received if they were laid off due to Covid shutdowns. I mentioned it felt unreasonable that it paid almost double what people on disability receive.
This friend informed me that working people expect to be able to live off what they make - and therefore if they’re unable to work they “deserve” more money. Disabled people however need to learn to “budget” for their new circumstances and “do more with less.”
I tried to point out that no one “plans” a disability. The suddenness of it is no different than being laid off from work. They were speaking as though all disabled people know they’re going to be disabled & therefore should be planning to live on less for their entire lives.
I pointed out that with a lay off - the impacted person at least has a chance to try and find alternate work/income. With disability you are PROHIBITED from earning any additional money and (if your disability is permanent) you won’t ever be able to work again.
That is a far more precarious financial situation and yet for some reason - disability payments are almost half what people on CERB received. And my temporarily abled friend saw absolutely nothing wrong with that.
This friend also seemed to think all disability was permanent. I explained that sometimes people are temporarily disabled due to surgery or an accident etc. Apparently they felt those people deserved the same as a “working person” but the permanently disabled deserved less.
My final argument was that being disabled tends to come with a lot more expenses because being sick costs a lot of money. Many disabilities require specific accommodations, special diets, expensive medications, mobility aids etc.
Their reply was that disabled people have to budget accordingly and not be the government or the taxpayers problem. I informed them that you can’t get blood from a stone & that it’s impossible to live on $1100 a month - especially when sick.
“Survival of the fittest” was the response I received. That disabled people should consider themselves “lucky” to get anything and not be a burden on those who are still economically active. 1/2
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Broadwaybabytoreplied to Broadwaybabyto last edited by
Needless to say that’s another friendship lost. But I’m also finding it very hard to process that people who know me & know what I’ve been through can still think this way about disabled people. I share my struggles with them to encourage compassion for ALL disabled people.
And yet instead of increasing compassion for others - they’re excluding me from their lives by taking such a discriminatory and hateful stance. They sometimes tell me “we didn’t mean YOU just all those other disabled people”… and they don’t understand how offensive that is.
I beg people to stop assessing the worth of others in terms of their economic contributions. All people have value - and by discarding people as soon as they can no longer contribute financially you’re missing out on everything disabled people have to offer.
In my experience people with disabilities are often some of the kindest, smartest & most resilient people you will ever meet - because they’ve known suffering & they’ve learned compassion. Compassion for themselves and for others.
Just because they can no longer work doesn’t mean those qualities go away. It doesn’t mean they can’t contribute to the world. I’m reminded of this every day when I see disabled people sharing their skills & their knowledge and making the world a kinder better place.
The reality is everyone becomes disabled at some point - health is not a permanent state. It just happens to some of us earlier than others. Assigning worth based on economic contribution excludes many people AND will one day exclude even those currently doing the excluding.
No one should have to live below the poverty line - but this idea that some people “deserve” assistance more than others is morally repugnant and dangerous. We need to care about the least fortunate in society & push back on ideas that worth is linked only to economic impact.
My hope is that the more people share their stories the more we can remind the world that ALL people have value and that a kind & compassionate society takes care of ALL its citizens. Perhaps if we did that we would all be happier & healthier. /end
Addendum: I don’t know why -
Perhaps I have “doormat” stamped on my forehead - but people in my life seem almost eager to unburden themselves of their ableist and misogynistic viewpoints to me. I’m debating writing a series about these conversations for my newsletter. Is “conversations with an ableist” too on the nose? Followed by part 2 “conversations with a misogynist”?