Revealing something commonly invisible seems quite a challenge. But ever since hitting on the tweet below I have looked at ordinary scenes in the streets with different eyes:
Along with the caption I found the picture quite telling, but just in case you’re wondering: It’s quite a strain to move past with a stroller and impossible to move ahead with a wheelchair in such situations. While I’m not sure that this phenomenon is a Dutch thing, it’s certainly sufficiently thoughtless to deserve being called ableism. I’d also call it invisible ableism, because it is not commonly noticed as presenting barriers until being pointed out. Had I not seen the tweet, I wouldn’t have noticed the phenomenon. Our world is full of such barriers. When they go unnoticed or remain untouched, they will continue to make disabilities invisible. People with pertinent disabilities will often (have to) resign to stay put.
While such thoughtlessness is bad for people with disabilities, it’s likely to get worse in the coming years. On the one hand, COVID keeps spreading and Long COVID has been and is gravely underestimated. According to a fairly recent paper, “Long COVID is an often debilitating illness that occurs in at least 10% of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. More than 200 symptoms have been identified with impacts on multiple organ systems. At least 65 million individuals worldwide are estimated to have long COVID, with cases increasing daily.” If this is correct, the amount of disabilities will rise significantly. On the other hand, not only laypersons but even medical experts are often still uninformed and in denial of the severity of the pertinent diseases, so much so that we’re now seeing what’s called sustained medical gaslighting.
I wouldn’t have become aware of these facts myself, had it not been for the many instructive conversations and writings by friends, such as Eric Schliesser’s pieces on Long COVID (see here for a comprehensive interview). By now I know (of) quite a number of people who are severely affected. I don’t know what’s to be done. But we certainly need to listen and face the severity of the situation. This means not least removing invisble barriers for others and perhaps our (future) selves. That would involve at least to return to better measures of protection and also of accommodating our likely growing disabilities with more flexible responses. At workplaces, for instance, the issue is no longer just a matter of “work-life balance”. Our inaction or action will be decisive for the livelihood of the coming generations, no less.
Take care!
Handling Ideas 