dis/ability
ability
able
i am able to do something
i am not able to do something
class privilege is an ability
able-bodied
body is able to do something
body is not able to do something
if i am able to do something
it takes a lot of things,
people,
privileges
to make that happen
it helps if you’re white
it helps if you have money
it helps if you speak English
it helps if you are not Muslim, Sikh, Arab or Middle Eastern
or Black
or Latino
or indigenous
or any shade of Not White
or can’t be made White likes Italians Jews the Irish
it helps if your body doesn’t hurt when you move, or breathe
it helps if you have paid time off on a day when you feel cloudy
it helps if you can afford therapy
or retail therapy
it helps if you have choices
it helps if you have a community of people to ask for help
or can pay for
support with childcare
or shopping for groceries
or medication
or meditation
or yoga
or warm clothes
it helps if you have an education
it helps if you have a family who can provide for you
it actually really helps to have a lot of money
it helps if you have tax benefits
from being married
or being wealthy
or being in control of making tax policies
it helps so much
to have help
wealthy people can use money to get help
or isolate
we are living/viewing life from the vantage point of a castle
or a penthouse in manhattan
people with disabilities are more connected with our need for help, for each other
people with disabilities AND wealth have some difficult choices to make
use money? to access care
or interdependence?
i don’t know what the right answers are
because there could be so many
and all available choices could be exercised
and still not feel right or be right for someone, or a people, or a time and place
perhaps we need to be asking different questions.