Recently conservative politicians have been labeled “weird” by online communities, and they do not seem to like it.
For centuries, words like “weird,” “freak” and “weirdo” have been used to negatively describe disabled people. Whether it’s middle school bullying, workplace discrimination or the concept of “freak shows,” disabled people have been taught our entire lives that we are “weird.”
But what if we’re not the weird ones, really?
What if the people calling us weird have been the weird ones all along? Think about it for a second. I’m just sitting here, being disabled, minding my business, and somewhere out there is a guy who just finished going to pound town on a poor unsuspecting couch — and he wants to take MY rights away? That’s weird!
I mean honestly, what’s weirder: mentally ill people with dyed hair who take their meds and are productive members of society, or a 78-year-old unmedicated mentally ill man with dyed hair who said disabled people “should just die”? Take your meds, man, cause that’s weird!
People like Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are weirdly obsessed with making disabled people’s lives worse. Like, why are you so obsessed with us? It’s weird. We’re just trying to live our lives. We’re not the ones out here talking about kids’ genitals all the time.
Let’s stop using the word “weird” to refer to autistic people who are a little awkward, and start using it to call out the maniacal cartoon supervillains who want insulin to cost $1000. Can’t we just have affordable healthcare like a normal country? All the other countries are laughing at us and calling us weird! It’s embarrassing.
So to all my fellow disabled people out there who feel like society sees you as weirdos, take comfort in knowing that you’re not nearly as weird as whatever the hell it is the Republicans have going on. Fear not, because conservative weirdos are on their way out, and the “freaks” and “cripples” they tried to silence for so long are not going anywhere. Stay squeaky!