okay so since I haven't seen a lot of people talking about it, let's talk about the ✨ ableism ✨ in season 2
before I start I'm not angry at the actor for andrew, I'm sure he's lovely and I dont have a problem with him. I am literally thrilled that there are more disabled actors out there getting jobs. my problem is the way the character was written by (I'm presuming) abled people
I'm disabled! I hated the "rep" we got. it's cool to see disabled characters where we have lives outside of our disabilities because SURPRISE we do. but the ONE disabled character we got, was a fucking creepy misogynistic dickhead. on the one hand yes it's cool to have a disabled character, and yes it's cool that the character isn't treated like an infant, and yes disabled people can be dicks regardless of their disability. but on the other hand, why is the disabled character the one with these qualities
the best thing I can think to compare it to is if yall remember that weird heathers reboot where they made the heathers queer, trans, fat, biracial, etc. yes it's cool to have rep, and yes those groups of people can be dicks regardless. but we all knew instantly "hey this is really fucked up that the queer, biracial, fat people are the enemies against the het white couple and are treated as bad people". so why is it that the one disabled character we get, who also isn't white, is the one that creeps on the white girl to the point of possibly being a stalker. do you guys see why that is so fucked up. ESPECIALLY when the main characters get away with so much shit, but they focus on this one character who is being disgusting. like it literally was not necessary to make him a creep, what did it add to the plot apart from letting you mention infinity a couple of times
the second part is the fucking straws SHUT UP ABOUT THE FUCKING STRAWS JUST SAY YOU DIDN'T DO ACTUAL RESEARCH ON GLOBAL WARMING AND MOVE ON. there's a whole seperate rant in there about how they constantly blamed individual people for global warming without mentioning cooperations, but lets be honest ryan probably didnt want to upset his rich friends.
if you aren't aware, many, many disabled people have spoken up about the way trying to mass ban plastic straws is fucked up for people with disabilities who rely on straws for food or drink. some of us can't hold up cups, or eat food without it being pureed or blended, and some medications are taken by straw. I know sometimes straws have been my lifeline, they were for several months very recently. without straws we lose so much of our independence and it can actually be more dangerous to use things like spoons sometimes. imagine you easily burn and you're just trying to eat some soup but oh fuck now it's all down you and you have burns that are painful because you didnt have access to a straw. straws in general are so important to people with disabilities and sometimes plastic straws are the only straws we're able to use. paper straws fall apart too easily which isn't good for long time use, or things such as tea or coffee, or when you're on a budget and have to keep replacing them. not to mention they don't bend and are actually a choking hazard. metal straws can get extremely cold which can be painful when you're sensitive to that, they can damage your teeth and most importantly they need to be sterilized (I cant spell it I know) after each use which isn't practical for someone with disabilities, and again they don't bend. bamboo, glass and acrylic all have injury risks as well as being more expensive. compostable straws don't exactly work well when you're at high risk of having allergic reactions (which can kill you, or cost you a lot in medical fees) as well as you would need to be able to compost them safely. if plastic straws, most people's only option, were mass banned we would have to buy them for a high price, carry them around or request them specifically from wherever we were eating. that alone is inconvenient and most of the time embarrassing, but it would also add to the disgusting stigma around disabilities. you already make us do so much when we just want to go out of the house, the more things you add for us to have to remember the more likely it is that we're going to be put in a bad situation where we forget something important but hey at least we have the fucking straws. not to mention that even if businesses were required to have plastic straws what the fuck makes you think theyd comply when they cant even get ramps and door measurements right.
please do research into how the straw issue affects people with disabilities. you should be pressuring companies into looking for disabled friendly AND environmentally friendly options. not taking away something many need to survive.
and yet the politician still continues to focus on this issue despite so many speaking up about it. season 1? okay sure, there hadn't been that many people speaking up about it before they'd begun filming so maybe that can maybe be excused. so no one on that team has heard about someone speaking up? not a single one? and if not then you're telling me that not a single person could have literally just gone to google and done a bit of research and not have found one of the hundreds of disabled people who have been trying to say dont fucking do this. or on the other hand if they've done all the appropriate research needed to be able to accurately portray a politician fighting against global warming, then why haven't they stumbled across this. doesn't seem like very thorough research to me. this isn't a teen on tiktok trying to do their part and genuinely not knowing, these are people who have access to this kind of research but have neglected to do so. it's very clear to me that the writers and directors are just trying to make a shallow grab at being woke, and failing fucking miserably
I know this is very messy and all over the place, but it comes from a place of anger and exhaustion of having to keep having this conversation over and over again. this is barely scratching the surface of the ableism and ignorance present in the politician, but I'm really hoping that it can help some of you see why disabled people are so pissed off with this season. fuck ryan murphy
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