Source: Epistemic Injustice
My friend A. had this to say:
"This is really relatable to the disabled experience too. How often do we look for a way to describe our reality that doesn't end with us being misunderstood and assumed to be lazy? Or how often can it be difficult to really explain the problem - like asking a prof to clarify what they mean and being told not to overthink but literally being ND means I have to interpret EVERYTHING someone says against several scripts to figure out meaning."
I feel like this might tie into language loss (particularly with indigenous languages) as a suppressed ability to express cultural trauma, or even cultural strength. Also, I’m also going to obsess over how long it took “ableism” to exist as a word, let alone be spread to literally anyone in the general public.
Suppressed ability to express cultural trauma, you say? Oy, gevalt, yes, indeed, the Jewish people all too well understand, I say with the same Yiddishness as my mother's family.
i mean yeah in all seriousness hebrew is a reconstructed language. it was a sacred, ritualized language for centuries and not employed for speaking until jews from all over the world reconvened in the newly created nation of israel and needed a lingua franca. significantly, in recent years the palestinian language of arabic has been removed as one of the two ‘official’ languages of the nation of israel.
it’s a very effective way to shut people up about their oppression, if you take away their ability to define their experiences on their own terms and with their own words.
Also, terms that are new to your, or even to the larger culture, may not be that new. A lot of the language that has become common use around social justice issues recently has been used academically since the mid-20th century. I think it's always good to remind yourself that just because something is new to you doesn't mean it's actually new.
