My most exasperated take of the moment is that the pandemic tipped us into the authoritarianism in the US we’re seeing rn & that it’s quite easy to understand this (or even foresee it) if you listened to even one or two disability activists and seriously considered what they were telling us all.
After the Black Death they ended feudalism and all we got was a techno fascist regime
And yet, everyone just capitulated and called off the pandemic because $$
Didn't we elect Trump and then came the pandemic.
Speaking from a non-US perspective (I’m in the UK), it feels like the US domestic response to 9/11 set the stage for much of this. The pandemic may have been the final touch, but the water was already starting to get warm even if the frog hadn’t yet noticed.
Reread what I said.
The acceptance of authoritarianism by the body politic (and its willingness to sacrifice vulnerable and disadvantaged groups) was there post-9/11 and increased after the 2008 crash; its attitude to people with disabilities “post”-pandemic is a continuation of the same.
I don’t think that I’m disagreeing with you; I apologise if I’ve misunderstood you.
Agree
It really did go a long way on normalizing the “some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I’m willing to make”/“okay, so only *you’re* gonna die? Not me? Why do you want me to change how I live then” mindset.
2000 was when I decided it was all a sham. SCOTUS handing the presidency to Bush II.
Have long felt this, and the almost palpable shape shift that brought us here. Astute observation in my book.
One hundred thousand million percent