Aisling

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants and surges, one thing that many people said was “it’s okay, this only kills those who are already vulnerable. It’s not That bad and we can’t let the economy die because of the threat to Them.” This, on its own, is a horrible and ableist thread of thought that inevitably leads to eugenics, but when followed by the worryingly prevalent and easily spread but false eco-fascist ideas that humans are a “disease” to the Earth, that overpopulation is actually occurring, and Covid is a solution, it paints a picture that not only are disabled people expendable but that it would be the right thing to leave them to die so that the world—or rather, the able bodied people of the world—can live on without any disruptions to their lives.

You know what? College is hard— shocking, I know. Everyone has something that adds to the burden of learning what we need to know for our future, be it work, family emergencies, or visa troubles, everyone’s burden is heavy and should be treated as such. Nobody deserves to struggle on the way from point A to point B. So why is my college pulling me back by the ankle even though it asks me if I need a hand?