Imagine a net—woven from many strands, each connected, each reinforcing the others. A net doesn’t depend on a single thread to bear the strain; its strength lies in the way its fibers interlace, ...
You sent me over here from part 1 and it was well worth it.
I have also noticed a seeming lack of interest on the left with prevention, with a focus on universal healthcare instead, but I've never seen anybody talk about it til you. What do you think that hesitancy is about?
I think there are a number of factors. As I alluded to in the piece, wanting to reduce rates of chronic illness can be embraced in a basically eugenic way that denies chronically ill and disabled people full personhood and validity. It's related to the way that 'cure' is weaponized against disabled people, where disable folks are only affirmed and celebrated to the extent that they 'overcome' their disability. I think the left is rightly worried about giving oxygen to these framings--we have to be careful about the way we advocate and what we're actually advocating for.
When it comes to preventing chronic illness, if we're not actively dismantling harmful systems then the responsibility for those preventive actions can easily fall onto individuals, even to the point where people feel responsible for their own suffering.
You sent me over here from part 1 and it was well worth it.
I have also noticed a seeming lack of interest on the left with prevention, with a focus on universal healthcare instead, but I've never seen anybody talk about it til you. What do you think that hesitancy is about?
I think there are a number of factors. As I alluded to in the piece, wanting to reduce rates of chronic illness can be embraced in a basically eugenic way that denies chronically ill and disabled people full personhood and validity. It's related to the way that 'cure' is weaponized against disabled people, where disable folks are only affirmed and celebrated to the extent that they 'overcome' their disability. I think the left is rightly worried about giving oxygen to these framings--we have to be careful about the way we advocate and what we're actually advocating for.
When it comes to preventing chronic illness, if we're not actively dismantling harmful systems then the responsibility for those preventive actions can easily fall onto individuals, even to the point where people feel responsible for their own suffering.
It can be tricky terrain to navigate.