Not Like Them
To be oppressed in society
is like being asked to play a concerto
with no more than my two hands
while everyone else plays a Stradivarius
is like climbing a mountain in order to take one step
where the normals are so accustomed
to the insidious status quo
that for me to gain means
in their eyes
to rob them of something they’ve always had
that is, their domination
their “right” to trample us underfoot
their “right” to a monopoly on who has worth
where the ableds are taught that they are desirable
while we are not
and that we are the stains
marring their precious earth
while they with all their faults are held in the highest esteem
because they are “not like us”
and to request adaptations
so that we can live our lives
is akin to demanding that they produce
life de novo
from no more than a pile of dirt and their willpower
while objecting to our being treated
as an infestation that vitiates their planet
is akin to verbally tearing them to shreds
the way they do us
they are afraid of being treated the way they treat us
and yet we’re put upon pedestals
when they want to hold us up as
amazing, inspiration, role models
for the so-called miracle of leaving the house
and doing things many people do
–“If he can do it, what’s my excuse?”–
without realizing how this still
operates on the premise
that they by definition are better than us
there is nothing we can do that they can’t
our success has to be “overcoming disability”
we are awe-inspiring people “despite disability”
not “along with disability”
and if insufficient to be held on this
exhibitionist pedestal
then we have “chosen” to let it hold us back
they forget that my disability is me
it’s a part that can’t be separated
it’s a part that can be embraced
and a source of pride
I know I’m not like them
but I’ve decided I never want to be
thereluctantelfqueen 