So here is the thing I'm struggling with about antifa at the moment

[kaberett]

It is all very well to say "if you are not with the [explicitly violent] antifascists, you're with the fascists" but what these explanations do not seem to include is actual detailed discussion of how or why I can operate on the assumption that these people won't decide that I'm the next target. "Because you're not a fascist!" Okay, right, no, try again. Try again. I have been told, by people still substantively respected and liked in my geographically local community, that being visibly autistic in public is oppressive. I want to know what the fuck system of rules you're working with that means I won't be deemed unacceptable and I won't be deemed an appropriate target.

"Try not being a fascist!"

Yeah, thanks, see above about "me being visibly disabled in public is oppressive". See every interaction I've ever had where my disabilities are an inconvenience to The Cause.

Try again.

I'm really not comfortable with the extent to which people seem to want to shout me down on this one, using that well-known abusive tactic of telling me that if I don't unquestioningly support them in spite of grave reservations rooted in, like, bare minimum historical literacy plus personal experience, I am all that is Bad and Evil.

I am struggling to articulate this any better because of the sheer visceral horror I'm experiencing at a lot of the rhetoric that's happening. But, like, if you want to engage with me on this -- and I am, very definitely, open to being talked to -- please consider starting from a point of "I see your concerns and they're valid, here's why I'm convinced", not "you're a bad person for having doubts".

If, however, you want to ask me how Very Dare I tone-police you on this, I request that you sit this one out.

Comments

[the_rck]

There's also a certain amount of economic/class conflict in this because the reality is that most people buying a house at the bottom of the market are fighting to get good wiring and roofs that don't leak and an absence of asbestos and radon and... If you find something that's not going to fall down around you or cost you tens of thousands two years down the road, you end up compromising on a lot of things you want but can currently survive without.

Apart from structural soundness, the two things we wouldn't compromise on were no more than four blocks to a bus stop and having a bedroom large enough to hold our king sized bed (my husband's 6'2" and can't fit on a queen or double without his feet hanging off) with enough space to walk on three sides of it. That took us a full year of constant searching. The first two realtors we worked with thought we were too picky.

[recessional]

Well, yes.

There is something utterly absurd, to me, in demanding that people prioritize accommodating the needs of people who don't live there in the choice of their own dwelling space.

This is bullshit.

Now, changing the GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CULTURE AND LAWS so that these things are considered at the design stage? This is a different conversation. So is talking about public spaces.

But with people living in the real world, as it is, the absolute reasonable first priority in terms of accommodation for your home is your needs - be they psychological, transportational, physical, economic, energy, stamina, ability to give a fuck, whatever.

Not some hypothetical person with a scooter. Not even your friend with a scooter: it's not their home, it's your home. Anyone who frames the world differently is merely asking me to trade the existing tyranny for one that benefits THEM more, personally, and screw that.

(I have strong feelings about this sort of thing, but then, some of my base philosophical positions actually ground hard in radical personal autonomy, which is surprising to some people.)

[naath]

not to mention that if I buy the accessible home SOMEONE WHO NEEDS IT can't have it... yes, it would be better if more houses were accessible, but they aren't and we collectively aren't about to bulldoze most of our housing stock when there is insufficient housing.

[kaberett]

Yeah, I've been living in London since 2013 and I am only just about to move into accommodation that has proper level access in which I can (probably!) reliably breathe in a way that feels safe and secure for my mental health. And that's out in zone 5. So.