say what you will about vigilante justice, but the conversation taking place around luigi mangione is going to change disabled people’s lives. not immediately, of course, but it is a small step toward a much larger goal.
to me, there’s something so disingenuous about decrying violent acts while turning a blind eye to the inherent violence of refusing needed medical treatment. being disabled in the united states makes you uniquely aware of the flaws in our healthcare system. and that is in itself a radicalizing experience. so no, it didn’t surprise me at all to find out that the suspect shared many similarities to myself, being a disabled man with a chronic illness whose daily pain was invalidated by doctors because it was invisible. frankly, i’m shocked instances like this aren’t more common, because disabled people have been on the receiving end of medical violence since the concept of medicine existed.
i talk a lot about cripple punk for this reason- society has a very narrow view of how disability and chronic illness affects people. the reality is, many are angry, and hurt, and bitter. we have deep and seemingly irrational mistrust for doctors. we’re exhausted of having to constantly fight just to exist, and a lot of us hold lingering resentment toward those that hurt us.
the fact is, some disabled people are going to make you feel uncomfortable. they might say or do things that you don’t agree with. this is the end result of a system that consistently fails the chronically ill and disabled, and until we address that, true peace will never really exist