Greg Hartman
Jul 27, 2017 · 2 min read

Y’know, I’m not transgendered, so when an issue outside my experience like this comes up, I try to think of something in my own experience that might help me understand better.

Okay, I do have multiple sclerosis. Let’s say a civil rights issue involving MS suddenly jumps into the spotlight in a big way for some reason — everyone’s Tweeting about it, Facebook memes are popping up, politicians are arguing, they’re devoting episodes of The View to it, all that stuff.

I might be provoked to write an op-ed and say something like this: “It’s wonderful to see some attention being directed toward this terrible disease. Chances are you know someone who’s struggling with an invisible ailment like MS or others; if you’d like to help or know more, here’s some info.”

I could then talk about the pickle many people face of finding themselves radically underemployed due to conditions like MS or chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia, but still making too much to qualify for any assistance. I could talk about the higher costs of everything involved, from having to visit a specialist for checkups, the horrendously high prices of medications, and so on. I could mention how people look down on invisible diseases and say hurtful, ignorant things about it.

You know what I WOULDN’T say? I wouldn’t spew out a hectoring diatribe about how you really need to be a better person; I wouldn’t ask you why you’re not going out of your way to consume media and art by people with MS.

I wouldn’t say “Why haven’t you called on the government to force insurance companies to offer life insurance to MS patients? Where were YOU when I had to start taking jobs paying a third of what I used to make just a few years ago? Are you still using words like ‘gimp’ or ‘cripple’?”

And if I did, I’d expect to get the same response this article provokes from me: Gosh, sorry if I’m failing to be concerned or angry with precisely the correct words and gestures that suit you. How about you fuck off and go try to tell someone else what to do?

    Greg Hartman

    Written by