Eclipse and Ableism: The Meme

Kayle Hill
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read

Earlier on Monday, August 21, millions of Americans enjoyed watching the solar eclipse. As with any widely talked about event, social media blew up with photos and discussions, as well as memes surrounding the nearly-once-in-a-lifetime event. One post I have seen shared countless times on my newsfeed is this:

It was originally posted by Facebook user Blake Tanner, and has now been shared over 100,000 times and has over 11,000 comments. Many comments are sharing the sentiment and tagging friends. A quick scroll through shows many laughing emojis at how funny this meme (supposedly) is.

What seems to go over the heads of many people is the implications of what this meme says. While the media is riddled with warnings about how to not look at the eclipse without proper eyewear, it is obvious (especially with the imagery) that the meme is talking about staring at the eclipse in hopes to go blind and therefore have access to disability payments.

On the surface level, I must say: being visually impaired is nothing to joke about, and all of the visually impaired people that I have the pleasure to know struggle on a daily basis to receive proper access and accommodations so they can easily navigate the world around them.

Next: believe it or not, being visually impaired does not automatically mean that you will have access to disability checks. Applying for disability is a long, grueling process that many disabled people simply decide to not go through unless it is absolutely necessary for their well-being. Chances are, at least one of your coworkers has a disability of some kind and has to consistently work with the environment they are given, with no accommodations. To think that every disabled person is on disability, or worse — that every disabled person is incapable of being a part of the workforce, is nearly ableist to the point of no return.

Finally, I cannot begin to express how important self-care is for one’s body. Being a part of the disabled community, I consistently see disabled people working self-care into their daily lives, making sure that they can take advantage of as much ability that they have to live their lives to the fullest of their extent. That is not to say that this is a hard process. I often have to remind myself (with rheumatoid arthritis, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and other various complications that go along with those diseases) to sit back and relax every once in a while. If my body is not to the best of its ability, then I cannot be at the best of my ability. This is arguably one of the hardest things about having a disability, and one of the more frustrating things that I see able-bodied people taking advantage of (note: I obviously do not speak for the entire disabled community, and others may have differing opinions). If the meme is to be taken literally, one would be sacrificing their eyesight for the assumption that they would be able to get disability checks. This is truly wrong on so many levels.

While many visually impaired and disabled people obviously go on to lead very fulfilling lives, choosing to be disabled for its perceived benefits is ableist. The act of assuming that being disabled is automatically a privilege is also ableist. Lastly, assuming that every disabled person utilizes the limited resources offered by the government, is also very ableist.

Please stop sharing this meme. Thanks.

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Kayle Hill
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