The U.S. Political Model of Disability

Governments and people with extreme power like billionaires and multi-national corporations all shape who is and is not disabled through systems of power, violence, and plunder. 

All forms of oppression are disabling: policy choices impact who does and does not become disabled.

Disability is a part of life, but who is disabled is affected by policy choices — including by governments themselves and the ways in which they allow corporations to govern our lives without consequence and to put profits before our people. 

While disability itself is simply an identity, disabling another person for profit, convenience, or hate by policy is an act of harm. This does not mean disability itself is negative, but it does acknowledge that many of our paths into disability identity can include trauma.