Well hello everyone!
Its been over a year or so since I last posted and in all honesty I have had a million and one ideas of things I’ve wanted to write about here but I’ve just not had the confidence or gumption to release them out in public.
So much has changed in the last few years, not necessarily for me personally, but the whole of society I feel has undergone a massive shift in such a short space of time and yet I pretty much feel the same way as I did about most things about 15 years ago!
I’ve always considered myself to be an open minded, fairly liberal person with my views and morals, sharing the vast majority of them with plenty of other people of my age and background in society. But recently it feels like society has moved the goalposts of what is and isn’t acceptable and what was considered pretty left leaning and liberal a decade ago, is now considered “far right” and potentially harmful by those in power – both politically and socially. I’m aware that this is something that usually happens to a degree in society as it moves through the generations, but I’ve never seen some ideas take hold so quickly and with so little objective evidence to back it up as what has been seen in the past few years. Nor have I seen or heard politics and ideas become so polarised within my lifetime.
Since the Covid pandemic in particular, ideas around postmodern theories such as Anti-racism (Critical Race Theory) gender identity (gender studies/gender theory) and ableism (the social model of disability and what disability discrimination looks like) have grown a lot and become a part of everyday parlance in the Western world. Unfortunately with that has come a reluctance to debate and critically address the validity of these theories in a neutral space, in part I think because these theories have a very subjective basis and any criticism could easily be considered of personal offence to any of the identity groups the theory pertains to. For example, if you question the evidence around the theory that gender is a spectrum and that there are a variety of genders that you could categorise yourself as (usually depending on your own feelings and experiences), you could be considered ‘transphobic’ and seen to be denying the existence of trans people (as anyone not conforming to the gender normative would define themselves as), despite the fact that the person questioning the theory isn’t wishing harm on the person themselves, and they actually still believe that people who identify as trans do have rights and humanity; they are just questioning the theory itself and whether it is objectively a good way to categorise and identify people.
I’ve been finding that my own beliefs, views and opinions, like that of many others, is no longer in tandem with what is considered ‘morally correct’ by mainstream media and some organisations and communities that I used to follow. I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing – everyone should be entitled to their own opinions and that right to free speech should be respected. It does feel though that society is becoming far more subjective and insular. People keep to their own small bubbles of ideas and opinions with social media (thanks to algorithms) only showing individuals what they think they’ll be interested in and agree with, or showing them things that they vehemently disagree with and will make them more likely to post or comment in frustration. Also, people are taught to be more in tune with their feelings and emotions, which isn’t always a bad thing, yet its led to people approaching ideas in a far more personal and individual manner – e.g. “how does it make me feel?”, “my feelings & experiences are valid and just as important as objective facts and evidence”. People are more likely to dismiss views and opinions that are different and opposed to their own as extreme, wrong and unworthy of attention. Instead of choosing to ignore and not pay attention to ideas they disagree with or find offensive and letting them pass by, they will actively block and try to censor or humiliate anyone and anything that diametrically opposes or questions their standpoint in order to protect their own mental fragility.
I have to admit to doing a lot of these things myself in the past, particularly when going through a bad bought of depression and anxiety. But I’ve started to realise that it doesn’t do me any good and actually isolates you even more. If we aren’t willing to listen to and debate other opinions because we feel they are wrong, not worthy of attention, offensive to the feelings and beliefs of a specific group of people, or potentially emotionally damaging to our own psyche, then how are we to learn and grow in our self esteem and emotional resilience? I’ve lost friends and missed opportunities due to disagreements, unwillingness to compromise & understand and fear of being judged on my personality, skills, thoughts and opinions. I know I need to stop worrying so much about what other people think and just be brave and put myself out there! I will potentially get criticism from those who disagree with me, but perhaps there will be potential links and opportunities from those who agree with me too.
I want to use this blog to bring awareness to my own experiences as a 30 something year old disabled woman living in Yorkshire as well as issues and opinions I find interesting and noteworthy. They may not always be agreeable or of interest to everyone, but you are free to comment if you have different opinions you wish to add – although insults and generic labelling and name calling is never constructive to a good discussion, so don’t bother with that as you’ll just be ignored! I hope you enjoy what I write, and in any case I hope it at least improves my own confidence and self belief in my writing ability, something which I’ve been wanting to nurture for a while!
Until next time,
Charlie
xxx
Wheelie Yorkshire Lass 