Elon Musk has the ears of President Donald Trump, one of the most powerful people in the world. He was given free access to coordinate federal government budgets and personnel.
So, has he posted multiple slurs on social media targeting the disabled community?
Musk boasts around 220 million followers on X, the social media platform he owns, but has repeatedly used the word “R” to describe people who disagree with him. Masu. Last week alone, he included it in at least three tweets. The use of this language has sparked criticism from people with disabilities and their supporters. USA Today reached out to Musk for comment.
“If people with disabilities say something against their use, their concerns will be ignored or minimized with excuses such as ‘I’m not using it in a harmful way’,” said the 26-year-old disabled person with disabilities. says Nila Morton, advocate for the film. “This negative attitude means that the feelings of people with disabilities are not so important, as our pain is not important. In fact, accidental use of this word means that society’s equality is a factor. It further alienates our community, who are already struggling to ensure opportunities and fair treatment.
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“It undermines our community”
The Trump administration aims to remove diversity, equity and inclusion from everything from the federal government (and the private sector). It was a sudden shift from decades of progress in marginalized people, and just a few years after the country tackled the murder of George Floyd, it began examining the effects of systemic racism. The disabled also saw a more hospitality-like climate than they were worried about.
According to the nonprofit The Arc, the word “R” began to appear in the early 1960s as a medical term describing people with intellectual disabilities, but it grew into “cruel insults.” While not entirely out of today’s terminology, national law, dubbed “Rosa’s Law,” has made “intellectual disability” the correct term in federal language.
It’s not just the language itself that confuses them. It is a language coupled with what they worry about, and a change in our culture that could limit their rights.
“Too often people dismiss it as a harmless negative word, but in reality, its use reinforces harmful and competent attitudes and behavior,” says Morton. “When people like Mask use this slur, it not only undermine our community, but also opens the door for healthy people to justify discrimination and denial of resources and opportunities for people with disabilities. ”
This is not a new concern about Trump or Musk. Trump once laughed at a disability reporter, and Musk humiliated a Twitter employee for his disability and later apologized. “Both (men) have constantly humiliated, chuckled and dismissed the disabled community,” says Michael Lenvis, director of the University of Buffalo’s Center for Disability Research. In many cases, past and more recent times the lives of disabled people have been destroyed. “It goes without saying that Musk himself says he has Asperger’s syndrome. Cleveland Clinic points out that it is under the umbrella of autism spectrum disorder.
Musk “ensures that it accepts mildly competent comments,” says Lisette Torres Gerald, a disability scholar and senior researcher at TERC, a non-profit in education and research.
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“A battle that people with disabilities are ready to take on.”
Musk, of course, is free to express his political and personal views just like everyone else. But there’s no need to use hate-filled language, proponents say. “(Musk) hopes to find other ways to express his critique without resorting to hate schoolyards,” says Andy Impalato, executive director of California Disabled Rights.
But if language continues, Lembis says, “a separate reminder that people with disabilities must continue to fight for their rights and dignity.” “This is a battle that people with disabilities and their allies are ready to take on. We continue to speak out, protest, demonstrate, write, create art, tell stories, better, more accessible, more loving. We will work together to create a world with a certain amount of money.”