10 Reasons Why Society Expects Disabled People to Apologize and Number 7 Will Make You Question Your Entire Pathetic Existence
Have you ever noticed how people with disabilities are expected to apologize for merely existing in the same space as the supposedly "normal" folks? It's like watching a cosmic joke unfold where the punchline is always humanity's boundless capacity for being absolute dickheads. There's something profoundly disturbing about a world where a person with Tourette's is expected to say "sorry" for involuntary neural misfirings while billionaires never apologize for systematically dismantling the planet. The audacity of ordinary mediocrity demanding contrition from those navigating life with additional challenges is the kind of moral theater that makes you wonder if perhaps the void isn't looking back at us after all—it's just too fucking embarrassed.
I have Tourette's. Whenever I meet someone new, I say the same thing: "Please don't mind if I twitch and say or shout random things. I have Tourette's." It's the first thing I say after introductions. I went to my friend's (we'll call my friend A) parents' house for breakfast this morning so I could meet my friend's parents. A introduced me and I gave their parents my spiel. We sat down for breakfast. I'm twitching here and there, and they seem fine with it until I shout "BEES!" My friend's dad (we'll call him L) crossed his arms and stared me down. I continued to eat. L didn't uncross his arms. He then piped up, "Are you going to apologize?" And I looked around the table trying to figure out who he was talking to and then said, "Me?" L said, "Yes." I asked what for, and he said, "For your little display." I asked what he meant, and he explained that I kept twitching then shouted "bees." I told him I wasn't apologizing for my disability. I told him I don't feel as though I should apologize for my disability, especially if I've already explained what was going to happen. He kicked me out. As A drove me home, they told me I really should have apologized and it was rude of me not to. Should I have apologized?
The Grotesque Ballet of Human Expectations
Let's dissect this little domestic horror show, shall we? We have a person with Tourette's who does everything right—forewarns new acquaintances about their condition, explains the involuntary nature of their tics, essentially hands out a user manual for interacting with them like some kind of human IKEA furniture. And yet, when the inevitable "BEES" erupts from their mouth—a neural hiccup as meaningless as a fart in a hurricane—suddenly Dad-of-the-Year crosses his arms like he's auditioning for a community theater production of "Disappointed Father: The Musical."
It's like watching primates in suits pretending they've transcended their animal nature. This father figure—this paragon of societal norms—believes an apology is owed for a neurological condition. That's like expecting someone to apologize for having brown eyes or for the moon's gravitational pull on the tides. "Sorry the laws of physics and biology exist! My deepest fucking regrets!"
The absurdity reaches cosmic proportions when you realize this same father probably farts in elevators and blames it on phantom occupants, yet demands contrition from someone who explicitly warned him about their disability. It's the moral equivalent of inviting a fish to dinner and then getting pissy when it swims instead of walks to the table.
And the friend—oh sweet Christ on a unicycle—the supposed ally who suggests an apology was appropriate? That's the kind of betrayal that makes Judas look like a loyal fucking wingman. "Hey, sorry my uncontrollable neurological condition inconvenienced your dad's delicate sensibilities over his undercooked scrambled eggs." The expectation that the disabled should constantly prostrate themselves before the altar of neurotypical comfort is society's version of making someone wear a dunce cap for failing a test they weren't even eligible to take.
This whole scenario is like watching someone get mad at rain for being wet. It's as if we've collectively agreed that disability is acceptable only when it's convenient, contained, and comes with complimentary apologies—like a subscription service to human dignity where you can cancel anytime discomfort arises.
When Breakfast Becomes Existential Horror
What we're really witnessing in this pathetic pantomime is humanity's desperate attempt to maintain the illusion of control in a chaotic universe. Dad can't control that people have Tourette's, can't control that his breakfast was interrupted by the word "BEES," can't control his impending death or the heat death of the universe—but by God, he can demand an apology and feel the fleeting dopamine rush of power over another human being.
The true monstrosity isn't in the person who shouted "BEES"—it's in the moral cowardice of those who witness vulnerability and see not humanity but inconvenience. It's in friends who drive you home while suggesting you should have apologized for your existence. It's in the collective delusion that politeness matters more than compassion.
If we could peel back the skin of social convention, we'd see that beneath L's demand for an apology lies not moral righteousness but existential terror—the fear that we are all just meat puppets controlled by biochemical processes beyond our understanding. His demand isn't about etiquette; it's a desperate attempt to reinforce the fragile lie that we choose our conditions, our circumstances, our neural firing patterns.
In the end, this isn't about Tourette's or breakfast or bees. It's about the elaborate theater we perform to pretend we're not all just scared animals watching the shadow of death grow longer each day, demanding apologies from those who inadvertently remind us of our fundamental lack of control.
The Abyss Laughs Back
When you strip away the pretense, what remains is the uncomfortable truth that humans will always find ways to maintain their hierarchies—even at a fucking breakfast table. The person asking if they should apologize has already internalized society's message that their existence is an imposition, that their seat at the table comes with conditions, that they must constantly pay the tax of contrition for a condition they never chose.
The absurdity of it all would be hilarious if it weren't so goddamn heartbreaking. We're all twitching, shouting "BEES" in our own ways—some just have the privilege of keeping their involuntary existential screams on the inside.
No, you shouldn't apologize for your disability. And anyone who thinks you should is engaging in the kind of moral bankruptcy that makes tax evasion look like charity work. They're the ones who should be apologizing—for failing the basic human test of empathy, for being so wrapped up in the petty inconveniences of their comfortable lives that they can't recognize genuine struggle when it sits across from them at breakfast.
In this meaningless universe, perhaps the only meaning we can create is through compassion. And by that measure, L and his sympathizers are the true nihilists—empty vessels clanging with the hollow sounds of social convention while missing the only thing that matters: our shared vulnerability in the face of an indifferent cosmos.
For Shit-for-Brains Who Still Don't Get It
Person has Tourette's. Person warns friend's parents about involuntary tics. Person tics at breakfast, says "BEES." Friend's dad gets pissy and demands apology. Person refuses to apologize for existing with a disability. Gets kicked out. Friend suggests they should have apologized. The real disability here is the moral failure of everyone except the person with Tourette's. 🐝 🧠 💩 They expected an apology for raindrops being wet, and that makes them the real fucking monsters. 🤡 If you think disabled people should apologize for their existence, congratulations—you're what's wrong with humanity. 🏆💀
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