Vaguely blond, tallish, female, and dyslexic. I am all these things. I’ve seen the phrase “political dyslexia” around a lot lately. This is bullshit and has to stop.
I’m dyslexic, and some may say, over sensitive. That’s fine. They can say that. That doesn’t upset me. It’s an individual thinking that I, also an individual, am wrong. That’s fine. You can think that an individual can be wrong. You can disagree with me as a person. When you start using a learning disability as a pejorative you are making a huge and massively inaccurate generalisation. Even if I were stupid, stupidity isn’t the same as willful ignorance.
What isn’t fine is the idea dyslexia is the same as ignorance. It’s 22/10/18 (or 10/22/18 if you’re across the pond) and as of yet I can’t find a definition of “political dyslexia”. I can only find context so far and it seems to me that people are seeing “political dyslexia” as synonymous with political ignorance.
Dyslexia isn’t ignorance. It is “a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.”
I know that IQ is also bullshit and meaningless but mine has been tested between 149 and 169 (depending on what I’ve eaten, time of day and temperature) so even though it’s meaningless balls it’s safe to say I’m not thick. I’m not ignorant. I am DYSLEXIC.
Please, what ever side you’re on, stop using “political dyslexia” as a pejorative. When you do, you’re using dyslexia as a pejorative. It’s not. It’s just a fact, like blond, or tallish, or female. I am all these things. I am also dyslexic.
readingroomcafeproject 