Who's sick? Who's Disabled?

In my BADD post I made a few weeks ago, someone commented about the Social Model of Disability. I read about it on Wikipedia, and it really struck a chord with me. I think partly the Social Model reminded me of the history LGBTQ+ people and how we have (and still are, in many places) been classified by society as "diseased" and "sick." As I hope you're aware, LGBTQ+ folk are NOT sick or diseased, or, if we are, who gives a fuck (shouldn't be you). We're people, LGBTQ+ people. So what about Disabled people? I for one, am not at all like them other people; I'm writing as I inhale from a nebulizer and shake from a percussion vest. Should cystic fibrosis be classified as an illness, then, because I do these things, because of crap people who treat me like shit, or not an illness but rather just something else about myself like my hair color?

Let's compare CF and gay-white-man stuff, since I know a lot about gay-white-man issues (I am one) and I brought them up already. In many ways, being gay and having CF have similar backgrounds: I never once decided that a life of expectorating and man-o-sexualizing would be for me. Really, I just found keep finding out these sorts of things about myself. I'm sure there's a lot I don't really know about what I like and dislike in this world, and I'll only discover a small fraction of that, but these were kind of hard to miss, personally. Of course, let's not overlook some frightening differences: one of these kills people. Just yesterday I was walking around and my CF genes LEAPED from my body and just strangled this poor person sitting on the sidewalk. Gruesome. Man-o-sexualism doesn't do that; it traps blood in certain body parts, making them swell, quivering with licentious anticipation.

So we get back to the question: What's the sickness here? As I understand the Social Model, it's argued that my Disability, CF in this case, isn't what's wrong; it's the attitudes, restrictions, expectations, judgments, etc. from society that create a sick environment, that make me Disabled. In many ways I have to agree; I think I would be a lot better off if I had way more resources to support myself monetarily (who's paying all these health bills?) and time-wise (I spend maybe three hours a day on medical treatments and care, including organizing, washing, and maintaining my equipment. Also the hospital). I'm Disabled not simply because my genes don't work like other people's do, but because I have to do so much to make up for that. And even still, I am not "normal" and never will be. On the other hand, no one puts mucus in my lungs, no one forces my intestines to need laxatives. So clearly this shit is complicated and there's going to be some range of how correct the Social Model gets things.

Personally, I feel like we shouldn't care about the classifications of who and what is sickness and illness etc. We're all going to have periods where we feel stronger physically than others, and any line we draw will be ultimately arbitrary. Yes, we can make objective diagnoses, but the objectives for the diagnosis will be subjective: some viruses won't cause illness in people and will in others, and some people will be resilient enough to not have to stop and rest. Even with cystic fibrosis, a very yes-no kind of disease to diagnose, there are people with genetic mutations and are clinically diagnosed, but have such mild symptoms (or none at all) that they don't need any of the treatments I do, maybe just the same exercises that "healthy" people should be following. And so we have to ask: why should we consider them sick?

Unless they tell you they are ill, I'm not going to listen.