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This is complicated.
As far as I can tell, there were no quadruple US amputees in WWI. There was a Black man from PA who joined the army in Canada, and lost all 4 limbs. But he used prosthetics for decades afterwards.
So this is a term about a fear, not a real event. 1/? https://twitter.com/butchanarchy/status/1335744826755534850
As far as I can tell, there were no quadruple US amputees in WWI. There was a Black man from PA who joined the army in Canada, and lost all 4 limbs. But he used prosthetics for decades afterwards.
So this is a term about a fear, not a real event. 1/? https://twitter.com/butchanarchy/status/1335744826755534850
Is it ableist? Yes, very much so. The fear was that in the meat-grinding carnage of WWI, men would be rendered "useless."
Most feared were facial injuries. But multiple amputations were up there. Especially with surviving Civil War vets who had horror stories to share. 2/?
Most feared were facial injuries. But multiple amputations were up there. Especially with surviving Civil War vets who had horror stories to share. 2/?
The thing to recognise here is that the /fear of becoming disabled/ is the crux.
Basket case, the image of carrying a limbless soldier in a basket, has a grim shock that likely created psychological distance. It happened to people, but no-one had seen it. A remote threat. 3/?
Basket case, the image of carrying a limbless soldier in a basket, has a grim shock that likely created psychological distance. It happened to people, but no-one had seen it. A remote threat. 3/?
Someone's buddy in another unit, their cousin saw it happen at Cambrai to a guy they knew. A sort of urban legend of military horror to help soldiers cope. That was the worst thing they could imagine. It was also an absurd image.
The absurdity and uselessness were crucial. 4/?
The absurdity and uselessness were crucial. 4/?
To make the leap from "grim military gallows humour" to "dubious joke about mental illness in the 20s and 30s," being both completely incapable of any utility under capitalism and also ridiculous in the idea of that life being worth living had to be true. 5/?
It conveyed a level of mental illness that said the person was useless, burdensome, and their needs were so complete and all-consuming as to be a joke. Remember: this is Peak Eugenics Time.
Nobody would say a veteran in that physical state should just die. But. 6/?
Nobody would say a veteran in that physical state should just die. But. 6/?
A mentally ill person who hadn't "earned the respect of a grateful nation for his service" was fair game.
Even soldiers who broke down completely from PTSD years after the war weren't exempt. Psychological illness was a moral failing, a defect in breeding. Contemptible. 7/?
Even soldiers who broke down completely from PTSD years after the war weren't exempt. Psychological illness was a moral failing, a defect in breeding. Contemptible. 7/?
So that grim gallows humour combined with contempt for lives people saw, in the eugenics state, as unworthy of life. Someone so "crazy," they were as useful as a man with no arms and legs, carried in a basket.
It doesn't matter it didn't happen. The perception took root. 8/?
It doesn't matter it didn't happen. The perception took root. 8/?
The etymology doesn't draw a straight line from an amputee in a basket to mental illness.
Social values and the dismissal of mentally ill people did that. US English didn't need a straight line. Eugenics already plotted the course. 9/?
Social values and the dismissal of mentally ill people did that. US English didn't need a straight line. Eugenics already plotted the course. 9/?
So yes, "basket case" is ableist on a lot of levels and we shouldn't use it.
We need to dig into the history of phrases and slang to make sure we're saying what we mean. Not just using a lazy linguistic comparison at vulnerable people's expense. 10/?
We need to dig into the history of phrases and slang to make sure we're saying what we mean. Not just using a lazy linguistic comparison at vulnerable people's expense. 10/?
There will always be fake etymologies to make purging English of racist, sexist, ableist, anti-LGBTQ+, etc, terms seem like a futile effort and unnecessary.
But it isn't futile and it is necessary. It just takes work. As we have to do it. Routinely. 11/?
But it isn't futile and it is necessary. It just takes work. As we have to do it. Routinely. 11/?
So think about your language, about the comparisons it draws and what that means -- what it says you really mean. Research, Google, dig into the idioms and terms. Make an effort.
Otherwise, you're propping up bigotry with an etymological dictionary, damn the consequences. 12/?
Otherwise, you're propping up bigotry with an etymological dictionary, damn the consequences. 12/?
TW// suicide
I had a great-uncle who killed himself after a PTSD meltdown in the 20s from shit he saw in the trenches that haunted him.
The family called him a basket case and lamented he hadn't died more honourably in the war. That's the insidiousness of this language. 13/?
I had a great-uncle who killed himself after a PTSD meltdown in the 20s from shit he saw in the trenches that haunted him.
The family called him a basket case and lamented he hadn't died more honourably in the war. That's the insidiousness of this language. 13/?
If you learned something or want to help out an ambulatory wheelchair user (who is also mentally ill, though not an amputee), a coffee goes a long way this Hanukkah. https://ko-fi.com/A534F8R
Additionally, @thelionmachine and I write fiction involving disabled WWI veterans, amongst many other things, here: https://www.patreon.com/levandalekseicreate
