#and i do understand that the actor was legit injured btw. i know that. and i know that's why spencer uses his cane correctly

[artsybi]

y'know despite the murder, i am jealous of the criminal minds universe, in which young cane users are not questioned, stared at, invalidated, or even overly acknowledged

like i understand that it was just an extension of the fact that the actor was ACTUALLY injured and ACTUALLY using a cane and probably would not have enjoyed added acted scrutiny because he probably dealt enough with it in his personal life (based on personal experience he probably dealt with a fair bit bc people irl are garbage about young cane users existing) but still, the fact that not a SINGLE PERSON ever questions spencer, ever questions the legitimacy of his need for an aid, ever questions why he's using it, god i'm so jealous

no one ever raises an eyebrow when he enters a room, no local detective ever makes a mean joke, no medical examiner ever stares at him for just a second too long, even when he does interviews, no family member or event planner EVER gives him a second look, they all just seamless accept that this member of the fbi is using a cane and never treat him any differently for it

no one mocks him! no one makes any snide remarks, no one side-eyes him when he enters a room, no one ever presses into his space and offers (read: demands) they do something for him since he's "not capable", no one questions his credentials, or his ability to do his job. everyone just accepts it as normal and continues as such. the literal ONLY DIFFERENCE in ANYONE'S treatment of him is that he doesn't go with the team when they head to the final location to grab the unsub with their guns out, which is a perfectly reasonable accommodation! and no one mocks him for that either! no one ever implies he's "missing out" and everyone keeps him in the loop during the investigation when they're doing things of that nature, so he can help put the last pieces together

just, as a young cane user myself, not only is spencer the literal first time i've ever seen someone on tv using a cane correctly (not an exaggeration, actors seem incapable of using canes correctly), and thus the first person i've ever TRULY seen that part of me in, but i just LOVE the way the show and narrative treat him in general, mostly because the way they treat him straight up DOESN'T CHANGE!! dude i fucking WISH that was my reality!!! i WISH people straight up DIDN'T CHANGE the way they treated me after i started using a cane, i fucking WISH everyone just accepted at face value the fact that i use one and then moved on and didn't mention it again

#original #i ramble #criminal minds #spencer reid #criminal minds season 5 #cane user #disability #and i do understand that the actor was legit injured btw. i know that. and i know that's why spencer uses his cane correctly #because his actor was legit using it. but like. i fucking love that and wish more tv shows would hire disabled actors for disabled roles #feels like there's some stuff that could be learned from this ngl. season 5 spencer means SO MUCH to me #and i see myself so clearly in him #just. yeah. cane user spencer reid lives in my mind rent free #i dont care if this is coherent i dont care if my thoughts make sense im just fucking jealous