Yes, such is the cruelty of people... very unfortunately. They feel that their place in society is quite precarious, so they seek to avoid all that they deem 'below' them out of fear to be dragged down as well.

[ More usually thinks about these matters with regards to race and class, rather than ableism, but it's an easily recognizable principle at play. ]

Such structures are always around us, and it is because of them that I find myself drawn to people who are as unlike myself as can be. I pride myself on my open-mindedness, but maybe a part of it is that I have always been a bit of a contrarian...?

[ There's a small laugh at the end of that. ]