I think a lot about the position of many older folks when they describe how “bad they had it” or how hard their younger lives were when justifying why they don’t think accommodations or care should be given to people presently suffering from a disabling world. I think it is a very defensive thing to say and to assume that if someone gets access to what they need, it will somehow be taken away from someone else.
The first time I heard someone explain “zero sum thinking” was in a podcast that one of my favorite people, Alok Vaid-Menon (they/them), was featured on. They spoke in the podcast about cis peoples’ reactions to trans and gender non-conforming people existing. Alok explained that when trans people ask for basic humanity and respect, cis people view it as an “attack from a zero sum ideology that makes you think that if other people thrive, you must somehow lose something.” I recommend listening to this episode, I have probably listened to it 10+ times and forced my dad to listen to it on a car ride once 🙂 !
The term “zero sum ideology/thinking” that Alok used throughout the podcast exactly encapsulates my thoughts from the first paragraph. I think this sort of reaction can apply to many different marginalized identities, especially those we have been discussing in class in the recent weeks. A lot of times communities that society has disabled have to do a lot of extra work to create support structures that work for them. Because of the extra care they give to themselves and the thinking required to meet their specific needs, often times their curated support structures benefit them in ways that our society cannot achieve even for those it was built to favor. Zero sum ideology I think is more a reaction to the mirror that these communities hold up to the privileged. For example, someone might be frustrated by the fact that people with autism get to take breaks from work to recover from overstimulation, that trans people can wear whatever they want outside and still be treated normally, or that someone with a chronic but invisible disability does not have to give an excuse each time they need to work from home or take a day off. The frustration that someone would experience from this seems more to me like they are realizing that they would also benefit from similar accommodations/treatment to what these people have been given. However, it is super hard to come to terms with the fact that you have not been treated right by others or treated yourself right, and the introspection that it takes to understand your negative reactions is much more intense and uncomfortable than remaining complacent and following the status quo.
Unruly Bodies 
I really liked this post, because it reminded me of a conversation I had with my grandmother not too long ago. Me and my sister were discussing how hard it is to buy a house or pay rent in this economy, and how our generations are pretty screwed because hard work is not enough anymore. Of course, my grandmother got pretty defensive and started talking about her childhood which I knew was not great. I find it interesting how a lot of people think in that “zero sum” way, especially older people. They seem very threatened by younger generations calling out social problems, and they cannot talk about it without comparing their lives. It’s very frustrating, because it is so invalidating and almost feels like gaslighting by trying to convince others that there is not a problem when there is.
I think the “zero-sum” way of thinking plays on the misinterpreting of other people’s needs as “privileges”. For example, you mentioned a neurodivergent person getting a break between their work hours due to overstimulation, to that neurodivergent person they need that break (they probably don’t even want to, depending on how they view the importance of productivity) in order to continue with their day efficiently. A neuro-typical person is probably more than capable of going about their day without more than the necessary breaks already provided (not saying they don’t need a break too, we all do), they might find it difficult to grasp the idea of someone physically or mentally not being able to do the same…so they just see it as “that person is getting more than me and that makes me mad”… The “zero-sum” manner of seeing things so almost toddler-like, that egotistical close-mindedness that makes kids throw fits, ya know? I really liked your post about this, will definitely bring it up to my family to see how they’d react, I’m pretty sure you can already imagine the response…
I think there is a real basis to zero sum thinking, and it is capitalism. For so long and even today the way the ultra-wealthy and successful get there is by using the backs of others to boost themselves up higher and higher. Thinking that if someone beneath you gets things then they will climb over your position is one born of fear. The zero-sum game that comes with disability modifications I feel is a subset of this, where the people at the top don’t want to see you take an elevator to rise, either step on others, or preferably stay in the station you’re in now.