5 // Celebrating Abilities
I feel that, when it comes to different abilities, I am primed to be pretty sensitive. My aunt has had polio which has crippled her and my father has a degenerative disease. I have seen both of these loved ones struggle with the ignorance and maybe lack of care of the general public. People will park over the lines of parking spots that they desperately need to get their wheel chair out of their vans. They can park and go into a restaurant and come out and not be able to get back into their cars for any amount of time. How careless, selfish and blind are we? Also, rolling down any public space- people respond with visual irritation if we have to politely ask them to give us a bit more room to walk by. I might have just gotten on top of a soap box but if you accidentally get bumped into by a person in a wheelchair- have some common decency and don't yell at the individual who is just trying to get by. I'm not saying we should treat them completely differently, but at least have some respect for their form of movement through this world.
So thats where I don't know if I fully agree with Stella. I agree that we need to make sure that what we are saying is not that people with different abilities are lesser, however, I think we can still appreciate their differences and achievements. Lets not poster-ize them, but I don't know that I think its wrong to be impressed by someone who is missing a leg is able to run and win a marathon. It is that enduring and overcoming spirit that we are impressed by, not a "Wow you just showed up!" My fear of what Stella proposes is that if will lead people to be less and less respectful and aware of the way others move throughout and interact with our world.
Hi Amy! I am sorry to hear about your aunt and your father, I truly cannot imagine the difficulties that must come with the diseases they have. Thank you for sharing your words about the challenges they face! I like how you said that they deal with "ignorance and maybe lack of care of the general public." There truly are people who are ignorant and do not care about others in the world. I watched Stella's talk last semester for a class and was completely taken by what she said. But after reading your post, I definitely am seeing some of the flaw of her message. I struck me when you said "My fear of what Stella proposes is that if will lead people to be less and less respectful and aware of the way others move throughout and interact with our world." The last thing we need is for people to be more disrespectful and unmindful of those who have a disability or are different in any way.
ReplyDeleteI never really seen an insiders point of view of living with people who are are differently abled. I have ignorant to that area for most of my life, and I am really glad that you shared your point of view being there for you aunt’s and father’s diseases. Recently I just tore my ACL and dislocated my knee, and it is very hard for me to walk around campus. People close doors on me, cut me off when I am shopping, get frustrated with me if I am not walking quickly enough. It is considerably harder for me to get around and I am on heavy pain relievers, and it is obvious that it is considerably harder for me to walk, so I wonder if people are blind or whether and not they can see me. I have been dealing with this for a week, and I could not even imagine dealing with this for years. I do agree that people who are differently able should be treated equally, but respect their abilities and what they obviously cannot and can do. Some people could interpret this as treating people who are different abled as you would any other person, by literally every aspect. I do agree we should treat people with respect to their ability. It is interesting to explore what the writer exactly means by treating other people equally because treating someone in a wheel chair exactly how you would treat someone with perfectly capable walking legs fits under equally. I liked how you emphasized you should respect another person’s ability.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, I really love what you teach us all from your post and the questions that you raise in response to Stella Young's Ted Talk. We can still advocate for equality while also appreciating and respecting differences and honoring the achievements of those who are differently abled. Thank you for your thoughtful responses, Logan & Sarah.
ReplyDeleteHey Amy! Thank you for sharing your personal family story and being honest about what you don’t necessarily agree with the opinions of others who are different. We are taught or somehow made to say that people with different abilities are different from us but my question is, are they really different?? Of course, people with some type of physical or mental illness seem to be so different from us but the thing is everyone has different abilities. One thing I care so much about towards people is having respect to one another even though we might be different in gender, race, religion, or physical and mental abilities. I understand it is harder to get along or relate to some people but they are just as same as we are! When I went to Korea to visit my family, I went to the hospital with my grandma who is in her 70s. Obviously, she is going to process everything slower than we do because of her age. This nurse, who was sitting at the front desk, was frustrated that she could not understand what the nurse was explaining to her right away so she gave an attitude toward her and treated her disrespectfully. I know this may not relate to your story completely but I just could not stand the disrespectful attitude she was giving to my grandma just because she had a hard time understanding and processing the instructions and information the nurse was giving it to her. We really have to learn to accept the fact that everyone is different in their own way and be respectful to those who have a disability or are different from us.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, so sorry to hear about how people were so disrespectful to your father and aunt. It’s unfortunate to hear that people can be so cruel and disrespectful. It’s understandable to not over glamorize, but showing respect is a necessity. If someone I definitely agree on your point about people with disabilities don’t have to be idolized, but it’s not a bad thing to commend them for overcoming difficulties that non-disabled individual do have to do on a day-to-day basis. People are so focused on the individual’s disabilities that they don’t see the person for their capabilities. I follow a guy on instagram that has no legs and deformed arms, yet he weight lifts frequently. Of course, he hasn't become the incredible hulk size, but just having the motivation to keep going through all of it, I think is very inspirational and worth commending. Most individuals make numerous excuses to why they can’t incorporate fitness into their life, yet this disabled person with no hands and feet works extremely hard at the gym on a daily basis. If that is not motivational then I don’t know what is. Sometimes people forget that people with disabilities have the same wants and desires as any other human. Therefore, I believe that he makes a statement that disabled people too can make a contribution to society whether it is economically, politically, or socially. He is not going to let disability refrain him from doing what non-disabled people do, and there is no wrong in appreciating that.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, I really enjoyed reading your blog this week. I would never be able to relate to you on a personal level, but I do see where you are coming from in a sense. I do believe that the general public lacks respect for disabled people. I have witnessed it many times in high school as students would get irritated by those who were in wheelchairs. I think we share the same viewpoints on Stella’s video. While watching her video, I got the message that she wanted disabled people to get treated completely normal. However, I think we should still appreciate their differences and achievements. You are right, it is impressive to see someone missing a leg run a marathon. I also feared that people would become less and less respectful if they are not aware of the differences. We touched base on a lot of the same topics, so it was really enjoyable to read this. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and expressing your feelings on this topic. You did it really well. I know this is a tough topic for people to talk about, because disabilities is a very sensitive topic to speak of. I personally had a hard time talking about it, because I was afraid to sound disrespectful or ignorant. So thank you again for setting a good example on how to approach this sensitive topic. Have a good week and continue the good work! I read your other posts too and I really liked them.
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