The Rethinking Disability Brochure

I would like to preface my comments by noting that I have experienced quadriplegia from a spinal cord disorder for the past 32 years. I have lived as a person with a disability longer than I lived as an able-bodied person. My disability is the most inconvenient thing I have ever known. Yet, I wake every morning and smile because I now have another opportunity to demonstrate that my disability is simply that -- just an inconvenience.

My first impression of the Rethinking Disability brochure was that it reminded me of the 1980’s disability movement: when people with disabilities were struggling to find their own identify and were compelled to educate the public on what they were thinking and discovering about themselves. The brochure has an amateur appearance of something created 25 years ago, with block-lettering and simple clip art. It reminded me about a man named Michael Winters, the first Director of the first Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, CA. Gads, such humble beginnings with so much to tell the world.

Similar to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s and the Women’s Movement of the 1970’s , the Disability Movement of the 1980’s was a time to wave your flag and howl in disapproval of non-acceptance. But that was then. The stage is different now. Now, it’s “show” time.

I believe the greatest flaw of the brochure is that it tells the reader what to think. It cautions the reader up front that reading the brochure might cause uneasiness -- like an “R” rating on a Hollywood movie. It offers forth a “credo,” a statement of the belief that (able-bodied) people ought to accept people with disabilities because, hey, historically us crippled folks have been screwed and now we’re gonna take our rightful place as citizens!

Well, I don’t want to be told what to think, or how to feel, and what attitude to have towards people with disabilities. My thoughts and feelings come to me naturally and I form my opinions and beliefs from my experiences. I agree and disagree with notions I hear and read everyday.

I know people with disabilities that I do not like. By choice, they are not productive, contributing members of the community. They lie, they cheat, and they steal. I don’t like them, so I do not associate with them. I do not have to respect them just because they have a disability.

Don’t tell me disability is an attribute. Show me. Show me the color you bring to the work environment or the playground. Don’t tell me to be still and listen because you are attempting to communicate in the only way you can. No! Find another way. A good teacher presents the lesson verbally, auditory, and through movement and motion. I like the way Deaf people do it. They have Deaf Pride. They hold Sign Language Festivals. They “celebrate” their language and culture. They invite the hearing community to look and listen as they celebrate. And to those who don’t get it, there’s always next year’s event which might offer a greater understanding.

With my quad-hands, I fumbled to open and read the 6-panel, folded paper brochure. I thought to myself as I struggled, “This is why I go to the internet for the news of the day instead of subscribing to the bulky Star-Bull.”

Remember Millie Rogers? She was a person with a disability; cerebral palsy. Her slurred speech was difficult to understand. She and I were not the best of friends. In an educational workshop, I once heard her say to a group of folks, “If you can not understand me, too bad!” The reaction from the group was nervous laughter. This was the response Millie wanted, not because she was making a point, but because she thought it was funny to say those words and be understood saying it. I wanted to stand and yell to her in disapproval. The problem was I can’t stand and it wasn’t my place to interject.

Millie Rogers died in 2007. I never got to tell her how her statement made me feel. So Millie, if you are reading this, I would appreciate that the next time you have a captive audience, tell them that you take complete responsibility for communicating your message. Tell them your speech disability is something for which you will take responsibility by utilizing an interpreter, a speech-to-speech relay person, or a speech-generating device. Show them the beauty of your thoughts and words in a PowerPoint presentation. And if you want a laugh, share a good, clean, Portagee joke.

It’s show time folks! People with disabilities need to step up their performances. They need to demonstrate their skills, their abilities, their capabilities. They need to demonstrate that they possess an awareness of their political rights by participating in the political process. Do not expect to be respected. People with disabilities need to show how and why they are worthy of respect because they are willing to earn it.

The Rethinking Disability brochure seems to have an underlying attitude of entitlement -- even though it suggests a position otherwise. Being entitled to something, like respect and your annual leave, is still something that must be earned. The brochure says it would give the reader suggestions for using respectful language, but it offers only one example: “wheelchair user” instead of “wheelchair bound”.

I can think of at least 10 other examples, but then again, I agree with the lyrics in John Mellencamp's song, Peaceful World:

People know this world is a wreck
We're sick and tired of being politically correct
I see through it now but I didn't at first
The hypocrites made it worse and worse

Lookin' down their noses at what people say
These are just words and words are okay
It's what you do and not what you say
If you're not part of the future then get out of the way....


Remember that -- it’s what you do, not what you say....

I found the Rethinking Disability brochure of little value. I only kept it so that I could reference it in this response. I found it “thought-provoking” for the opposite reason of its purpose. It did not offend me; it frustrated me as a person with a disability. Why? Because it ought to have a greater message; a message of new horizons, new abilities due to technology, new capabilities because disabled people themselves have risen above the banter of blaming others and have copped a new attitude steeped in responsibility of self.

I am responsible for everything that happens through me.


Wally Soares