Thursday, January 20, 2005
AM I JUST WORSE OFF THAN ANYONE ELSE AROUND ME?...
I could bitch and moan about a few things, a few situations that have gotten me nowhere in the last few years.
But am I really putting too much emphasis on what I have wrong with me -- instead of what is right with me?
I officially became disabled in 2001.... that word brings up a whole heap of stereotypes when its said in that term. Disabled ... I'm still getting used to that word. I feel that others' and their perceptions of this terms has given me a bad image to play with when I look at my Self.
What do I see when I look in the mirror? Do i look like a 'disabled stereotype'?
In reality, if you meet me, I look 'normal' ... no one can imagine what disability I have until I open my mouth and explain my situation. Then you see their face change, unsure how to react and how to see me in their mind. Its like you can literally hear all the cycles of thought clicking in their brain out loud. People then change the topic quickly and move on. A little uneasy until they get used to it.
A few friends of mine have recently just come from Europe, hoping to get a job -- yet they do not speak English well. And they complain and say the same things that I'm trying to explain about how people react to them when they open their mouth and explain that they are fully able and qualified to do the job, but the language is an issue. My friend has often used the word disabled to try to describe her position at the moment when looking for work.
Every person I have met has questioned a bad aspect of their Self and what it means to have less than another ... for numerous and varied situations. There is always something that we use to say that we are unable to do something...
This takes disabled, the word, to a much more deeper meaning than just the normal every day meaning of the term.
My point is...?
What I'm trying to say is:
Do we all have a factor that makes us 'disabled' in society?
Disabled - unable to do something: Whether it is because we are disabled by our health, our background, our lack of something that will get us to where we want to be...
In this light, I feel better about things. The truth is I have been used to people putting me down for an easy and comfortable position for their Self to deal with it. People feel afraid or embarrassed, not wanting to sound ignorant when I mention my disability.
In a wider sense of the word -- aren't we all disabled to an illusion that we need to be perfect to lead the life we want?
Our excuses will always bring us to conforming to our fearfull ways once again.
But am I really putting too much emphasis on what I have wrong with me -- instead of what is right with me?
I officially became disabled in 2001.... that word brings up a whole heap of stereotypes when its said in that term. Disabled ... I'm still getting used to that word. I feel that others' and their perceptions of this terms has given me a bad image to play with when I look at my Self.
What do I see when I look in the mirror? Do i look like a 'disabled stereotype'?
In reality, if you meet me, I look 'normal' ... no one can imagine what disability I have until I open my mouth and explain my situation. Then you see their face change, unsure how to react and how to see me in their mind. Its like you can literally hear all the cycles of thought clicking in their brain out loud. People then change the topic quickly and move on. A little uneasy until they get used to it.
A few friends of mine have recently just come from Europe, hoping to get a job -- yet they do not speak English well. And they complain and say the same things that I'm trying to explain about how people react to them when they open their mouth and explain that they are fully able and qualified to do the job, but the language is an issue. My friend has often used the word disabled to try to describe her position at the moment when looking for work.
Every person I have met has questioned a bad aspect of their Self and what it means to have less than another ... for numerous and varied situations. There is always something that we use to say that we are unable to do something...
This takes disabled, the word, to a much more deeper meaning than just the normal every day meaning of the term.
My point is...?
What I'm trying to say is:
Do we all have a factor that makes us 'disabled' in society?
Disabled - unable to do something: Whether it is because we are disabled by our health, our background, our lack of something that will get us to where we want to be...
In this light, I feel better about things. The truth is I have been used to people putting me down for an easy and comfortable position for their Self to deal with it. People feel afraid or embarrassed, not wanting to sound ignorant when I mention my disability.
In a wider sense of the word -- aren't we all disabled to an illusion that we need to be perfect to lead the life we want?
Our excuses will always bring us to conforming to our fearfull ways once again.
Comments:
Disabled is another label used to categorize people. It's a trigger word that sends the message that the "disabled" person can't do something. The word Disabled has a negative connotation. It suggests LACK. I personally do not want to affirm LACK. People are different. Difference is not always celebrated when it veers from the so-called norm. I believe that a disability is something that keeps you from achieving your goals. We all have weaknesses but we learn to compensate for those weakness. A blind person can't see with their eyes, but they compensate with their hearing and sense of touch.
Disabled does NOT have to be viewed negatively. Sometimes so-called disabilities occur because we need to develop other areas of ourselves. They give us the opportunity to learn about what strengths we do have.
I work in the school system. A major part of my job is to determine who is and who isn't educationally disable, who requires special education. Today many parents are fighting to get their children labeled disabled even when a disability does not exist. That is a relatively new phenomenon. The label gets the children extra help.
PEople should get the assistance they need to compensate for their disability to help make the playing field level. It's about access. If U can access what U need to be the best U that U can be, then the disability isn't limiting.
So, to make a long story short a disability defines a physical or mental characteristic or state. It's not who We are.
Disabled does NOT have to be viewed negatively. Sometimes so-called disabilities occur because we need to develop other areas of ourselves. They give us the opportunity to learn about what strengths we do have.
I work in the school system. A major part of my job is to determine who is and who isn't educationally disable, who requires special education. Today many parents are fighting to get their children labeled disabled even when a disability does not exist. That is a relatively new phenomenon. The label gets the children extra help.
PEople should get the assistance they need to compensate for their disability to help make the playing field level. It's about access. If U can access what U need to be the best U that U can be, then the disability isn't limiting.
So, to make a long story short a disability defines a physical or mental characteristic or state. It's not who We are.
Disabled is another label used to categorize people. It's a trigger word that sends the message that the "disabled" person can't do something. The word Disabled has a negative connotation. It suggests LACK. I personally do not want to affirm LACK. People are different. Difference is not always celebrated when it veers from the so-called norm. I believe that a disability is something that keeps you from achieving your goals. We all have weaknesses but we learn to compensate for those weakness. A blind person can't see with their eyes, but they compensate with their hearing and sense of touch.
Disabled does NOT have to be viewed negatively. Sometimes so-called disabilities occur because we need to develop other areas of ourselves. They give us the opportunity to learn about what strengths we do have.
I work in the school system. A major part of my job is to determine who is and who isn't educationally disable, who requires special education. Today many parents are fighting to get their children labeled disabled even when a disability does not exist. That is a relatively new phenomenon. The label gets the children extra help.
PEople should get the assistance they need to compensate for their disability to help make the playing field level. It's about access. If U can access what U need to be the best U that U can be, then the disability isn't limiting.
So, to make a long story short a disability defines a physical or mental characteristic or state. It's not who We are.
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Disabled does NOT have to be viewed negatively. Sometimes so-called disabilities occur because we need to develop other areas of ourselves. They give us the opportunity to learn about what strengths we do have.
I work in the school system. A major part of my job is to determine who is and who isn't educationally disable, who requires special education. Today many parents are fighting to get their children labeled disabled even when a disability does not exist. That is a relatively new phenomenon. The label gets the children extra help.
PEople should get the assistance they need to compensate for their disability to help make the playing field level. It's about access. If U can access what U need to be the best U that U can be, then the disability isn't limiting.
So, to make a long story short a disability defines a physical or mental characteristic or state. It's not who We are.
