From the Cripple Club Tumblr blog.
Friday, May 2, 2014
"3 Ableisms" Series Followup
About a month ago, I posted a three-part series on what I see as the three main kinds of Ableism:
Starting tomorrow I will be posting some followup ideas on how to avoid and defeat the “3 Ableisms”. I’ll try to keep the tips simple, practical, and easy for anyone to implement. As always, I will also welcome readers’ comments and suggestions.
A Little More About Shaq ...
Andrea Peyser, New York Post - May 1, 2014
Looking back at what I wrote yesterday about Shaquille O’Neal’s bully-style mockery of Jahmel Binion, I feel like I didn’t fully communicate how terrible I think Shaq’s behavior was. As Mr. Binion points out in the linked New York Post article, it’s not so much that he insulted an individual … though that is bad enough. It’s that Shaq modeled terrible, and really harmful behavior that affects millions of people every day who have disabilities that make them look “weird”.
I endorse pretty much all of Andrea Peyser’s recommendations, with one exception. If, in fact, Mr. Binion very much wants oral surgery, then sure, it was be nice if Shaq would foot the bill. But, I think it would be a bad idea for Shaq to focus on cosmetic surgery as an amends for his taunting. The whole point is that nobody deserves to be mocked that way, no matter how they look. Curing or masking disability is not the answer to ableism. Helping make people look more “normal” would be dodging the real issue, and in a way validating the idea that there is something fundamentally wrong with people who don’t fit conventional standards of beauty.
I don’t know whether Shaq is a particularly good writer, but if he’s at all good at it, it might be more valuable for him to right an Op-Ed on why it is wrong to judge and mock people based on their physical appearance … perhaps tying the theme in to his possible experiences as an African-American, and as an incredibly tall person. Don’t think for a minute that huge guys like Shaq haven’t experienced stigma for their size, along with fame and fortune for their basketball skills.
So yeah, I, too would like to see more than an apology.
P.S. I said it before, I can't emphasize enough how much more meaningful this disability news story is because the disabled person in question has a unique voice, with a very specific point of view.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Admiration, With A Difference
Smart Ass Cripple - April 27, 2014
By now the routine should be pretty familiar. Smart Ass Cripple writes about some disability-related thing we talk about all the time, but he nails it in a few paragraphs and it may never have to be written about or discussed again.
This time, he looks at a unique aspect of admiration for disabled people. People admire them, but inherent in their admiration is that they would NOT want to be like them.
Just read the article; Smart Ass Cripple says it best ...
Famous People Making Faces
Robbie Couch, Huffington Post - April 30, 2014
What is this story about? What are we supposed to take away from it? What is important about it?
- Rich celebrities we admire for specific talents often turn out to be stupid, awful people.
- People who are members of socially marginalized groups can be just as oblivious as anyone else about stigmatizing people from other marginalized groups.
- After famous people do personally cruel things in a public way, they have to apologize publicly within a reasonable amount of time. The longer they take to apologize, the more the scandal snowballs. On the other hand, although everyone knows that these apologies are a ritual, they seem to work anyway.
- It is possible that a majority of Americans still think it’s okay to make fun of people who look strange, as long as they can’t immediately define their specific strangeness. Did Shaq, in that moment when he pulled a face, actually think of Mr. Binion as a disabled person, or as just a “weirdo”? Maybe we are in a transition phase, when a whole bunch of people are surprised to find that making mean fun of certain kinds of "odd" people is socially akin to racism, sexism, or homophobia.
- I find it interesting that for the first few days after this story broke, practically the only outlets covering it were recognized right-wing sources … The New York Post, The Daily Mail (UK paper), The Daily Caller. The Huffington Post is the closest thing to a “mainstream” outlet that seems to have bothered with the story. Is that just a coincidence. If not, what’s the deal? Do right-wing outlets get a bigger kick out of exposing the bad behavior of African-American celebrity athletes? Do more liberal-leaning outlets overlook prejudice directed at disabled people? Maybe it’s a little of both?
- It could be argued that Shaq’s fame makes his public behavior influential and therefore worse, because his individual ableism may encourage more of it on a grand scale. I think that might be a real concern, especially since it was a social media thing that would extremely easy for people to emulate and turn into meme. I hope that doesn’t happen, but we will probably find out one way or another over the next few weeks.
- Some of the articles on this incident refer to it as "bullying". I don't think it quite fits the usual definition, but I think it puts people in mind of a very real variety of childish / adolescent bullying directed specifically at disabled kids. Mimicking someone's odd appearance, voice, or movements is just the sort of "innocent" razzing that escalates fast, to the point where a kid will spend years learning to not hate his or her body, and parents who desperately want their kids to get a complete education will start to think that separate schools might be not just equal, but better ... simply for an anticipated end to bullying.
- Some of the articles on this incident refer to it as "bullying". I don't think it quite fits the usual definition, but I think it puts people in mind of a very real variety of childish / adolescent bullying directed specifically at disabled kids. Mimicking someone's odd appearance, voice, or movements is just the sort of "innocent" razzing that escalates fast, to the point where a kid will spend years learning to not hate his or her body, and parents who desperately want their kids to get a complete education will start to think that separate schools might be not just equal, but better ... simply for an anticipated end to bullying.
- I am glad, again, to see that Mr. Binion has a voice and real agency in the story. He is more than a silent, abstract victim. I like how he emphasizes that Shaq was a hero of his … making connections between the public and personal aspects of the incident.
What do you think? Is there more to this story, or is it mostly just another example of famous people behaving badly?
What do you think? Is there more to this story, or is it mostly just another example of famous people behaving badly?
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Photo Of The Day
Follow the link to a few more photos, and an explanation. You might call it Peer PT.
Book Preveiw
I just received my copy of Criptiques, the "crip culture" anthology edited by Caitlin Wood. I haven't gotten very far in the book, but based on Wood's introduction, I am 99% sure I am going to love it:
"Crip is my favorite four-letter word. Succinct and blunt. profane to some, crip packs a punch. Crip is unapologetic. Audacious. Noncompliant. Crip takes pleasure in its boldness and utter disinterest in appearing "respectable" to the status quo. It's a powerful self-descriptor, a cultural signifier, and a challenge to anyone attempting to conceal disability off in the shadows. Crip is anti-assimilationist and proud of it. Crip is outspoken with no patience for nonsense. Crip is my culture and where I want to be."
For months, I have been trying to figure out how to describe the fundamental differences between disabled people who are part of "crip culture", and those who even when they are generally positive and hopeful, still seem to view their disability as an unwelcome, barely tolerated guest. Caitlin Wood does such a great job of explaining the "crip culture" perspective that it took my breath away.
I can't wait to read the essays, and I expect I'll have more to say as I go.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Prom Thoughts And Regrets
Huffpost Good News - April 29, 2014
Here we go with another disability-related prom story, with some similarities and key differences from the story I commented on yesterday. I guess prom and disability is a potentially rich vein for melodrama, uplift, and regret.
I never attended the prom. I slightly regret it now, mostly because I know part of the reason I didn’t was that I just assumed the whole scene wasn’t “for me”, because of my disabilities. However, thinking back to the way I looked at things then, I can’t imagine actually putting myself through the traditional Prom routine. I can definitely picture going if attending solo to hang out with friends had been a socially recognized option, but as far as I knew at the time, it wasn’t. I certainly can’t picture going the tux, limo, corsage route, unless maybe me and a girl had decided to do it as a semi-goof. The whole traditional “formal” dating scene was something that I was excluded / excluded myself from, partly because of my disability and piss-poor body image, but absolutely partly because I didn’t buy into that scene anyway. If I’m honest with myself, it’s hard to pinpoint where one part of my attitude ended and the other began.
This is a good example of why it's ridiculous to talk about our disabilities and our “true” selves being separate, or whether we would jump at a cure if one was available. I can’t really separate my viewpoint on high school social life from my identity as a disabled person. My disabilities didn't fully determine my outlook, but they heavily influenced it.
Would I have gladly become a high school jock or Prom King candidate if I hadn’t had disabilities? Did I turn out nerdy, intellectual, and bookish because those are all mental pursuits, where physical strength and stamina don’t matter? I have no idea. I might as well wonder what I'd be like if I had grown up in Soviet Russia, or had been born in 15th Century Venice. In that sense, my disabilities and I are inseparable.
I do know that there are quite a few things I might have enjoyed that I avoided trying because they seemed like too much hassle, as I saw because of my disabilities. I'm not sure if the prom is one of them, but there are definitely things I regret not trying because of my disabilities. Maybe some other time I will make a list.
Someone could write an interesting Disability Studies thesis on students with disabilities and the traditional American high school prom. I wonder if anyone has done a comprehensive study of different high schools’ policies and practices around proms and other dances, and whether any of them consciously try to be more inclusive of students with disabilities. I would also love to see a survey of “human interest” news stories about disabled kids attending the prom.
If you have any disability-related Prom experiences or thoughts, please share them!
Monday, April 28, 2014
Questions Not Asked
I am feeling a little better now, so let’s give this a shot ...
Nineveh Dinha, Fox 13 Salt Lake City - April 25, 2014
First of all, credit where it’s due … Fox 13 included an actual quote from Kaidn Shield. We heard a little bit of what the disabled guy in the story is actually thinking. Granted, it wasn’t so much an evaluation or personal opinion on the subject … it was more of a factual report on what he expects to happen at the Prom. That’s still a lot better than the heartwarming disability stories where the disabled person is a voiceless object.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure there’s any way to cover a story like this without it coming off as condescending. I think what’s really missing here is some acknowledgement that there are bigger issues involved.
- Why, exactly, is Kaidn often “left out” of school activities? His mother says that his disabilities prevent him from participating, but he doesn’t appear to have any significant physical impairments, so is it social stigma that’s really at issue? Taylor Roberts is planning on studying Special Education and disability work … what is her theory? What would she do to improve disabled kids' overall inclusion in schools?
- Have Taylor and Kaidn known each other for a long time? What do Taylor’s friends think of what she’s doing? Has anyone made any snotty remarks or questioning of her motives, and if so, how would she reply?
- Does the school create any barriers, even inadvertently? For instance, do students have to have a date to come to Prom, or can they come solo and just have fun with their friends? That might take some of the social pressure off for all sorts of kids who for various reasons aren’t ready to “couple up”.
I suppose the reporter might have asked these or other substantive question, but there wasn’t time to fit them into the segment. It would be nice maybe to get a followup story that focused on the social forces that affect kids like this everywhere.
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