Sunday, March 3, 2013

"Smart Ass Cripple" Sez

Last week, Smart Ass Cripple started out unpacking the term "Special Needs", and as usual ended up saying some bigger things than when he began.

Smart Ass Cripple
"Nobody wants to be perceived as needy because nobody likes needy people. We all act like we love the needy but we don’t. The only people who like hanging around needy people are heavy duty codependent types."
I don't actually think this is accurate. I think plenty of people who "work with" people with disabilities are in it for other reasons, including a simple interest, or paycheck. I like the ones doing it for the money because their motives are simpler and easier to satisfy.

But I think the codependency tag works very well in two ways: as a cautionary tale for the workers, and as a signal to people with disabilities that it is okay to question the intentions of the people who serve us, especially if what they're doing isn't working for us.