Stop Ableism : Opening Doors to Dignity
Have you ever looked up the definition of “disabled”? This is what I found about the word “disabled”, synonyms and antonyms of it.
* Disabled, adjective : handicapped, infirm, paralyzed, weakened, wounded, confined, disarmed, hamstrung, hurt, lame, maimed, sidelined, stalled, wrecked, broken-down, decrepit, helpless, incapable, laid-up, out-of action, out-of-commission, powerless, run-down, worn- out. Antonyms : firm, healthy, able, strong, capable. (from thesaurus link : http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/disabled )
I've never realized such negative images on "disabled". It's not about the words. It's what we believe about people when we name them with these words. It's about the values behind the words, and how we construct those values. Our language affects our thinking and how we view the world and how we view other people.
According to "Stop Ableism",
people who do not have a disability or who are not close to someone who does, might not understand how the world is wired for non-disabled people. It may be invisible to those who do not have disabilities. It is sometimes not intentional, but in certain circumstances, it is very intentional.
An ableist society is said to be one that treats non-disabled individuals as the standard of normal living, which results in public and private places and services, education, and social work that are built to serve 'standard' people, thereby inherently excluding those with various disabilities.
People with disabilities face many kinds of barriers on a daily basis. These can be physical, attitudinal or systemic
(http://www.stopableism.org/what.asp).
We need to consider people who have handicap and disabilities, but it doesn't mean treat them with sympathy, disdain and prejudice. No one has a right to ignore others' human rights and potential ability. I think that the only true disability is a crushed spirit, a spirit that's been crushed doesn't have hope, it doesn't see beauty, it doesn't have chances to be part of us.
Our society needs to systemically supports disabled people and gives them opportunities to be part of our society, instead of ableism. Additionally, more importantly, our mindset for disabled people need to change.
* Here's an inspiring speech "The opportunity of adversity" of Aimee Mullins which I want to share.
The thesaurus might equate 'disabled' with synonyms like 'useless' and 'mutilated', but ground-breaking runner Aimee Mullins is out to redefine the word. Defying these associations, she shows how adversity -- in her case, being born without shinbones -- actually opens the door for human potential (TED).