By Noah Berlatsky — 2014
The supercrip narrative, disability rights groups say, mostly serves to make mainstream audiences feel awesome and inspired, while ignoring the actual difficulties faced by and prejudices directed at the vast majority of disabled people.
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CLEAR ALL
“Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.” ~ Bruce Lee The premise of his philosophy was efficiency—complete and utter efficiency of the soul.
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When disability isn’t disclosed, we create an invisible layer of additional work for the individual which will affect their productivity.
What I’m hoping to do here is help portray the incapacitated form in an optimistic light and defy the labels enforced upon us by society.
“If you’re trying to get home and the bus keeps passing you up because you’re in a wheelchair, you have to scream out.”
In the beginning, it was difficult to let myself rest, even with the ultimate doctor’s note. I felt like I still had to push past my (extremely limited) capabilities. I had to practice slowing down and allowing my frailties to become visible even when I had the choice to hide them.
The reality of being a disabled person on Medicaid is far more complex and nuanced. Many people do not even know the difference between Medicaid and Medicare and simply consider them “entitlement programs,” as if tax breaks and corporate subsidies aren’t entitlements by another name.
Most students learn that Keller, born June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Ala., was left deaf and blind after contracting a high fever at 19 months, and that her teacher Anne Sullivan taught her braille, lip-reading, finger spelling and eventually, how to speak.
On her debut album The Cycle, the Shropshire singer-songwriter takes on a ‘broken system’ that underestimates the vibrancy of disabled lives.
Disability activism is empowering. Keys to getting started are staying open, sharing the stage, working collaboratively, listening and learning, and being willing to ask for help to make it less scary.
The first thing you want is to know that you belong here, that you are a part of this planet, just like the earth and the water, the sun and the wind, and the trees.