Posted: 2/16/2008 at 12:12 AM
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So I've been enjoying myself nosing about Disaboom and I've noticed several comments from members who don't see their disability as part of who they are. These comments have set loose a debate in my head. Of course this is not the 1st time I've heard someone claim their disabilty isn't who they are, I have many disabled friends that claim this idealogy. However my question is how can your disability not be who you are? Humans (the person, the soul, the personality) aren't made of seperate componets that can be disected apart and identified like the frogs in science class. Disability is a collage of experiences, feelings and thoughts that blend seamlessly with our sense of humor, interests, beliefs, and values to make up the essence of who we are. You can't seperate out the part of you that is disabled any more then you could seperate the shades of blue in Vangoghs Starry Night. I respect a person's right to think as they wish but I don't understand this thinking. How can anyone truly love themselves until they accept their disability as part of them and not some parasite that attached itself to their being. My friends say they wish people could see them and not their disability. I say if you don't see my disabilty you are not seeing all of me and dangit I want the world to see all of me! I want to be known for who I am and not the edited publically correct version that makes society comfortable! You can all prepare to pick your jaws up off the floor because.. I'm disabled and I'm proud of it!
*Get's off her soap box* Ok I'm done now, any thoughts?
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I think you're right. Your point about us not being divisible is quite a good one. If we can't separate out our sense of humor or our diabetes, how can we separate out our disability? We can't. I know some people take issue with someone saying they are an autistic, rather than saying, I have autism. I can see that, too. I wouldn't say I am an antiphospholipid syndrome, scleroderma... that doesn't make sense. I am me, with those things.
Excellent post!
hi beautifuldisaster, it's nice to meet you. i wrote a blog and said that my daughter didn't see the chair, she saw me. i didn't mean that like literraly, i have a hard time expressing myself sometimes. yes i know i am paralyzed buti think to be truely happy means loving yourself, walking or not. welcome to disaboom! :) xoxo
I see your point and I agree with it to an extent. What I see is not so much that people are thinking of their disability as a "parasite that attached itself to them". But, that people actually mean they can still perform AB tasks by simply take a little more time to do them...or they do them in a "different" manner. So it's their way of saying, "Hey, I can still function I just do it differently!":)
Liesl - Thanks for your response I agree with you I hate when people refer to me as a "wheelchair" like on the bus. How many of you have been refered to as "the wheelchair"? but again in my mind that's seperating out the parts of a person and not looking at the whole. I would dislike being refered to as the bald girl, or the feminist too. These are all parts of me and I love each part. I do realize that the mind has a need to break things down and organize them into categories inorder to better comprehend them. My concern is for those people who, from the way they talk and act, want to completely disown their disability as part of themselves. I say all these things not to be judgemental I myself refused to think of myself as a person with a disabilty until a few short years ago. I appreciate everyone weighing in on the topic. You never know when another person will say something that will open up your mind to a completely different way of thinking.
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