Joy get used to it anything that we do is news worthy, even the everyday
things.  i'm making a documentary for hbo and they wanted film how i go to the
bathroom and brush my teeth. like these things are as exciting as the rest of my
life.

kinggimp

Denise D. Goodman wrote:

> Joy Writes: "does anyone else read People magazine?"  Nope, sorry too cheap
> to pay for a subscription, but I get the gist of the article from your
> description. "...a girl in a wheelchair who attended her prom."  Joy went on
> to say, "It bothered me that that was considered newsworthy. ... Does anyone
> else feel the same way, or am I overreacting..."
>
> First of all, any reaction you have is a valid one.  Everyone is entitled to
> an opion.  If you had gone to the publishing house for People Mag, with an
> automatic weapon, "voiced" your dismay by taking a few shots, THEN I'd say
> you were overreacting.  Formulating an opinion or having an emotional
> reaction is perfectly normal.  In fact, that is why a magazine will print a
> story like this in the first place.  They are looking to illicit emotional
> responses, and I believe they are trying to foster the very prinicipal which
> you seem most distressed about.  "Why is it such a big deal?  We're normal
> people!"
>
> Personally, I think media in general have the horrible habit of branding
> people- no matter what.  Think about it.  They never say, "the suspect or the
> victim."  They always label people who are summarily broken down into
> categories, (white, black, Catholic, Jewish, young, old, educated,
> impovorished, disabled).  Our differences are always mentioned.  As to the
> People article, I personally think it is a good thing.  Yes, we should be
> living in an enlightend world were differences do not count, but if any of
> you currently reside in that zip code, let me know.  I'll pack up move there,
> however, I don't honestly believe such a place yet exists.
>
> Renee said, "Yes its really archaic that this is news."  She then went on to
> say, "But then some of us had no hope of going to the prom...."    If we
> lived in the ideal socieity, this of course would be archaic and not
> newsworthy.  But we don't live there yet.   What if this article had been
> printed when Renee or I were "Prom Age?"  Wouldn't this have given us
> encouragement?  In fact, doesn't this article today give those who are in
> wheelchairs the reinforcement that they can and should strive to do all the
> "normal" things teenagers do?  More importantly, doesn't an article like this
> help instill the notion in the able-bodied that "we are normal people?"
>
> Media exposure of disabled people, marking the "normal"  mile-stones in life,
> help reinforce the very fact that we are capable of most anything.  My
> personal opinion on an article like this is that it might be distasteful to
> those of us who already know we are "normal people" but it is still necessary
> and positive.  Perhaps as the media continues to show those of us who are
> "different" doing all the "normal" things, it will stop being newsworthy and
> just be how it is.  I see these incidents as small building blocks toward
> contstruction of a socieity where difference isn't such a big issue.  Anyway,
> that's my opinion. - Denise.