i usually steal the line "i do not have Cerebral palsy, i am druck."
--- On Tue, 5/13/08, Kendall D. Corbett <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> From: Kendall D. Corbett <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: what were your childhoods like?
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 3:38 PM
> Kyle,
>
> So, was the commissar habitually obtuse, or did she just
> not "get it"
> when people pushed her out of her comfort zone (which, for
> people who
> insist on being PC, gets narrower all the time).
>
> The new one that bothers me is the use of the word
> "impairment" to
> describe a physical or mental condition. When people say
> I'm
> "impaired," I want to say "I'm Not
> Drunk, I always move like this!"
> Apparently disability is now supposed to refer to something
> in the
> environment that makes life more difficult for pwd (pwi?),
> while
> impairment is the intrinsic "condition" of the
> person, eg, CP,
> paraplegia, mental illness...
>
> On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 11:36 AM, Cleveland, Kyle E.
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > Kendall and all.
> >
> > Back a couple years ago when I was completing my
> career as a
> > professional part-time student <insert melancholy
> sigh here> my academic
> > adviser and department chair (communications) also
> happened to be the
> > Campus Commissar for Political Correctness. In order
> to complete the
> > program I had to take one of her silly courses in
> "Contemporary
> > Subcultures", or some such nonsense. We delved
> into such varied and
> > esoteric topics as the "Schism Between Roman
> Catholicism and Greek
> > Orthodoxy as Expressed in Cathedral Architecture"
> (I kid you not) and
> > "Alternative Lifestyles and the Native American
> Experience".
> >
> > Anyway, we got around to the evolution of social group
> names (e.g.,
> > "negro" became "black" became
> "African American") and how progressive
> > societies elevated social groups by making current
> labels offensive and
> > creating new labels that were supposed to magically
> raise socioeconomic
> > status. We were lectured ad nauseum about how hurtful
> these labels were
> > to said groups. Go figure.
> >
> > So she got around to me and said, "Kyle, when you
> were a child, you were
> > 'crippled', then you became
> 'disabled'. Our progressive society has
> > come to learn that 'disabled' still carries
> baggage, so you'll be
> > pleased to know that you are not DIS-abled, but
> 'differently abled'.
> > Doesn't that make you feel empowered?"
> >
> > "Only if it scores me an "A" in this
> class", says I.
> >
> > The sarcasm blew past her like a kid getting ready to
> score his first
> > beer.
> >
> > Says Prof. PC, "Kyle, can you give us an example
> how your "different
> > abilities" have made your life
> "different"?
> >
> > "Sure. I got this plastic thingy I can hang on
> my rear-view
> > mirror--looks like a guy sitting on a commode.
> Anyway, I can hang that
> > thing up and park right next to the mall at
> Christmas-time while the
> > rest of you have to drag your sorry arses a half-mile!
> (In the words of
> > Napoleon Dynamite, 'Lucky!')."
> >
> > She STILL didn't get it!
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Cerebral Palsy List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
> > Of Kendall D. Corbett
> > Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 1:50 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: what were your childhoods like?
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > I also don't see an accessible parking space (for
> example) as a
> > privilege,
> > but as a way for a business to assure that they'll
> get my business.
> > It's
> > too bad that enough businesses didn't see the
> economic advantages to
> > implementing the provisions of the ADA voluntarily, as
> pwd's (and
> > elders)
> > are potentially the largest segment of the economy.
> If businesses want
> > our
> > money and talent, it's incumbent upon them to
> ensure we can get in the
> > door,
> > and get around inside, as customers or employees.
> >
> > I'd also be interested to hear about the
> "special privileges" your
> > disability has entitled you to.
> >
> >
> > -----------------------
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> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
>
>
> Kendall
>
> An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's
> redundant!)
>
> The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the
> unreasonable one
> persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.
> Therefore, all
> progress depends on the unreasonable man.
>
> -George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950
>
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