Eunchan Lee, Week 9 - Growing Disability Power
Reflecting on the novels we read throughout high school—Of Mice and Men in the 9th grade, Maus in the 10th, and We Too Sing for America in the 11th—it is clear that one of the elements FUSD highly values and promotes is the creation of an inclusive society. By exploring these topics, we have dived deeply into the diverse ways in which ethnic, gender, and religious minorities have been discriminated against in the past. However, despite the growing power of these minorities, there is still a significant lack of education given to students about people with disabilities, which I think is kind of funny considering that people with disabilities make up 13% of the U.S. population, an equal percentage to the African Americans that reside in the U.S. This lack of awareness is especially visible at school, where I feel it has become abnormally common to see people casually using slurs and derogatory terms subjected toward people with limited abilities.
The good news is that people with disabilities are gaining greater rights and power (though little by little) like other minority groups have done in the past. New Disabled South, a disability rights organization that seeks to break barriers in gaining government authority, has made great progress in helping those with cognitive disabilities become more engaged in the legislative process by forming a language policy dashboard that is more accessible and understandable. Another disability rights organization called the Disability Victory, has aided candidates with disabilities in building political power through networking, political development, and creating the first campaign-training program training for the disabled.
I also find it amazing that people who are physically challenged are now given opportunities to participate in competitive sports competitions. Organizations such as the Young Achievement Sports for Development (YASD) has provided tremendous help to athletes with disabilities, especially those who lack the infrastructure that support the specific needs of the athlete. There is also the Paralympic Games, which is held the same year and location as the Olympic Games every 4 years, but exclusively for athletes with disabilities.
These newly implemented changes in sports and legislation discrimination may seem small, but they create life-changing opportunities for those who have been living with limitations their entire lives. But sadly, despite these changes, the discrimination against the disabled is still prevalent in our current society. The creation of an inclusive, equitable society is not attainable, or complete, without OUR help; it requires everyone—regardless of race, religion, or abilities—to work together. So next time you come across someone who seems to need your help, be the DOER who takes real action and not the observer.
Sour
Hi Eunchan! I absolutely agree with you that more education and stories about disability need to be relayed to the public in order to spread awareness. In addition to the normalized use of slurs that you mentioned, I’ve seen that many end up trying to avoid these discussions altogether out of shame or pity. I’m glad it was agreed that the Paralympics should be hosted in the same city and year as the Olympics in order to instill in the viewers that all the competitions and athletes should be seen as equal. While I follow the Paralympic Games, I wasn’t familiar with many of the organizations you mentioned, such as New Disabled South and Disability Victory. I didn’t realize that active action was being taken in the legislative process, and I especially found New Disabled South’s initiative to make complex legislative language more accessible to be really interesting, so thank you for including them in your blog! I really liked how you organized your writing to first present a problem, then multiple solutions in order to invoke hope, and then the exigence of growing the effort to instigate change in our society. I also love how you ended your blog with your own call to action–not just by telling readers to do something instead of being a bystander, but by also indicating how large a benefit it would be for society if we all worked together. Thank you!
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ReplyDeleteHi Eunchan! Thank you for bringing up the very important topic of disability awareness. I definitely agree with your point about how this topic seems to be overshadowed by others like gender and racial equality.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of slurs and derogatory terms subjected to this group of people, I agree that change needs to be made. To me, it seems like the lack of awareness about this group contributes to many people casually throwing around the term. In other words, this topic lies in the grey area—people who use the term don’t care enough to stop themselves, while people who don’t use the term also don’t care enough to stop others.
There also seems to be some sort of social stigma around the disabled group as well. We don’t like to talk about this group because the topic is so rare to come up in conversation. Talking about racial equality or racism in the world seems almost natural—it has become an evident truth that racism exists through the education that we have received. On the other hand, when I see a person in a wheelchair crossing the street, it seems wrong to bring up the topic of disabilities, and I can’t even identify the reason why.
I think that we can step in and defend this group of people, but it is often difficult with the lack of awareness and social stigma already set in place. Maybe, a larger disability presence in the school curriculum could contribute to a more equitable future for this overshadowed group.
Thank you for sharing!
Hey Eunchan! I really enjoyed reading your blog. It was interesting to see how the past books we read all tie in to create an inclusive society. Also, your title really intrigued me, because disability and power are usually seen as contradictory. I think historically speaking, people with disabilities have usually been marginalized, and “power” never really included them. To now put the word “power” with “disability” can show a transformation in our society, which is basically what you talk about after the first paragraph. It was nice to see how you compared the amount of people with disabilities with the African American population in the U.S., which gives us a better visual. I also find it really cool that people are now trying to break that stigma of talking about people with disabilities, so our society can come together and all grow together. See you next class!
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Hey Eunchan, I completely agree with you on disability education being undervalued in schools. I have a personal connection with this topic because of my neighbor, who is a special needs child. She is nonverbal and is on the higher end of the spectrum. Her mother once shared how my neighbor, as a child, initially enrolled in public education however she was severely bullied because of some of the noises she made and her reliance on smell when meeting other people. The bullying got so bad that her mom unenrolled her from school and began (and still is) homeschooling her. This creates a safer and supportive environment but it shows how much our education system needs to improve in order to create a fully inclusive environment. It's important to start disability education as a child. Another issue is the harmful language used. I feel like the r-slur is equally bad and arguably worse than the n-word however it is used far more and I have heard many (including some of my friends) use it in a casual context. Overall, you had a great blog post and I loved your powerful call to action at the end.
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