In a listserve devoted to media in the U.S. I posted the following in
response to some discussion following the passing of C. Reeve. Although some of it
is specific to that list I keep the whole thing the way I wrote it there
because it's pertinent to some other recent exchanges on this list. Steve
<<Well, as the person who put together the 1996 article on Reeve that's been
posted, I had a bunch of initial reactions to this--the longest mediatalk
digest I've seen in some time. First, as a writer, I'm pleased that something
almost ten years old (and not, by the way, in the book) is remembered. Thanks
Mark. Second, I still have a different viewpoint about all this than any I saw
today. I think about at least three Christopher Reeves. There's the person
that some people like Mike and Brewster knew personally and who by all accounts
was charming, witty, and friendly. There's the public man himself and his
activism (not to mention his family, etc.). As an activist for walking, cure,
change I don't disagree with anything said on this list by his supporters. The
third Reeve is one of public perception(s). That's the one that we all, as I
recall, tried to write about in the 1996 article. And as a public figure,
not to mention an actor and director, who spoke in public, wrote books,
testified before Congress, his public persona is no less, or more, fair game than
Peter Singer, Bill Clinton, or Tatum O'Neal. And while I empathize with
Christopher Reeve, the man and activist, I still have a hard time with the public
perception of him. As I believe I wrote in the article, there's a difference
between what he put out and what the public perceived. Since this is a media list,
public perception is crucial. At the same time I have gotten off of, or
become complacent, on email lists that become embedded in argument that tends to
turn personal. I have a viewpoint(s), as does everyone else on the list. We
don't always agree. Why should we? To expect all people with disabilities to
agree is as much of a set-up as expecting any other group of millions to agree.
And if we move to activists only we're still talking at least thousands.
But even more importantly, I believe, is my community experience. I may be
considered "elite" on this list, but if I am it's the only place. I have to fight
to get housing, transportation, a job, a book published, etc. That's my real
world. And I'm the opposite of "elite" in it. As I would guess is everyone
else on this list. A long time ago, as a matter fact about the first time I
met moderator Pat, I worked for the Client Assistance Program (CAP) in Oklahoma.
I was fairly new to the dizbiz and I'd been frustrated by what I saw as
philosophical and political agreements becoming personal attacks. Then I went to
a meeting of the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
(NAPAS) that at that time was engaged in a debate over whether CAPs would become
part of NAPAS formally. My boss, a lawyer, was vociferous in this debate. As
were many others, also mostly lawyers. They were also in my perception going
for each other's jugulars. Then the meeting ended. Everyone adjourned into
the bar or other social situations. They completely forgot about the previous
debates and became friends, laughing, joking, having a great time. I saw what
I'd been looking for. People who could differentiate between a difference of
opinion and the person holding that different opinion as evil. I write all
this as I contemplate the class I co-taught last night where we discussed special
education. There were lots of opinions, but only one student in the class
(all graduate students) could get out of the morass of how special education
affected their own lives and into the more complex, global issues. Which takes
me back to Christopher Reeve. I was surpised and saddened when I learned he'd
passed on. Despite whatever I've written about him in the past I was sorry to
see him go. Because life is not as simple as we most often make it out to
be. And we who engage in sound bites also have an obligation to engage in the
more complicated teaching, writing, and learning that also needs to occur.
Steve>>
Steven E. Brown, Ph.D.
Center on Disability Studies, Review of Disability Studies
www.rds.hawaii.edu
University of Hawai`i
1776 University Ave., UA4-6
Honolulu, HI 96822
Institute on Disability Culture
http://hometown.aol.com/sbrown8912/index.html
My book: Movie Stars and Sensuous Scars
information at: http://hometown.aol.com/sbrown8912/page7.html
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