Hi all,
Thought I'd join in the discussion on attitudes. I am 22 aND I personally
do believe attitudes can be changed. Mine used to be absolutely atrocious i
feel when i look back now. It was nothing to do with my parents instilling
any negaitve beliefs in me, or my being prejudiced. The simple fact is that
I didn't understand disability or what it was when I was younger, just the
same as how i didn't understand different races. My experience of
Asian/Indian children in our practically all white junior school was one
strange
Hindu lad.
Now I know a lot more, through experience of having a disability, but more
importantly through knowing other people with disabilities and having my
eyes opened to reality. That knowledge can make a big difference.
We will never be able to change everyone's attitudes, but I believe many
things including changing segregation/exclusive practices, and bringing
ordinary people of all abilities into contact with each other from an early
age, can make a lot of difference.
Sarah Fletcher
At 11:52 AM 21/01/99 -0600, you wrote:
>Mairian,
>My feild is MA in Theology. I am a quadraplegic involved for twenty years in
>disability issues. It is my opinion attitudes cannot be changed. I do not
even
>try.
>For me its a waste of time and I have so many interesting things to do.
>
>Mairian Corker wrote:
>
>> Henry wrote:
>>
>> >It seems like all our work is a waste of time..in changing attitudes..
>>
>> Do you mean changing attitudes or changing language Henry? And does this
>> perhaps happen because we don't actually focus our work on changing
>> attitudes but on changing PRACTICE, whilst assuming that the two are
>> different things? Disability activists often say that we CAN'T change
>> attitudes. Perhaps its the old spectre of Marx coming up again:
>> "Philosophers have only interpreted the world differently, what matters is
>> to change it." Can we separate interpretation from change that easily? Does
>> our work need other focuses?
>>
>> Lot of questions there!
>>
>> Best wishes
>>
>> Mairian
>>
>> *********
>>
>> "To understand what I am doing, you need a third eye"
>>
>> *********
>>
>> Mairian Corker
>> Senior Research Fellow in Deaf and Disability Studies
>> University of Central Lancashire
>>
>> Postal Address:
>> 111 Balfour Road
>> Highbury
>> London N5 2HE
>> U.K.
>>
>> Minicom/TTY +44 [0]171 359 8085
>> Fax +44 [0]870 0553967
>> Typetalk (voice) +44 [0]800 515152 (and ask for minicom/TTY number)
>
>
>
Sarah
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