Subject: | | Disabling Societies |
From: | | "A.Elphick" <[log in to unmask]> |
Reply-To: | | [log in to unmask][log in to unmask], 18 Oct 1999 12:28:36 -0400 (EDT)534_US-ASCII Points of Agreement with a few recent posts:
A. All public education re: disabled rights & disability, need NOT revolve around reactions to Singer. (Thank you, Phyllis.) People with disabilities (to avoid a recent point of confusion -- I mean: people with disabilities -- both of the visible & invisible kind), who are academics, or who are not academics, can carry a message to a larger audience, not only by reacting to what Singer says... or just by focussing on what we have to say. [...]46_18Oct199912:28:36-0400(EDT)[log in to unmask] |
Date: | | Mon, 18 Oct 1999 12:48:03 -0400 |
Content-Type: | | text/plain |
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disability-research
My experience as a child in a 'Democratic' school, ie run by the children
on a day to day basis showed me that flexibility within a society does not
cause or removes disability. Individuals working and playing together
addressed the concept of the inclusion of all individuals in all
activities. This in turn lead to an appreciation of 'difference' without
the heirachy of 'worth' entering the picture.
What worries me is that issues are being discussed by the comparrison of
the sub group or counter culture 'homosexuals' with the sub goup or counter
coulture 'disabled'.
Strength to bring about social change in terms of a more inclusive, less
heirachical society in terms of the 'worth' of different individuals surely
comes from demonstrating how much we each value others who are different
from ourselves?
Incidentaly a study in Canada has demonstrated a statisticaly significant
relationship between the chances of a male being homosexual, and the number
of elder brothers he has. The more elder brothers, the greater the chance
of the youngers males being gay. It is postulated that the mother builds up
antibodies to the male chromasome over sucessive pregnancies, and 'blocks'
the development of full 'maleness' in latter male foetuses. (My idle
speculation is as to whether this in turn relates to the development of
dyslexia which is four times morre common in males than female and is
supposed to be developmental in origin. I wonder what the incidence of
dyslexia is amongst homosexual men?)
Of course the Sociobiologists will argue that it is socially important to
have homosexual younger siblings in larger families to reduce agressive
competition for females whilst giving the non procreative males a vested
interest in the survival of his brothers' children as they share the same
genes (if not Jeans).
Sociobiologists have yet to formulate a 'reason' for the survivial of 'the
disabled'
Regardless, I think we have much to loose if we dis-include anyone from the
counter culture which celebrates difference.
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