On Mon, 18 Oct 1999, Lennard Davis wrote:
[snip]
> While I deeply respect the argument that Simi Linton and others have made
> that disability studies and disability activism should be "lead" by people
> with disabilities, I really don't think there is a chance those areas will
> be taken over by those abled parvenus seeking power and fame.
Really? Look around you and see all the "non-disabled" people telling or
trying to tell us how to live our lives. Do I have to enumerate them?
[snip]
> The point is, disability is such a varied phenomenon, as we all know, from
> chronic diseases, obesity, motor, sensory, cognitive and affective
> impairments.
Disability is the result of discrimination. There are many people with
impairments who do not identify as (and may not be) disabled. To be
labelled as disabled is to be placed in an inferior, dependent position in
society. (And no, Brits, I am not accepting your view of the social model
of disability. I can say what I just said with my own model of disability
discrimination.)
> And what about their family, caregivers, etc.
Often the worst in discriminating.
> Who draws the line? And if we are serious about the idea
> that today's normates will be tomorrow's people with disability, why
> exclude even the absolutely normal person from being a fellow traveller,
> contributor, debater, or whatever?
And what is normal? White, middle class male behavior?
> What about
> all the fabulous white people who were leaders in the civil rights
> movement, who went down South in the Freedom Summer, and who even died for
> the movement?
I was not famous (infamous to my family and their friends, however) and
I did not die for the movement, but I grew up in the South (USA) and would
never take a leadership role in an African-American, Hispanic, Asian,
Feminist, or Gay organization. I sought out and played a supportive role.
David
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David Pfeiffer, Ph.D.
Resident Scholar
Center on Disability Studies
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
[log in to unmask]
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Center on Disability Studies....maximizing individual
potential by encouraging independence, self-determination,
and full participation in the community.
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