Michael
Thank you for sharing your insight with us.
It is, of course, open to you to develop any theory that you like - assuming
that you are entirely unmoved by emancipatory or participatory research
methods.
At the risk of sounding like a cracked record, I am sure that the movement
would be suitably grateful for any compelling advance on the social model
but, in the meantime, the movement patently has use for it despite your
critique. Nonetheless, I await the outcome of your narrative exercise with
interest.
Having not commented before, my immediate response to you is that personal
narrative might also have the potential for moving us backwards - the
movement has exerted considerable time and effort in publicising the
imposition of 'disability' - a societal rather than an individualistic
approach.
There is already a great deal of voyeurism evident in non-disabled interest
in 'disability' and disabled people - how does your 'narrative as political'
approach counter such disadvantage? Secondly, who decides which 'narrative'
is 'political'?
Some of us would contend that disability was and remains (first and
foremost) a label created and applied by the non-disabled majority on a
group that they identified with reference to biomedical/psychological
'imperfection'. The pre-eminent dynamic was and is the differentiation
between 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor.
Outside of these policy/ideological considerations, how interested do you
really think the non-disabled world is in our 'narratives' and, perhaps more
importantly, in what way does your insight assist disabled people to better
advocate for their basic human and civil rights?
As to the remaining issues mentioned in your message, I regret that I have
had enormous difficulty trying to decipher what I assume to be irony and
invective. Could you try and put your points a little more clearly?
Finally, your comments also appear to give scant regard to critical
examination of the role of power relationships and normative assumptions of
'objectivity'.
Humility is a rare thing in academe and some disabled people are a little
bored with hearing how someone else has the 'real answer' to our 'problem'.
Sincerely
Richard Light
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|