Which is why I am continually trying to re-inforce my version of events as a
counter force to society. Unless we extend this debate beyond the confines
of our "disability" world and elsewhere we will not make progress in this
direction.
Words have and do change there meaning, fortunately handicap is mostly only
herd in the UK amongst the older generation and menatl handicap has
disapeared fromt he official lexicon almost entierly.
When I use a word I am engaging in a discors with the audience over the
meaning, context and connotations of that word. ACademics have tended to
preface there discussions with a definition of the word, perhaps in whatever
public opportunities we need to do the same before we use a word like
disability and say for instance
"by disability I mean etc etc."
hear I am being pompos and pseudy again, I cannot help that because language
has to have that degree of precision to me, however I come from a long
tradition, did not Lewis Carrol embark on a similar critique of language in
Alice in Wonderland ?
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Disability-Research Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Maria B
> Sent: 09 February 2002 02:20
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Giving up
>
>
> Irene
> I think, to a different extends, all of us, disabled are not are ableist.
> How can we not be so, when we live in a society that both
> encourages and in
> some ways rewards ableism? As much as, I want to believe that I'm I am
> continuously struggling with the myth I have learned to about "our"
> so-called inferiority due to impairments. And as much as I intellectually
> can distintiate between impairments (my physiological being) disability
> (social reality). I can't because the majority of people around
> me have a
> different perspective thus different meaning to words.
> Therefore, unless I
> am among those who look at the world of disability from my own
> perspective.
> I am stuck, regardless of what I say those around me, will interpret my
> words within their frame of reference. Therein I end up having
> to explain
> myself, but that is not growing.
>
> So the struggle to achieve a none ableist society\none ableist
> identity is
> much longer than any of us want to believe. It is a continuum
> struggle that
> all of us need to talk about to write about all the time.
> Probably why we often come back to the issue of language, on this and
> other list?
> Maria Barile
> Eco-Access
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Irene M McGill" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2002 3:49 AM
> Subject: Giving up
>
>
> Johnson,
> I guess I am still in ableist mode!!!
> Irene
>
> ________________End of message______________________
>
>
________________End of message______________________
Archives and tools for the Disability-Research Discussion List
are now located at:
www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html
You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page.
|