>>Barbara wrote-
>>>Have you ever thought to examine your attitudes towards one another: i. e.
>>>attitudes of persons with physically disability toward persons who are
>>>cognitively impaired, which include some with barely any intelligence.
Well, I think many of these attitudes are learned and uncontested, and the
work I'm doing with disabled young people in schools at the moment backs
this up. But I think the issue of being able to articulate ideas and
thoughts, rather than intelligence itself, is important for an oppressed
social movement. However, people who are intelligent in some areas can be
remarkably thick in others.
Phil replied:
>>Intelligence ain't a thing; it's socially constructed/created.This in the
>>same way that ability/disability is culturally created.
I don't agree Phil. Attitudes towards intelligence and knowledge may be
socially created/constructed but intelligence itself can be innate in
exactly the same way as impairment can and knowledge can come from social
isolation (unless you count books as 'social'). It's important to hang on
to the fact that disability (in the social sense) and impairment can
themselves produce philosophers who are driven 'into their heads' by
society's barriers and attitudes.
So when Susanne writes that:
>Intelligence is measured by the amount of "right" answers you give to
>questions. These questions are not only biased to fit the "norm - being"
>they are also questions to which we already know the answers (or at least
>think we do). I cannot help but feel that this is just another way of
>upholding the present authority or to give credibility to the ruling power
>structure.
Many so-called 'gifted' people have historically been objectified and
maligned because they've asked different questions which have different
answers and so they've shattered the safety of existing hierarchies. In
some cultures they've been killed or imprisoned for it. Equally there are
cognitively impaired people who do exactly the same thing (though sometimes
without realising it). I think the problem we have is sometimes that the
questions, and the answers, are both simplistic and totalising ones which
don't allow these different 'voices' to be heard. Leaders don't always seek
to 'play God' but they are very frequently pushed into the positions of
spokespeople by a combination of social pressure and very strong beliefs
and values. As those who ask difficult questions, they get the flack. I
don't feel at all comfortable with all this generalising.
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)
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