01 May 2006

Blogging against Disablism, late in the day!

Sorry I've not posted this promised comment on disablism earlier.

The truth is I nearly forget. Which is quite apt, because the biggest problem for the disabled I would suggest is that their feelings about and contributions to society are largely overlooked. Mainstream society tries to forget that the disabled exist, whether intentionally or not. This is to do with a number of factors, but the main one is that they are an economically disadvantaged group and anyone who falls into this category is generally ignored by society to some degree except when they are a threat to those at the top.

My advice is, equality is something we all have to fight for, continuously. For each minority that is discriminated against that doesn't directly affect us, the closer the time will come when it is our turn. We all benefit by treating our minorities well.

3 comments:

  1. Not to criticise your intentions, but one of the biggest problems many disabled people face is being clumped together under an assumption that all disabled people are the same. Something that the phrase "the disabled" does little to challenge.

    Also, from a linguistic point of view... "the disabled..." the disabled, what? The disabled monkey?

    But thank you for bringing up the point about economic discrimination. I may well go back and edit my own entry with examples of economic discrimination.

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  2. I didn't mean to say that all disabled people are the same. I am sorry if that is what it seems like.

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  3. It's the use of the phrase "The disabled" that specifically creates that impression.

    I'm not telling you how to use language, it's your blog, I'm just suggesting that, in future, you might want to think about the phrase "disabled people" as an alternative.

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