tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post2547721459692829022..comments2024-03-16T16:44:18.220-07:00Comments on Bad Cripple: Wheelchair Boundwilliam Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-86214545502616924342009-09-15T08:41:57.880-07:002009-09-15T08:41:57.880-07:00Mathew, I agree the headline was used to capture t...Mathew, I agree the headline was used to capture the readers interest. I disagree about the use of wheelchair bound. As I prefaced my remarks, the debate over the usage of most terms associated with disability are not of interest. Certain words however are indeed objectionable. One such word is wheelchair bound. I liken this to the debate surrounding the word retard, another word that must be stricken from the vocabulary. Both retard and wheelchair are too dehumanizing to remain in usage today.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-22077034068655025012009-09-12T03:49:13.148-07:002009-09-12T03:49:13.148-07:00I think the reason why they identified the woman a...I think the reason why they identified the woman as being in a wheelchair is because it was relevant; "woman heckled at town hall meeting" wouldn't have conveyed the fact that the woman was disabled, let alone the fact that she was still ill.<br /><br />Also, people are always at risk of causing offence, even without intending it, when they talk about these matters. It's the same with race - most black people identify as such, but some insist on Afro-American or "African British" in the case of one group here in the UK who say that the term "black" is derogatory. People use "wheelchair-bound" to mean that the person must use a wheelchair, no more and no less. They don't realise it offends some people. Nowadays you get some people with very severe disabilities who say they don't think of themselves as disabled - one such person I've come across is the WildKat lady (Kim Robbins) who is a blind, C6 quad and if the definition of disabled excludes that, then it doesn't mean much. Terms change at least once in each generation and the old ones become offensive before people who use them realise it.Matthew Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16675719484819810707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-30017213126567685762009-09-10T07:51:57.619-07:002009-09-10T07:51:57.619-07:00Frida and Matthew, Why identify the woman as a whe...Frida and Matthew, Why identify the woman as a wheelchair user at all headlines? The point she tried to make was that people with a disability often cannot get health insurance and thus face exceedingly high health care costs. This is worthy of discussion and instead the focus is on the heckling she was subjected to. Sure the heckling was wrong. I am just tired of the media covering nothing but those who are screaming about health care reform. My goodness, even the President was heckled last night. What has happened to us as human beings? Are we incapable of nuanced debate?william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-54081314330284825882009-09-10T07:25:38.279-07:002009-09-10T07:25:38.279-07:00Well, "woman in wheelchair" or "whe...Well, "woman in wheelchair" or "wheelchair user" would save space. The style guidelines (from what I remember) say to avoid terms such as "wheelchair bound," so I'm aghast at how this is ignored while better gender constructions, in contrast, have been adopted. The biggest problem is that most people pick their terms from the media. About 5 years ago, I use the term wheelchair bound to describe part of my childhood, but then I realized that's because the wheelchair for bodycasts wouldn't go anywhere much, either in the house or in the pre-ADA world. When I started using the scooter in the post-ADA world, I immediately saw that phrasing was wrong and knew it was my freedom.FridaWriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03321658097813377806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-39308198607443789012009-09-10T05:58:36.266-07:002009-09-10T05:58:36.266-07:00Given how editors string nouns together in headlin...Given how editors string nouns together in headlines, they could have saved a bit of space here by simply putting "wheelchair woman" and the readers would have got the point.Matthew Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16675719484819810707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-55055134266400307692009-09-10T05:52:39.610-07:002009-09-10T05:52:39.610-07:00WD, I love teaching dance students as a group. The...WD, I love teaching dance students as a group. They have a work ethic that puts others to shame. But yikes, they are self aware and absorbed with their bodies. I can readily imagine they would consider using a wheelchair a horrible fate. <br />Becs, NJ is like any other state except for the long ugly turnpike it is famous for. People everywhere just don't get what an empowering device a wheelchair is. I suspect if designs were cool that attitude might change. As it is now, most wheelchair are utilitarian and poorly constructed.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-83566573184919602672009-09-09T22:16:53.393-07:002009-09-09T22:16:53.393-07:00Thanks!
I agree about dance students (well, dan...Thanks! <br /><br />I agree about dance students (well, dancers in general); I often feel as if I am their worst case nightmare. I flip between moments of wicked enjoyment and painful humiliation.<br /><br />That said, academia (where I spent 8 professionally successful and personally awful years) wasn't much better. I thought I could hide in my head and ignore my body.<br /><br />Moderation.<br /><br />WCDWheelchair Dancerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11981313345401954118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-2711429183615969082009-09-09T16:24:13.778-07:002009-09-09T16:24:13.778-07:00Why am I not surprised that this happened in Jerse...Why am I not surprised that this happened in Jersey? <br /><br />My roomie from college was forced to walk by her parents, who thought adding a wheelchair to her very obvious and unusual condition would be just too much. (For whom?) <br /><br />She's long since shaken all that off and happily embraced a power chair, using a manual chair when she travels. She told me the most liberating day of her life was when she got her driver's license.Becshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03057614535554183360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-16905348597089759092009-09-09T10:20:54.881-07:002009-09-09T10:20:54.881-07:00Virginia, No individual should be shouted down reg...Virginia, No individual should be shouted down regardless of whether they are standing or using a wheelchair. What took place at the town hall meeting was grossly wrong as was the reporting afterwards. Lost is the point the woman was trying to make: without full time employment access to health insurance and affordable medical care is virtually impossible. For people with a disability this is a huge impediment given the high rate of unemployment. Thanks for the kind words.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-26989641241450702042009-09-09T10:14:41.789-07:002009-09-09T10:14:41.789-07:00I really liked your essay from last year on bounde...I really liked your essay from last year on boundedness. I did not think of the analogy to a car--no one is indeed bound to a car, wheelchair, or bipedal locomotion. I would think the concept of bound is particularly strong in the world of dance with its emphasis and awareness of the body. I teach at Purchase College and always struck by dance students who appear to never forget about the way they move. I agree we are on the same page so to speak this morning.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-67860464408501120812009-09-09T10:12:08.269-07:002009-09-09T10:12:08.269-07:00Yeah, I saw that same headline but just didn't...Yeah, I saw that same headline but just didn't know where to start with it. You said it all, succinctly and powerfully. Thank you. <br /><br />I use a cane, and it's unbelievable what an issue it can be for some folks. <br /><br />I would like to add that shouting one of us down is no different than shouting down an able-bodied person or one with an invisible disability. I mean, what, we get a pass or something? Gimme a break.Virginia S. Wood, Psy.D., Instructorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04482719649602902058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-76595330382102079152009-09-09T09:04:13.123-07:002009-09-09T09:04:13.123-07:00Yes! Yes! Must be something in the air this AM th...Yes! Yes! Must be something in the air this AM that boundedness -- if there is such a word -- is on our minds.<br /><a href="http://cripwheels.blogspot.com/2008/04/if-you-were-wheelchair-bound-and-unable.html" rel="nofollow">THIS</a> is part of my experience in the dance world where the irony of a bound dancer seems not to register.<br /><br />Good morning,<br /><br />WCDWheelchair Dancerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11981313345401954118noreply@blogger.com