tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post3163833196384282865..comments2024-03-16T16:44:18.220-07:00Comments on Bad Cripple: Why Equality is Elusivewilliam Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-88969972938630787302010-02-22T06:02:47.915-08:002010-02-22T06:02:47.915-08:00Laura, When it comes to disability people love a g...Laura, When it comes to disability people love a good story--the more tragic the story the better it is. Thus people want to hear about gruesome car accidents, horrible accidents, shootings, etc. Given the reality that disability is ordinary, common, and random is exactly what people do not want to think about.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-46271857806044055362010-02-20T08:24:59.075-08:002010-02-20T08:24:59.075-08:00Matthew's right, I know because I've notic...Matthew's right, I know because I've noticed that people want to find a reason why someone else is in a position they don't want to be in. If that person is at fault somehow, then you can tell yourself that YOU would never smoke, drive drunk, etc., and therefore that will never happen to you. The idea that stuff happens contradicts the illusion we would like to have, that we control our lives. It's scary to face that sometimes.<br /><br />Having your kid drive is also scary. I think sometimes the best thing that can happen is that, early on, the kid have some kind of mild fender-bender. You think you're being careful and paying attention, but you don't know what that really means until you're bopping along one day with the radio blasting and you pull out in front of somebody. My daughter's first and so far only wreck (knock wood) totalled the car and was so distressing to her that she couldn't drive again for years. I'm very grateful no one was hurt; I think she'd never have driven again, ever, if anyone had been.Laura(southernxyl)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02880277733341078157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-38761769837464091172010-02-16T11:24:22.500-08:002010-02-16T11:24:22.500-08:00Matthew, I had something called hydromyelia. In th...Matthew, I had something called hydromyelia. In the 1970s there was little to be done aside from surgery, steroids, and repeated spinal taps. For ten years I went through the medical mill. Except for the pain this was a positive experience for me as I grew up much faster than an average person.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-48957062551206905532010-02-16T01:28:51.191-08:002010-02-16T01:28:51.191-08:00Actually, I didn't realise your paralysis was ...Actually, I didn't realise your paralysis was caused that way. What was it, transverse myelitis? That is how my friend Kim ended up as a quad.Matthew Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16675719484819810707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-90205373935564625262010-02-14T07:28:23.270-08:002010-02-14T07:28:23.270-08:00Matthew, Your point is well taken. When people fin...Matthew, Your point is well taken. When people find out I was paralyzed by a rare neurological condition rather than an accident of some sort they often appear disappointed. It is as though my story does not mesh with what they think they know.<br /><br />Frida, A wheelchair that costs that much is both sad and wonderful. Sad because many that need it could never afford the expense. It is wonderful because it is a liberating adaptive device. I also hasten to point out no one gets rich in the wheelchair business since the monopoly E&J enjoyed for decades was broken up.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-26671059982113525852010-02-13T14:39:07.607-08:002010-02-13T14:39:07.607-08:00Doesn't do much to counter the pity model or p...Doesn't do much to counter the pity model or prevent hate crimes against the "uncool."<br /><br />I will be using a $20K wheelchair. So very sad. I think I'll go cry now. Or maybe because of the copay. <br /><br />But really not because it's so sad. Because of the freedom.FridaWriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03321658097813377806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-20801012338071494602010-02-13T11:13:55.292-08:002010-02-13T11:13:55.292-08:00There's also the issue that it associates whee...There's also the issue that it associates wheelchair use with drunk driving, much as lung cancer is commonly associated with smoking when in fact someone can get lung cancer despite never having smoked in their life. People will see this and assume that the person they see in the wheelchair probably brought their disability on themselves.Matthew Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16675719484819810707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-78844700866921436952010-02-13T10:40:31.511-08:002010-02-13T10:40:31.511-08:00Seeing an ad like that just makes my heart sink.Seeing an ad like that just makes my heart sink.Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18341397547225188031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-87874098192696328682010-02-13T09:57:48.354-08:002010-02-13T09:57:48.354-08:00Claire, The ad is almost four years old and has be...Claire, The ad is almost four years old and has been in use since 2006. I am unaware of any complaints. Ads like this pop up all the time. This one was just worse than most. Nike had a similarly terrible campaign a few years ago they had to pull. <br />Georgina, I too am weary of being used as a classic example of all that can go wrong. Words hurt and images can be damaging. There is nothing abstract going on here. Twitter away! <br />Becs, Yes, the LDS is a major player in Utah and beyond. Yet this is a piss poor excuse for such demeaning language and imagery even if the state is behind the times. In addition, Utah and many of the states it borders are popular outdoor destinations. What do residents think when they encounter someone such as myself who visits and is an adaptive skier and kayaker? Am a human being or human tragedy? And finally yes the wheelchair depicted was akin to a Model T. This was used to highlight disability as a tragedy theme.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-43724346348336501402010-02-13T09:40:04.817-08:002010-02-13T09:40:04.817-08:00Yes, it is offensive. Yet I tend to dismiss it bec...Yes, it is offensive. Yet I tend to dismiss it because it's from Utah and they have a very different sense of things out there. This is not to lay it directly at the feet of the LDS, but the culture there is about fifty years behind the times. <br /><br />I know it's no excuse, but consider the source.<br /><br />And obviously no one out there has checked the Tilite or Colours or Quickie websites. That might change their ideas about cool new rides.Becshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03057614535554183360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-6851726351411860982010-02-13T09:37:20.009-08:002010-02-13T09:37:20.009-08:00Oy, Bill, what an awful ad...I wonder if there wil...Oy, Bill, what an awful ad...I wonder if there will be complaints?Clairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13070297384173508509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-78591444254369286282010-02-13T09:06:16.628-08:002010-02-13T09:06:16.628-08:00Excellent article. I am tired of our bodies (PWD&#...Excellent article. I am tired of our bodies (PWD's) being used as "worst case scenario" symbols for educational purposes or as metaphors for "abstract concepts". - G<br />PS. I twittered this post, hope you don't mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com