tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post5538158800146487825..comments2024-03-16T16:44:18.220-07:00Comments on Bad Cripple: Exoskeleton as a Social Problem: The Glorification of Walkingwilliam Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-62421013217572093562011-05-29T14:58:22.054-07:002011-05-29T14:58:22.054-07:00Excellent post. These exoskelletons really hit on ...Excellent post. These exoskelletons really hit on a nerve for me. I wrote about one developped in New Zealand <a href="http://accessibility.net.nz/blog/rex-the-robotic-exoskeleton/" rel="nofollow">on my blog</a>. Urgh. <br /><br />I guess part of what gets to me is that people think that everything is just nice and good now that there are laws to protect "the handicapped". But it's the attitudes that kill me, and you can't legislate attitudes, no matter how hard you try.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06269750360513886439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-52532881568577510792011-05-22T09:24:11.873-07:002011-05-22T09:24:11.873-07:00There's more money in selling DME than selling...There's more money in selling DME than selling acceptance.Becshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03057614535554183360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-57418494547128625872011-05-21T18:42:48.290-07:002011-05-21T18:42:48.290-07:00ttAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-8123678565589614192011-05-21T09:32:06.263-07:002011-05-21T09:32:06.263-07:00I can't agree more, wheelchairs have been inve...I can't agree more, wheelchairs have been invented ages ago but I'm always amazed how it is not accepted as part of society like all other inventions. Its user is looked upon as someone of lesser being constantly needing help.THEMBAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01849347200189800250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-29725476143987710212011-05-18T11:42:51.658-07:002011-05-18T11:42:51.658-07:00Well, it seems that the ridiculously inept nature ...Well, it seems that the ridiculously inept nature of the social concepts of the exoskeleton have been well discussed. <br />To give an engineer's viewpoint, from a pure science perspective, this invention has numerous flaws in conception, design & logistics. <br />What is most remarkable to me is why anyone would spend so much time & money on something that is so clearly flawed, impractical, & unwanted. It is most illogical.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-1895722469650013452011-05-17T11:55:29.847-07:002011-05-17T11:55:29.847-07:00Those kind of dramatic scenes drive. me. nuts.
...Those kind of dramatic scenes drive. me. nuts. <br /><br />And likewise the melodrama associated with acquiring disability. <br /><br />Spare me. <br /><br />I'm fine with whatever mobility devices people want to invent. As someone with limited leg strength, a power-assist walking (make that: hiking) device would be great. But not if it means drama-addicts getting all wacky on me.Jennifer Fitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03826217462263240563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-64649278239446528102011-05-16T09:44:46.569-07:002011-05-16T09:44:46.569-07:00Excellent piece, Bill.
I'm reminded of a dif...Excellent piece, Bill. <br /><br />I'm reminded of a different sort of graduation ceremony I saw online recently. A young autistic man, who didn't speak a word until he was five and whose parents were told that he would end up in an institution, graduated last year as the salutatorian of his high school class. And when he gave his speech, the support from the crowd was breath-taking. People were spontaneously erupting into cheers -- not because he was doing some freak show version of a human being, not because he was pretending to be someone other than who he was, not because he was some kind of "success story" about the wonders of modern science, but because he was a human being whose family had ensured that he be treated as such. <br /><br />A welcoming, inclusive, accepting context makes such a difference. When I get really depressed about the levels of social and physical exclusion I see around me -- and experience on a daily basis -- I watch the video of his speech and reassure myself that in some pockets of existence, people really do get it. It would be great if someday, "getting it" could be the rule, rather than the exception.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com