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BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY OF DISABILITY

What can we learn from Vanier?

I cor. 12: 21-26

21The eye cannot say to the hand, I dont need you! And the head cannot say to the feet, I dont need you!
22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we
think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special
modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving
greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should
have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suers, every part suers with it; if one part is honored, every part
rejoices with it.
Vanier

Love is to enter into covenant-to know that you accept me as I am, that you see my gift, but also that you see my
wound. That you wont abandon me when you see my wound, that you wont just flatter me when you see my gift.
But you accept me as I am with all that is fragile, all that is broken, all that is beautiful, too.
WE have much to learn from our weaknesses

Somewhere we are hiding our weaknesses...

And yet weakness is an important part of our reality. We were born weak. We needed unconditional love. We
needed our mums to say, You are more beautiful than I expected, or its good that you exist; you are unique.
We all have a deep fear of our own weaknesses because my weakness is what makes it possible for someone else
to crush me. So I create mechanisms of defense and compulsion to protect myself. We all have protective systems
designed to prevent people from seeing who we are (67-68 Vanier).
What is your weakness or disability?

Think about something you have struggled with throughout your life that keeps you from meeting your goals or
frustrates you?
Person-first!
View people with disabilities as people first with same needs as we all have
Demonstrate this by using person-first language
Not politically correct, but respectfully correct
Language is a powerful tool

Society abounds with destructive labeling

Speak, think, act!
In writing and speaking, avoid words that denote weakness or powerlessness
The Power of Words

The Power of Words

Ethan Jones suers from cerebral palsy in Santa Barbara, but still works.
Bed-ridden Tom Burns carries on his work as a journalist from home.

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Rebecca Smith, a long time teacher in our district, is crippled by polio.

Additional guidelines for writing and speaking about disabilities
Do not focus on the disability unless it is crucial to a story.
Do not portray successful people with disabilities as super human
Do not dramatize a disability by saying aicted with, crippled with, etc.
From Guidelines for Reporting and Writing About People with Disabilities (www.reachcils.org)
The influence of the media
Ads create an artificial norm
Responsibility to portray representatives of all aspects of society
How are the 30% of people with disabilities represented? Children?
Power of media to change

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Positive examples!

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What if we changed our symbols?

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Tropic Thunder Debate

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Images
http://www.specialkidsfund.org/images/mainpic.jpg
http://pilgrimpace.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/jean-vanier.jpg
http://b.vimeocdn.com/ps/687/687913_300.jpg
http://mommylife.net/archives/2009/07/born_without_ar.html
http://www.gordon.edu/article.cfm?iArticleID=1360&iReferrerPageID=5&iPrevCatID=30&bLive=1