and meet this man! elderly man? grandfather? man-in-the-wheelchair? rose among the thorns? fresh flower on a pile of cow dung? ....or deformed? genetically mutated? odd one out? weird? outcast?
He is America's 32nd president, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and this is one of the very rare photos of him on the wheelchair as he had been very careful about appearing without impairment before the public. according to wiki:
At the time, Roosevelt was able to convince many people that he was in fact getting better, which he believed was essential if he was to run for public office again. Fitting his hips and legs with iron braces, he laboriously taught himself to walk a short distance by swiveling his torso while supporting himself with a cane. In private, he used a wheelchair, but he was careful never to be seen in it in public. He usually appeared in public standing upright, supported on one side by an aide or one of his sons.
what does this say about the society's attitude towards people with some differences? that such an influential man as FDR tries so hard to cover up in order to maintain his position as president? it doesnt even have to be a physical impairment. race? size? intelligence? coolness? dress sense? language? economic status? why do we discriminate?
...we know it is a strawberry different from the rest, but do we give it equal opportunities as the others to be a strawberry? yes! do we include it in the strawberry family? yes! we love the tomato strawberry! and we know that it is a beautiful strawberry, sweet and juicy! and we want tomato strawberry to know and love and be proud of its identity as tomato strawberry!
a massive quote from lecture the other day:
anyone can, at any time, become disabled, or develop a physical or mental impairment. perhaps people's need to distance themselves from this harsh reality makes it convenient to rely on received negative attitudes and historical stereotypes of disability. these stereotypical images are less troubling than accepting the individuality, the joy, the pain, the appearance, the behaviour and the rights of disabled people. this could explain why disability equality has been called 'the last civil rights movement'.
Deuteronomy 10:17-19 (New International Version)
17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.