I once knew a girl who had a birth defect in her hips, and spent a large majority of childhood in a wheelchair, until a doctor in her early teens mended her affliction the best he could. She spent a few years perfecting her walk, because she never figured she would. It became evident to me, crossing paths with her some time later, what this all meant. She came to greet me in a social setting, and in her excitement, lost her much-practiced momentum and walking skill, and her gait faltered, and she fell a little. Because she had worked so tirelessly and successfully at being normal, naturally, the bystander laughter from a few came about. She took it in stride, so to speak, or at least she seemed to--she certainly didnt quit. Fewer people would give in to the humor of a person falling if they knew they were disabled, but yet once they earn their place in some kind of normal, they are fair game to the world around them. Its an interesting prize to win for those who make the effort. One would think they have escaped some kind of cruelty, but humankind is much the same all over. The grotesquely fat person loses weight, he becomes no cover-model, but is healthier--yet the overweight folks see a thin person (and criticism-worthy); and the thin & athletic see nothing but the remaining fat. A dyslexic becomes educated, or even graduates college, but will be judged on an occasional misspelled word--though this success will never be accepted among those with learning disabilities. The autistic learns to speak properly, and socially interact--so well, in fact, a slip-up in communication is grossly misunderstood or corrected, but the popularity of the diagnosis may look down upon a choice to overcome and improve. I think little blame could be placed on someone with a severe challenges to simply wear the title and circumstance, if not to escape at least a small portion of ridicule. If one has overcome or is overcoming something serious, the viewpoint of small gains becoming huge is familiar, and the satisfaction of accomplishment is well-known. What is also well-known is the need to be absolutely steadfast in the face of criticisms of everyone else, be they predatory, ignorant or accidental. The most difficult of all criticisms is the tribal variant, once useful to create social solidarity and survival of the fittest, its last vestiges now merely useless social commentary.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 19:31:04 +0000
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