Kara-Leah recently wrote a thought-provoking article on political correctness. For those who don’t feel the word ‘disabled’ should be used, I’d encourage you to read her take on the subject. And now, I’d like to use that very ‘un-pc’ word to tell you something about myself.
I am disabled.
I first realized this when a friend of mine in college, who happened to use a wheelchair, told me one day that he wasn’t disabled.
“What do you mean?”, I asked, since he wasn’t able to move without his wheelchair and thus was clearly disabled.
“I mean that there are people who can’t move their arms or even their faces,” he said. “Compared to them, I’m super-abled.”
He had a point. I’d probably be considered super-abled compared to many people my age. At 37, I practice martial arts regularly, I’m a runner, and I tend to explore my environment with my movement, whether that means climbing trees, balancing on chairs, or running through the wilderness. Yet a friend of mine who is 46 can kick my butt wearing cross-country skies, and compared to the people in this video (which has since this writing been removed, but showed some contortionist dancers doing some amazing physical feats), I’m essentially disabled –
(Sadly, the video that was here is no longer on Youtube because of copyright — too bad, as it was amazing to witness.)
Perhaps it might be better if we didn’t try to box people into terms like ‘disabled’. After all, if we’re really going to be truthful, all of us are ‘differently-abled’. My friend in the wheelchair, for instance, was a wheelchair racer, and he had much more arm strength and endurance than me. He could do wondrous balances in his chair that were far beyond my ability. He was only ‘disabled’ because in our culture, we see a wheelchair and make an immediate judgment.
Some of us use wheelchairs, some of us can fly through the air as if we are weightless, some cannot move at all, and others can move their bodies just enough to walk about in the world and go for an occasional jog. What if we all celebrated our physical diversity? Even if someone is totally paralyzed, I’m sure I could learn something about movement from them if I took the time to approach them with the respect due to an equal. This way of thinking applies to anything we consider a ‘disability’ in our culture. In this article, I wrote about how we might view mental ‘disabilities’ differently.
For fun, here’s another example of some people who can move through space in a way that few of us can hardly imagine. (The video that was originally posted here has also been removed from Youtube. Bummer.)
Instead of pigeon-holing people, or trying to teach respect or ‘tolerance’, what if we taught our children that every single person in this world is unique — each person has a different colored skin, different hair, different ways of speaking and thinking, different types of physical and mental and emotional abilities. What would happen if we all became curious about those differences — might the world be a more wondrous place if we celebrated our unique natures?
Rebecca and I invite you to visit our Adventure Journal!
“…our unique natures.” Yes and yes and yes! I was recently corrected by a lady-friend who had had breast cancer. She did NOT want to be referred to as a ‘survivor’ as we are all taught to call folks, but a ‘cancer consultant’ as she felt it was dis-respectful to those who died of the disease.
Food for thought and thank you for this inspiring missive.
Hello Jay,
Love it! It’s odd, but sometimes in trying to be over-respectful, I’ve found that I’m actually treating people in a manner they don’t appreciate. In our culture we often seem to define people based on ‘disabilities’. This is my ‘blind friend’ or my ‘deaf friend’, instead of taking blindness or deafness as just one of many attributes that a person possesses. Definitely, as you say, food for thought!
Hugs,
Kenton
Kenton,
I agree with this 100%. The problem is exploring those differences, (i.e. asking someone about how they do things, or asking “what it’s like”) can be considered very politically incorrect, and very rude. There’s a fine line, if the other person isn’t as open-minded as (or should I say “differently minded” than) you are. Very interesting take you have here.
Not sure if this entirely relates, but have you heard the Zen analogy for the mind and the body? A blind man with an able body, and a disabled man with perfect eyesight are both less, but when combined can become something greater.
Maybe we should consider the ways all the unique attributes of people, even minor differences, can mesh together to better the world as a whole.
Hello Geoff,
You’re absolutely right that it’s a fine line as we explore new ways to relate. Few of us actually try to offend people, but sometimes the most well-meaning inquiry can seem rude or out-of-place.
I actually hadn’t heard of that analogy, but it is so apt. All of us, in some way, are blind or disabled, and when we can cooperate with others who enrich us and have strengths that we don’t, we can accomplish amazing things.
Let’s take your last paragraph and use it as words to live by!
Sweetwater,
Kenton
Great videos and great article!
It’s wonderful to be inquisitive and mystified at the world, rather than be fearful of differences.
Thanks!
Well said as always, Kaushik. You spread that same message. Here’s to being inquisitive and mystified! =)
Hugs,
Kenton
Great article as always. Just beautiful and inspiring.
Thank you so much.
(PS. the videos are… amazing)
Thank you, Boat. As for those videos, I could watch them over and over!
Sweetwater,
Kenton
I always find it strange that people feel inferior whenever somebody else has more money or is working at a better job. They feel the drive to make more money and endlessly search for the newest money-making techniques on some random personal development website. The cycle goes on and on.
Nobody feels inferior to physical labourers, maid servants or gardeners despite them being able to do amazing things which any of us normal folk can’t imagine doing. Wonder why?
Hello APA!
How interesting! You’re absolutely correct — there are many ‘low paying’ jobs that require tremendous skill, and you’d think we’d experience the same sort of envy seeing people raise a beautiful garden or shimmy up a tree or hoist a heavy garbage can. A sign, perhaps, that there’s something in our culture that suggests that we are valuable based on rather unusual criteria . . .