I find the word “handicapped” offensive. The crip sitting across from me finds the word “disabled” offensive. The able bodied person is confused.
Too many people place too much of an emphasis on words to describe disability, but the real problem, in my eyes, is attitudes. We’ll get to the actual disability later.
For example, someone could be the nicest, most politically correct person in the world, who uses the term “handicapped.” When a wheelchair user comes up asking for a job, this person, in this hypothetical case, might refuse because they don’t have an elevator, or because they don’t have ramps. “Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t accept you - our building isn’t wheelchair/handicapped friendly.”
Too often, the “I’m sorry” excuse is given. Why is this a reason why someone can’t get a job? If someone is qualified, then they should be given the same opportunities. The “I’m sorry” people are the disabled community’s oppressors. Or handicapped people. Pick your favourite word.
On the other hand, someone could use the word “wheelchair bound” (a word that makes me and other wheelchair users cringe), and make their building completely accessible, and to really get favourable treatment from the disability community, include us in discussions on disability issues.
I want to go to Holland. Never mind that they have legalised medical killing. I find the culture fascinating, I’m curious to see another perspective on issues other than the American culture. But oops, I’ll have to be fully ambulatory to be able to enjoy Holland.
This is offensive to me, more so than someone using “handicapped,” “wheelchair bound,” “special,” and “brave.” OK, maybe not brave. The disability rights movement, from its beginnings in the 1970s to the present, hasn’t made any huge progress by leaps and bounds. Yes, we have the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which mandates that all places receiving federal tax dollars must make accommodations for the disabled; yes, we have section 508 of the same act, which mandates all Federal websites be accessible; yes, we have the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which mandates all places make a reasonable accommodation for the disabled.
Yet still, we hear “I’m sorry.” We hear, “I can’t help you, I can’t listen right now.”
This is bullshit. This is discrimination. It’s even more sickening than “wheelchair bound.”
What’s even more offensive is that there are actual disabled people doing this. There are crips who won’t listen to someone with a developmental disability (due to lack of patience) and won’t bother learning how to use a communication board.
And — what’s worse is that we are still bitching about words. Words shouldn’t mean anything. In fact, that’s why we use crip, cripple, gimp, etc. It’s self-empowerment. Maybe if we all - the disability community, I mean - uses these words, we might actually focus on important issues like independent living, the right to health care, and the right to be able to make a contribution to the community and world at large. Maybe if we stop bitching about who’s really disabled, maybe if we start working together, using all methods of communication, if we listen, we can and will make a difference.
