I recently read an article about Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) from Glee (click on the title of this blog, "Artie from Glee" to see the full story). The character is part of the Glee Club, and contributes to the show's diversity due to his use of a wheelchair. The article discusses whether the character should be awarded for his portrayal of disabilities (because he is not disabled in real life) or if the actor and producers of Glee should be condemned for not hiring an actor who has a disability off-stage.
The author of this article, Aaron Broverman, who has Cerebral Palsy, notes that if the show's co-creator "had chosen an actor who actually used a wheelchair, but who was otherwise unqualified, that would have been nothing but a different form of discrimination – tokenism." And I completely agree with him. I personally believe that some people with disabilities need to realize that characters are just characters. They are not going to get everything spot-on. However, they can provide positive behaviorial models for audiences.
I have two younger sisters who watch the show, and, honestly, I am so excited that teenagers their age (15-16) are getting some form of disability awareness from the show. Won't this help in the long run? I think it will. Whenever I watch Artie sing AND dance alongside his peers in the Glee Club, I smile, because he is trumping the idea that only people without disabilities can dance.
I don't actively watch Glee, but when I do I am very thankful that it is such a popular show among our nation's youth. The show encourages teenagers to be inclusive, make good decisions, and fight for one's rights.
Thoughts?
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Just another day in the life...
On Friday, September 24, I volunteered to sit at a table to try and get people to buy baked goods from a bake sale table for the Phoenix Group, a Kutztown University club dedicated to spreading disability awareness, of which I am currently the president.
As you can see from the picture above, there were lots of baked goods, flyers, and to the right of Cara was a tri-fold poster and other giveaways (pens and koozies) as well as a sign-up sheet. All of this, with a few exceptions, was in my apartment. Now, because I walk with crutches, there was no way I was going to be able to carry all of that to the other side of campus. So when we announced the bake sale at our meeting prior, we made sure to find someone that could stop by my apartment beforehand to help me carry stuff over. Thanks to Chelsea (and a very kind boyfriend, who is not a member) the materials were transported across campus safely.
But there is never a dull moment...
The day before the bake sale was just like any other day, full of meetings, classes, and appointments. On my way to a meeting, I realized that things didn't feel right as I walked, and a strange sound was coming from my crutches. I examined them to see where the problem was, and to my surprise the rubber end of my crutch (also known as a crutch tip) had a rip in it. A few more days of walking on it would cause it to rip, and then I would be walking solely on the pole-part of my crutch, which doesn't help someone who has bad balance. So, knowing that I had to be somewhere the next day, I had to scramble and hope that my one friend, who has a car on campus, could get me to a local drug store as soon as possible. Luckily she came through, and after a trip to two different drug stores, we found the tips. The next step was getting the old tips off and the new ones on, which is not nearly as easy as it sounds. You can't simply pull them off. You have to cut them off with an exacto knife or box cutter. And again, luckily for me, a helpful boyfriend was able to get the old ones off with a pearing knife (I live in a college dorm, I don't have exacto knives lying around). Thankfully, no one was hurt in the process, either.
Once I could finally walk safely, we went back to the bake sale to help wrap up the event and transport the Phoenix Group materials back to my room (again with help from someone volunteering at the table).
Hopefully some of you got a laugh from this post. This is just another day in the life I live. Hopefully these crutch tips hold up for a while. Did I mention the old tips were only 3 months old?
 |
| Phoenix Group bake sale, 9/24/10 From left to right: Genevieve Smith, Jackie Conley, Chelsea Cellars and Cara Liebowitz |
As you can see from the picture above, there were lots of baked goods, flyers, and to the right of Cara was a tri-fold poster and other giveaways (pens and koozies) as well as a sign-up sheet. All of this, with a few exceptions, was in my apartment. Now, because I walk with crutches, there was no way I was going to be able to carry all of that to the other side of campus. So when we announced the bake sale at our meeting prior, we made sure to find someone that could stop by my apartment beforehand to help me carry stuff over. Thanks to Chelsea (and a very kind boyfriend, who is not a member) the materials were transported across campus safely.
But there is never a dull moment...
The day before the bake sale was just like any other day, full of meetings, classes, and appointments. On my way to a meeting, I realized that things didn't feel right as I walked, and a strange sound was coming from my crutches. I examined them to see where the problem was, and to my surprise the rubber end of my crutch (also known as a crutch tip) had a rip in it. A few more days of walking on it would cause it to rip, and then I would be walking solely on the pole-part of my crutch, which doesn't help someone who has bad balance. So, knowing that I had to be somewhere the next day, I had to scramble and hope that my one friend, who has a car on campus, could get me to a local drug store as soon as possible. Luckily she came through, and after a trip to two different drug stores, we found the tips. The next step was getting the old tips off and the new ones on, which is not nearly as easy as it sounds. You can't simply pull them off. You have to cut them off with an exacto knife or box cutter. And again, luckily for me, a helpful boyfriend was able to get the old ones off with a pearing knife (I live in a college dorm, I don't have exacto knives lying around). Thankfully, no one was hurt in the process, either.
Once I could finally walk safely, we went back to the bake sale to help wrap up the event and transport the Phoenix Group materials back to my room (again with help from someone volunteering at the table).
Hopefully some of you got a laugh from this post. This is just another day in the life I live. Hopefully these crutch tips hold up for a while. Did I mention the old tips were only 3 months old?
Saturday, September 25, 2010
"On Being a Cripple"
I recently read the piece by Nancy Mairs, On Being a Cripple. Now, I must say that I can never really understand why people with disabilities resent themselves to a point of no return. Obviously, one who has a disability may very well go through some phases where he doesn't like himself, or the cards he was given, because of his disability; however, he bounces back. But, there are some who don't ever bounce back. Some people cannot handle the complexities of having a disability. This is too unfortunate, in my opinion. Having a disability is liberating, because we are contributing to a diverse population of people who must accept us, according to certain laws that are now in place in America.
In the article, Mairs talks about how she acquired Multiple Sclerosis, "a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system, in which the myelin that sheathes the nerves is somehow eaten away and scar tissue forms in its place, interrupting the nerves' signals." (Mairs 246). I can understand how it is much different to live with a disability your entire life compared to acquiring one after leading a "normal" life. However, I still think it is just like all other aspects of life, and you just have to learn to roll with the punches. Sometimes I wonder, am I wrong to think this way? After all, I've had my disability my whole life, but that doesn't mean that I'm used to it, or that things aren't constantly changing within my body.
Mairs discusses her life as a professor, writer, and speaker. When she speaks to audiences about her MS, she also speaks about the depression she suffers because of her "disease." This is what I'm getting at. Depression in a person with a disability seems to me a person who is not accepting of people with disabilities, and also someone who previously discriminated against us. In On Being a Cripple, Mairs also writes about how she has been "lucky so far" and how she is thankful to those who help her (247). But she also just wants people to treat her as they would treat any other human being. My question is: how can you request that of someone when you yourself may not have treated a "cripple" like any other human being before you acquired MS?
Sometimes I truly believe that I am so confident (in terms of given the fact that I have Spina Bifida) because of my parents, who never treated me as though I was different, but took care of me when I was going through surgeries and other procedures that my younger sisters never needed. However, I also never thought, or was trained to think, of myself as different. I had friends in school, was picked on like other kids, and even had to undergo the horrors of dating during my teenage years. My point here is: so things may be hard; but they are for everyone! Everyone has issues. It's about learning how to handle them. Am I right?
 |
| Nancy Mairs, in the wheelchair she uses occassionally |
I recently read the piece by Nancy Mairs, On Being a Cripple. Now, I must say that I can never really understand why people with disabilities resent themselves to a point of no return. Obviously, one who has a disability may very well go through some phases where he doesn't like himself, or the cards he was given, because of his disability; however, he bounces back. But, there are some who don't ever bounce back. Some people cannot handle the complexities of having a disability. This is too unfortunate, in my opinion. Having a disability is liberating, because we are contributing to a diverse population of people who must accept us, according to certain laws that are now in place in America.
In the article, Mairs talks about how she acquired Multiple Sclerosis, "a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system, in which the myelin that sheathes the nerves is somehow eaten away and scar tissue forms in its place, interrupting the nerves' signals." (Mairs 246). I can understand how it is much different to live with a disability your entire life compared to acquiring one after leading a "normal" life. However, I still think it is just like all other aspects of life, and you just have to learn to roll with the punches. Sometimes I wonder, am I wrong to think this way? After all, I've had my disability my whole life, but that doesn't mean that I'm used to it, or that things aren't constantly changing within my body.
Mairs discusses her life as a professor, writer, and speaker. When she speaks to audiences about her MS, she also speaks about the depression she suffers because of her "disease." This is what I'm getting at. Depression in a person with a disability seems to me a person who is not accepting of people with disabilities, and also someone who previously discriminated against us. In On Being a Cripple, Mairs also writes about how she has been "lucky so far" and how she is thankful to those who help her (247). But she also just wants people to treat her as they would treat any other human being. My question is: how can you request that of someone when you yourself may not have treated a "cripple" like any other human being before you acquired MS?
Sometimes I truly believe that I am so confident (in terms of given the fact that I have Spina Bifida) because of my parents, who never treated me as though I was different, but took care of me when I was going through surgeries and other procedures that my younger sisters never needed. However, I also never thought, or was trained to think, of myself as different. I had friends in school, was picked on like other kids, and even had to undergo the horrors of dating during my teenage years. My point here is: so things may be hard; but they are for everyone! Everyone has issues. It's about learning how to handle them. Am I right?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)