What prompted this chapter was a beautiful friend pointing out to me that I was always defending persons with disabilities. We talked further why this happened and we decided it was ignorance. Oh boy, here I go again being the educator. I do feel quite driven to educate people.
People with disabilities are people first and foremost, with the same needs and rights of others. Society devalues people with disabilities because they see the disability first and often respond ignorantly and with fear. Historically these devalued people have been cast into roles of being crippled or better off dead. I have had people say to me that they would rather be dead than be in my position. I have a wonderful life.
I saw the movie Million Dollar Baby with a very dear friend of mine who has Spina Bifida. We are an odd couple when we go out, we are both in wheelchairs. I transfer into the car; he folds up my wheelchair and puts it into the boot. He then wheels around to the driver’s side, slides into the driver’s seat, fold his wheelchair and puts it on the back seat of the car. Then we are off to the movies.
We were both shocked by this movie when the male leading role Frankie gave Maggie (the female lead role) a lethal injection because he thought her life was not worth living – better off dead. She was severely injured in a boxing bout. I know it was only a movie but it had an element of truth in how the world perceives injuries.
Both of us were stunned into silence – my friend was born with his disability and mine was acquired 10 years ago, so I’m considered a new kid on the block as far as disabilities are concerned. We both felt vulnerable when we realised the audience thought Frankie was a hero putting this girl out of her misery.
The look of absolute terror in Maggie’s eyes as Frankie administered the injection sent a shiver down my spine. He murdered that young woman because he felt her life was not worth living. It was purely his fear, his ignorance.
Now, here’s another opinion of the movie. A good friend of mine saw the movie as well and she said she saw a different perspective. First of all, it is only a movie. Her life was not one filled with love – her family was very money hungry and would not have offered her the support she need. Also she attempted suicide the only way she knew how by biting her tongue. She was losing her limbs due to poor circulation. Her life did appear desperate and hopeless. What I saw as a look of terror, my friend saw as tears of gratification. She didn’t want to live.
I still believe the movie sent the wrong message.
However, it is moments like this that made me grateful for my four month coma. It allowed my family and me, time to heal and no rash decisions were made.
I understand what it feels like to be considered a burden. Luckily I refused to take on that role.
It worries me that society devalues the lives of people with disabilities. That world is being done a favour when people with disabilities are ‘put down’ or ‘put out of their misery’. Out of who’s misery? It is nothing more than legalised murder. It is a fear many persons with disabilities share – they fear being placed into a hospital where someone of authority decides their life is futile.
Take time to meet and spend time with a person with disabilities. See their gifts they have to offer. Don’t be fearful.
To give an indication how long this ‘fear’ has been prevalent, Hitler had two qualifications for the gas chambers – Jews and someone’s whose life was not worth living. Intellectually and physically disabled were considered a life not worth living. There is a push to pass legislation to legalise murder for those people who have a life not worth living.
An old friend of mine admitted to me September 2005 that when he visited me when I first had my accident, he walked out of the hospital with other friends, put his fingers shaped as a gun to his head and imitated pulling the trigger. He thought my life was not worth living. He thinks differently now seeing me participate in life.
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People with disabilities are people first and foremost, with the same needs and rights of others. Society devalues people with disabilities because they see the disability first and often respond ignorantly and with fear. Historically these devalued people have been cast into roles of being crippled or better off dead. I have had people say to me that they would rather be dead than be in my position. I have a wonderful life.
I saw the movie Million Dollar Baby with a very dear friend of mine who has Spina Bifida. We are an odd couple when we go out, we are both in wheelchairs. I transfer into the car; he folds up my wheelchair and puts it into the boot. He then wheels around to the driver’s side, slides into the driver’s seat, fold his wheelchair and puts it on the back seat of the car. Then we are off to the movies.
We were both shocked by this movie when the male leading role Frankie gave Maggie (the female lead role) a lethal injection because he thought her life was not worth living – better off dead. She was severely injured in a boxing bout. I know it was only a movie but it had an element of truth in how the world perceives injuries.
Both of us were stunned into silence – my friend was born with his disability and mine was acquired 10 years ago, so I’m considered a new kid on the block as far as disabilities are concerned. We both felt vulnerable when we realised the audience thought Frankie was a hero putting this girl out of her misery.
The look of absolute terror in Maggie’s eyes as Frankie administered the injection sent a shiver down my spine. He murdered that young woman because he felt her life was not worth living. It was purely his fear, his ignorance.
Now, here’s another opinion of the movie. A good friend of mine saw the movie as well and she said she saw a different perspective. First of all, it is only a movie. Her life was not one filled with love – her family was very money hungry and would not have offered her the support she need. Also she attempted suicide the only way she knew how by biting her tongue. She was losing her limbs due to poor circulation. Her life did appear desperate and hopeless. What I saw as a look of terror, my friend saw as tears of gratification. She didn’t want to live.
I still believe the movie sent the wrong message.
However, it is moments like this that made me grateful for my four month coma. It allowed my family and me, time to heal and no rash decisions were made.
I understand what it feels like to be considered a burden. Luckily I refused to take on that role.
It worries me that society devalues the lives of people with disabilities. That world is being done a favour when people with disabilities are ‘put down’ or ‘put out of their misery’. Out of who’s misery? It is nothing more than legalised murder. It is a fear many persons with disabilities share – they fear being placed into a hospital where someone of authority decides their life is futile.
Take time to meet and spend time with a person with disabilities. See their gifts they have to offer. Don’t be fearful.
To give an indication how long this ‘fear’ has been prevalent, Hitler had two qualifications for the gas chambers – Jews and someone’s whose life was not worth living. Intellectually and physically disabled were considered a life not worth living. There is a push to pass legislation to legalise murder for those people who have a life not worth living.
An old friend of mine admitted to me September 2005 that when he visited me when I first had my accident, he walked out of the hospital with other friends, put his fingers shaped as a gun to his head and imitated pulling the trigger. He thought my life was not worth living. He thinks differently now seeing me participate in life.
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