Sometimes I think PWD should be the ones with their faces on milk cartons, listed as missing.
Why? Because we have been, for the most part, faceless in the mainstream media.
I watch news shows quite a bit. I used to have them on all day before I received my voice activated TV remote , mostly because I couldn't change the channel once it was set. So during those many many hours of watching , I noticed something.
When a hot topic comes up, many of their show hosts bring in a panel consisting of various viewpoints. There will be, for example, a Republican and a Democrat. If it is an issue involving school violence and video games, for example, there will be two psychologists, one on each side of the issue. There may be representatives of advocacy group or members of a community .
But one thing I noticed on several specific topics pertaining to those of us with disabilities is that this practice was not followed. For example, when the court case ruling that currency is inaccessible to the blind was discussed, there was no representative from the disabled community. I saw no advocate.
When the Ashley case was discussed yesterday, there was a disabled advocate asked to speak on the Nancy Grace show. (Click above for transcript).
Why, for the most part, are our faces missing from the screen? The media have not accepted, nor have they been pressured to accept the fact that the disabled have our own culture and identity - and although there are differing viewpoints within that culture, we have strong and strident voices among us.
Let us remember that in cases dealing with issues where people with disabilities are involved who cannot speak for themselves, such as the situation with Ashley, those of us who can speak up need to. When we aren't invited onto mainstream media, then let us consider what we need to do to be heard through other media sources.
Our opinions matter. Our culture is as legitimate as any other.
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