In the UK, swimmers drove injured Iraq vets from a swimming pool with jeers because they feared their appearance might scare children.
"The unpleasant scenes broke out at Leatherhead Leisure Centre in Surrey as the servicemen, from Headley Court Military Hospital, were starting a weekly swimming therapy session."
This happens for people with disabilities. It's not usually in the paper.
Often it's more subtle, as in the ever popular image of the parent yanking his/her child by his/her arm away from a disabled person.
I call it "keeping the gimps out of sight".
It's an interesting form of exclusion when it happens. Since disability is a part of life, I'm not sure what it accomplishes to deal with it this way rather than educate kids when they see it. We don't do that with other life experiences, do we? Imagine if parents handled everything like that - whisking children away instead of teaching them.
I understand that fear is behind it and we can analyze why people do it - but it's good to see in this article that people are questioning it. Mostly it's because these particular gimps gave up their limbs, etc. for their country.
"The incident has led to widespread condemnation. Admiral Lord Boyce, a former head of the Armed Forces, said the women should be "named and shamed".
He said: "These people are beneath contempt and everything should be done to get their names and publish them in the press.
"It is contemptible that people who have given their limbs for their country should be so abused when they are trying to get fit again."
It would be nice if the quotes read that it's not right to subscribe to keeping any gimp out of sight. Being treated as if I frighten small children has never been the highlight of any of my days. It certainly would be nice to see it read like this: "It is contemptible that people with disabilities should be so abused."
Sigh. Kids deal with things so much better when parents' fears don't interfere.
[visual description: Prince Charles greets other injured troops using wheelchairs.}
3 comments:
I'm a disabled vet and am shocked at how I'm treated because of my disability. It sucks that people think they're better or some weird thing like that. All of us need to speak up about it.
Keith
Keith,
We're making progress with attitudes but there's work to be done. Sounds like you're getting over the shock and into action - good for you! Take care,
Ruth
This reminds me of an incident that occurred before my mother had a stroke in October. She has been unable to walk without the assistance of a walker for the past year due to her horribly arthritic knees. She was in the supermarket one day when a little girl walked up to her and asked her if she was sick.
The little girl's mother became offended that her daughter approached a disabled person and asked questions, and tried to take her away but Mom stopped her long enough to speak to the little girl. She told her that no, she wasn't sick, her legs just didn't work right. The little girl was fascinated but her mother got all bent out of shape even though Mom tried to turn it into a learning experience.
As someone who has frequently had to use a cane (my knee problems come from an injury, though), I notice a great difference between people who go out of their way to help me and people who turn away as if I've got a disease or something, although I'm happy to say the former happens more often.
I've even had small children look at my cane with curiosity and I'll even ask them if they want to hold it which really startles their parents. Perhaps the curiosity is over the fact that I'm only 24, not some old lady one would expect to have a cane.
Children who are not already formed by their parent's fears are in my opinion one of the biggest examples of God's love.
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