Chris Matthews, during coverage of the inauguration yesterday, said about Vice President Cheney:
"And I can tell you again that metaphor here of the Vice President in that wheelchair - it is a metaphor for the low esteem with which he's held in this country. His numbers are pathetically low."
h/t Society for Disability Studies list serv
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Laura Hershey, in her blog, noted the number of negative remarks about wheelchair use made yesterday, villainizing, yet again, someone in a wheelchair.
Around the Internet, I’ve seen numerous gleeful references to the image of Cheney in a wheelchair. Several compared him to Dr. Strangelove, the maniacal nuclear scientist in Stanley Kubrick’s film. Others invoke Mr. Potter, that mean old banker in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life.
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Kara Sheridan writes about Tom Brokaw's Dr. Strangelove remark in her blog over at Disaboom.
Is that odd character really the first thing that comes to Brokaw's mind when he sees a wheelchair?! Why not Professor X from X-men? I'd be honored by that comparison! Or better yet...Why not a mention of FDR's adaptations to the Capitol and White House that made Cheney's access possible today?
I'm not so much angered, but more baffled, by Brokaw's statement. I would hope Cheney's actions would be the basis of his mark on history and not the fact he happened to need a wheelchair for a couple of days. On a day filled with such hope and celebration, there's not much that can bring me down. This didn't come close, but it did help remind me that we, as Americans with and without disabilities, still have such a long way to go!
8 comments:
Hey sis, another thing I noticed is how quickly they 'whisked' Cheney away when he and Bush were announced at the top of the STAIRS leading down to the inaugural podium....HMMMM. Let's see, maybe if there was a RAMP (that able bodied persons can use as well, most without even noticing), he could've continued on like Bush did. Would have made things easier for Bush Sr. too.
Yes , sis, good point- ramps make things easier for a lot of people. I can't tell you how many times I'm sharing them with all kinds of folks who tell me that now that we have more curbcuts and ramps they use them.
Oh yeah, curbcuts and ramps are good for skates, bicycles, baby strollers, knee problems, all kinds of things.
Thanks for blogging about the hostile remarks people made about his use of a wheelchair. How absolutely unthinking they are. Or worse, maybe they do think--that we're less than them.
Frida- This kind of portrayal, language, and media coverage certainly does send that message, that they think pwd are less than AB's. I sat there thinking of all the handicap awareness classes I've done- and just sighed. Perhaps doing those for children isn't as necessary as for some adults.
Maybe we should have a group primal scream sometime? :)
:)
that makes me upset.
In general the ceremony was very positive and uplifting and harmonious and hopeful. But there were a few little reminders, like this, that we still have work to do in terms of equality... racial and otherwise!
Goldie, Little reminders???? Being perceived as less human and socially inferior because one uses a wheelchair is much more than a "little reminder". I am socially assaulted on a daily basis and my civil rights are violated routinely. Add to this people with disabilities were essentially told not go to the inauguration and you have a huge problem that accounts for why disabled people are the most disenfranchised group in the country.
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