
As I have said before, all entities, such as human states of being, words, concepts, constructs, models, and theories, are best thought of as a paradox.
One such example is the phenomenon of living with a disability. For many reasons I don’t like the term disability. Really I do not. Yet I use the term and will continue to use it. I find that when I use the term people doubt that I have a disability simply because they cannot see it in an explicit sense. In this way they allow the eyes to appropriate reality. I also find people don’t like my use of the term because they assume I am asking for their pity and/or making an excuse for not being able to do something.
Although I recognize that I do have a disability, thinking in a circular way that I do I also recognize the paradox of it, that being that my disability can also be perceived and valued as a gift. What I mean by this is that sitting on the margins of society as I do, I am able to “see” things that other people cannot see. As an example, my limited vision has shaped my critical thinking skills to fine precision. It is in this way that many people assume that I have not done the critical thinking needed to understand who I am and what I can do beyond my disability. This is categorically wrong! Of course I have.
I have found that Elders and scholars have been particularly critical when I use the term disability. Elders assume that I do not value the traditional teaching that all people are born with gifts, and they then judge me in overly harsh ways. I have found these Elder assumptions perplexing, disenfranchising, and annoying to say the least. The gift of this experience, though, is that I have come to learn that Elders are not the all knowers they are touted to be. Elders too are a paradox. No entity is immune from the need to value circular thinking.
I was also concerned that he was representing issues of disability in a way that were not cognizant of issues of intersectional oppression. What I mean by this is that a “white” man with a disability has no experience or knowledge about what it is like to live as a woman of colour with a disability. Most people know by now, except maybe Oscar Pistorius, that adding more layers of structural oppression to a person’s lived experience makes life exponentially more difficult. Oscar Pistorious is not the expert people should be listening to and learning from regarding the topic of disability/abilities.
Note: I really don't care too much if you find a spelling, grammar, or sentence structure issue in this blog. Critical thinking requires us to move beyond barriers in real concrete ways.
Please like, post, and share this blog.
