Turn off your Stereotypes
There are millions of people with disabilities in the UK, all of us individuals. Not only are we disabled in different ways, we also have different interests and lifestyles. But that does not stop many people from seeing us as stereotypes, ie "all the same".
To make things more complicated, there are different types of stereotype. Most obviously, obnoxiously, and wrongly, is the thought that all people with disabilities are stupid, incapable of doing anything, and generally worthless. This is despite the fact that many of us are in employment, some in highly skilled employment, and a few are even successful enough to become famous.
Less obnoxious, but still with negative undertones, is the "tragic but brave" view of people with disabilities. We are, supposedly, "tragic" to have been born in need of the charity of others. Those of us who become successful are "brave" enough to have "overcome" our disabilities. This ignores the fact that, often, disability can enhance our abilities by forcing us to concentrate on the things which we can do well.
It also has negative implications for those of us who cannot do certain things, ignoring the fact that disability affects different people in different ways. If someone in a wheelchair who can run a marathon is "brave", then those of us who choose not to do so become "cowards" who can "legitimately" be looked down upon. Maybe that's not what these people mean - but it is the ultimate logic of such a misguided, patronizing, viewpoint.
In addition, there are as many different types of stereotype as there are types of disability. One common thread which runs through these is the idea that "disabled" means "unable". Many people consider all people with disabilities to be stupid (despite the fact that some eminent scientists have been disabled). Indeed, people with mental disabilities and mental illnesses often suffer the worst abuse of all.
This is very convenient for the capitalist Establishment. Many of our problems are caused by stupid mistakes, made by those in (often minor) positions of power over us. The number of these stupid yet irritating, or even dangerous, mistakes have increased over the past 10 years. Over the same period, there has been a tendency for employers - both private and public - to sack workers, and push their remaining employees to the limit. Sometimes over their limit. So stupid mistakes happen. Well, instead of blaming the system for annoying mistakes which can wreck our lives, maybe we should all put the blame on stupid people instead. And who's more stupid than people with learning disabilities? (Well, a lot of people are, actually - many people with learning disabilities can do some jobs very well. But why let the facts get in the way of a good scape-goating session ...) So, as you can see, the Establishment have a vested interest in ignoring - or even propagating - this oppressive right-wing attitude.
There are, of course, similar attitudes towards other disabled people. Epileptic or diabetic people are seen as likely to "black out" and cause accidents. This means that, the fact that epilepsy and diabetes must be very well controlled (ie the risk of a blackout extremely low) for people with such disabilities to get a driving licence, does not stop us from being a convenient scapegoat for the rapid rise in road traffic accidents. And workplace accidents. And many other accidents, whose root cause is a totally different disease. A deadly disease, which kills millions of people around the world every year. That disease is capitalism.
And people in wheelchairs are seen as either "tragic" or "a drain" (depending on whether their accuser supports charity or not) because we need man-made devices to transport ourselves. Yet how many of us walk down the street without wearing a pair of, man-made, shoes? How many of us walk to the next town, instead of taking the man-made car, bus or train?
It must also be pointed out that people with disabilities who work will - often in less than a week - produce goods and services of a far greater monetary value than the wheelchair (or hearing aid, or braille computer, or asthma inhaler, or whatever) which they use. And those not at work are often victims not of their disability, but of the capitalist system which denies work to millions of people - both disabled and non-disabled - who have skills which could be used for the benefit of all of us.
So, everytime people treat people with disabilities as stereotypes, it is they who are "handicapped". Their handicap is that it becomes much more difficult for them to see the real cause of their problems, and how to fight it !
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