Public Comment

Picking on a person for having a disability is infantile, crude, and obnoxious. Yet it is all too common for those blessed with wealth and easy conditions to find amusement in mocking disabled people and showing us the door. Or putting a broom in our hands and keeping us around for amusement.

This behavior of those blessed with privilege shows that many people have a long way to go before they measure up to the term, "human beings." I have lived among people with disabilities for forty years. I have lived among the down and out. I have lived among people who are literally falling apart. And I have lived among people with physical and/or mental disabilities who were and are going strong. People with disabilities deserve to be treated with the same level of dignity and respect that I'm sure all of the readers, not just the so-called "disabled" readers, want. 

People see me and they often seem to presume stupidity because I probably look low-income. But the idea I'm stupid--it's just not accurate. Maybe their assessment is affected in advance by some form of misinformation. I might not give the impression to most people that I have brains. This could be partly because I don't visibly react to things, even though I notice them. This could give people the false impression that I can't see what is in front of me. 

I am self-educated. My sister said of me that I can pick up a book on how to do something, read it, understand it, and then I know how to do the task described in the book. She admires that about me, and she admires how I can stand up to bullies. I acquired standing up to bullies because, at some point in my life, I'd had enough. 

People should try to stretch their minds. What if people with disabilities are often worthwhile individuals? Many of us strive to contribute to society, yet this endeavor could be stymied due to widespread stereotypes, prejudice, and misconceptions, concerning mentally disabled or otherwise disabled people. 

I've seen mentally ill people and those with other disabilities who have amazing talent. Sometimes this talent goes to waste because people keep all the doors closed and locked. People with disabilities ought not be judged by common routes of thought, ones that automatically dismiss our value because of our labels. And unfortunately, for too many people, refraining from prejudging is too tall an order. 

I was at a writers' group of just four members, years ago; it met at a Barnes and Noble in an upscale area. The woman who facilitated went out of her way to be insulting, and when I didn't react, she made a gesture as to say it was over my head, meaning I was too dumb to realize I was being insulted. The same woman was unhappy because low-income housing was being built near her. This is obviously a case of classism. And her reaction to me indicated an absence of basic sense. 

On the other hand, in the brief period that I participated before being thrown out, I was able to glean a couple of pointers that I could use in my writing. But otherwise, it was one of a series of rude awakenings. 

Intolerance, over the decades of my adulthood, has worsened. 

People with mental illness do not always behave in a cultivated manner. We might be seen as antisocial. This could come with the territory of having an underlying neurological issue. This is not to devalue myself or others like me, this is just an observation. The forementioned doesn't point to a lack of intelligence or a lack of sensitivity. It doesn't point to moral or ethical corruption. It doesn't point to the absence of insight. Many mentally ill people just come off as rough around the edges. That doesn't account for who we really are on the inside. People should become open to the possibilities. It may be an inconvenience to do this, but seeing what's in front of you rather than a projection of what you think you see is worth the effort. 

People who rely on a wheelchair, according to some of them, have been presumed dumb because they're in a wheelchair. Does that make any sense? 

Intolerance by itself isn't a crime. People can't realistically be forced to hire a disabled person and can't even hypothetically be forced to have an open mind. It doesn't matter how many laws you make; you can't force members of the public to think. The only way to make someone think is to provide an incentive. The incentive could be anything--it could be abstract. But there is value in those who really want to think, and who find it rewarding to use their mind. And that, I hope, is the future of human development.