Fixed Reflection Essay

Many groups of people experience disenfranchisement. This paper will seek to review people experiencing disenfranchisement related to ableism in its various forms. The oppression of the disabled and the social injustices they bear will be considered, as well as the myths and stereotypes associated to the disabled. The author will seek to gain knowledge and understanding of this group of people and their functioning within our society.

Many people with disabilities have long faced discrimination and it seems that they are not fully accepted without stigma. Those living with a disability have been given many labels by society such as, being less than others, unfortunate, deserving of compassion, even pity. However, I feel that those living with a disability can turn their weaknesses into a special strength making them unique and perfectly able. My whole life I heard the term “disabled” as if they are incapable of doing what others can do. Instead, we should stop and consider they are people first and their disability does not define who they are. There are many mental disabilities as well that society is very ignorant to for example, Depression.

Introducing her topic, Mullins demonstrates her argument with a word-for-word definition of “disabled,” from a 1980’s thesaurus, which she believes perfectly represents how a vast number of people from today’s society view those with disability. To further support the idea, she pulls a far more recent definition

In the United States alone over fifty-six million people, or nineteen percent of the population, struggles with disabilities. Each one is unique, ranging from mild to intense, physical or mental, to even behavioral. The way society views this group is as though the handicapped are inferior to others. The aforementioned viewpoint has made terminology such as “retarded” or “slow” second nature in an average American’s vocabulary. It is unjust and has no right in modern civilization.

I feel strongly and I am convince that the fact that I had a headache and blocked sinuses affected my learning during the course time.

There are no certainties as to what caused The Little Ice Age, by most scientists agree that the onset of the Ice Age was over a gradual amount of time, and not by some sudden change in the Earth. As stated above, the Earth has continually changing orbits and rotations, causing various period of climate change known as the glacial and interglacial periods. Hundreds of years pass before one cycle switches from another, proving that the Little Ice Age was a gradual event. For example, the MWP lasted from 900 CE to 1300, while the LIP lasted from 1300-1750 (Ice Age and Past Climates, n.d.).

we are all guilty of not thinking on how we impact on others, sometimes just doing a simple thing such as parking a car on a pavement could cause a great deal of distress and even injure a person who is either partially sighted or blind as they have walked right into it, may have to deviate around the obstacle and could easily bash into a metal pole or car mirror, even miss their footing and trip on the pavement causing them to panic and become scared of their surroundings, this in itself will knock a person's confidence and self esteem. we can see that as a society we are changing to accommodate everyone including those with a disability, regardless of whether your in a wheelchair or have a sensory loss ,we can see improvement all around us, recognising that in order for more people to have a fulfilling life we must value and include them to make choices in how they

People with disabilities are part of the society; Are present in any area of ​​human endeavor. The worst maltreatment suffered by individuals with disabilities is that they are not seen, with exceptions, like any other person. Disability is not a characteristic of the subject, but the result of their individuality in relation to the demands that the environment poses. The type and degree of disability that the person suffers from prevents them from using their resources autonomously, being forced to look for other alternatives to meet his essential needs. People with disabilities, in fact, in everyday life, are not like other people: they have limitations and problems that do not affect ordinary people in the same way. The aspect that matters is that these people, with their limitations, have the right as all to the maximum development of all their potentialities.

Sometimes an experience can influence a person’s attitude towards a subject. Some of these experiences may include events, music, media, a conversation, or literature. This summer I read a mandatory book that changed my perspective. Before reading the book Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie, I believed that a person should only set fairly easy and attainable goals for themselves. Now my attitude is that you should pursue what makes you happy, and you shouldn’t let struggles stop you. When I read examples about following a passion, overcoming a fear, and being persistent in your efforts, my prior opinion began to change.

The disabled people are exactly like everyone else. About 50 million people that have a disability lead their own independent lives. They define themselves by their traits, not their disability and ever since the mid 1900s, they have been trying to get people to recognise that their disability only affects how they look at things, and is not a definition ("A Brief"). Most people look at other people with disabilities on a medical scale. The medical model attempts to normalize a person's conditions and also tends to see people as flawed and incapable (Milne). In reality, disabled people are just like the rest of society.

On November 27, 1971, in Portland, Oregon, a man claiming to be “Dan Cooper” bought a ticket for Northwest-Orient Airlines Flight 305 to Seattle, Washington. Dressed in a sharp dark suit with a pearl tiepin, this forty-five year-old man was about six feet tall with black hair (Abacha and Gilmore 233). No one would suspect him of going down in American history as the only man to ever escape capture after hijacking a U.S. plane (Warchol 1).

With the help of their non-disabled allies who have the platform and power to work towards equal rights for a group whose voice isn’t always heard as it should be, more attention is called to the issue and action can begin to further progress. But rather than offering charity or pity through modes of inspiration porn and the Super-Crip stereotype, allies need to see the disabled community as their equals both in the community and as advocates. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a great example of this as activists occupied political offices and by doing so they challenged the ideology that disabled people are passive victims. Non-disabled people do not have a firsthand experience with disability, they can experience disability indirectly in relation to their family or friends giving these individuals a personal understanding of the complexity of disabled lives. Non-disabled people can become disabled, especially as they grow older, so it is important that they’re well-informed

When disabled people do appear, they are often reduced to objects of concern, trouble or pity. In his research, the disabled writer and activist Paul Hunt identified 10 stereotypes that the media uses to portray disabled people. They are as follows: 1)The disabled person as pitiable or pathetic 2)An object of curiosity or violence 3)Sinister or evil 4)The super cripple 5)As atmosphere (such as people in hospital beds located near major characters) 6)Laughable 7)His/her own worst enemy 8)As a burden 9)As non-sexual 10) As being unable to participate in daily life. A commonality among these stereotypes is the idea that people with disabilities are unable to act, or if they do, their actions bring harm to society. These messages contribute to generalized fear of 20% of the population, and they affect the way in which we frame policy discussions about how to best create a society that works for this huge segment of the

There is this unhealthy ideal of ‘us and them’ that accounts for the matter of exclusion. When it comes to the medical model, disability tends to be viewed as something that’s abnormal, and as a problem that needs correcting. Often times the media takes this view as it tends to fail to take in a broad perspective, however it should not hold all of the blame as ‘ableism’ is ingrained in society. We will investigate this through different case studies of ‘Born this Way’,

Prior to the course, Perspectives on disability, my understanding of disability was a fundamental, concept of disability, in which I knew it existed, and also have seen and interacted with people considered to have a disability. I never took a deep look at all the social and political factors that exist within the spectrum of disability. This course has allowed me to examine all aspects of disability, which has changed my view and approach of what a disability is and how it is viewed. "Historically, disability has been viewed fundamentally as a persoal tragedy, which has resulted in diasbled people being seen as objects of pity or in need of charity. They have been subject to descriminatory policies and practices in which the predominant images of passivity and helplesness reinforced their inferior status"(Barton 4). Uncovering the framework of disability, by studying the historical, soicial political and educational standpoint, I see the intricacies in which gives me a greater understanding and awareness of the topic.