I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t enjoy reading. Fair to say I was forced to read No Pity, but in all honesty, I really enjoyed and appreciated it. The awareness gained from this book, and the class, I’ll carry it for as long as I live. No Pity focused between the 1950’s and early 90’s. The book gives you an interesting look at the personalities and process leading to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the early 90’s. Shapiro brings to light some major hurtles people with disabilities have faced and overcome. Covering everything from mental and developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, hearing disabilities, and the social and political stigmas associated with such disabilities. The book was disheartening at
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The so called “poster child”, used on telethons to make the audience feel guilty and donate money. Also how they almost always used a child to trigger feelings of helplessness. Society’s perception of a person living with a disability being one that they are childlike, dependent on others and always in need of a hand out. The inspiring “supercrip”, who overcomes his or her disability through astonishing feats and bravery, but don’t reflect the realities of the lives of the disabled community. Interesting enough, this led to people with disabilities discriminating against other people with a disability. A person with a disability isn’t looking for pity, or in most cases fake pity, or a magic pill, they’re seeking equality and acceptance. They are who they are, the disability is just a part of their life. While dealing explicitly with the problems of people with autism and mental retardation, Shapiro discusses the arguments surrounding the disability rights movement itself. Between the methods of integration and segregation predominantly in the fields of education and sports. Thanks to the efforts of numerous community based programs, independence and individuality is now being described and measured not by the task one can perform without assistance, but by the quality of one’s life with personal assistance service. Which is a top priority issue for the disability rights movement in the United
The so called “poster child”, used on telethons to make the audience feel guilty and donate money. Also how they almost always used a child to trigger feelings of helplessness. Society’s perception of a person living with a disability being one that they are childlike, dependent on others and always in need of a hand out. The inspiring “supercrip”, who overcomes his or her disability through astonishing feats and bravery, but don’t reflect the realities of the lives of the disabled community. Interesting enough, this led to people with disabilities discriminating against other people with a disability. A person with a disability isn’t looking for pity, or in most cases fake pity, or a magic pill, they’re seeking equality and acceptance. They are who they are, the disability is just a part of their life. While dealing explicitly with the problems of people with autism and mental retardation, Shapiro discusses the arguments surrounding the disability rights movement itself. Between the methods of integration and segregation predominantly in the fields of education and sports. Thanks to the efforts of numerous community based programs, independence and individuality is now being described and measured not by the task one can perform without assistance, but by the quality of one’s life with personal assistance service. Which is a top priority issue for the disability rights movement in the United