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Today's Rant # 2
The moral of this rant is that I don't find it funny when people pretend to be mentally or developmentally disabled.
Why am being so heavy handed about this and ruining everyone's fun? I just don't think that its funny. People who are as lucky as I am and learn and live so easily in our world have no right to find it funny that others are unfortunate enough to have such difficulties. I am sick and tired of highly intelligent people who cannot imagine what it might be like to find even the simple aspects of life difficult. I have been blessed with brains and a body that make it easy for me. Others are not so fortunate. Not only that but you don't know who around you is hearing you joke. Who might have a child or sibling with these difficulties… mocking their pain is not funny.
I am an alumni member of a coed service fraternity called Alpha Phi Omega. One of the projects that my chapter loved to do was to work for Special Olympics as volunteers. I was worried about going to be honest. I am not comfortable around the mentally disabled and was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle it.
I went anyway. I went with the rest of my brothers to Copper Mountain where we cheered on the athletes and helped in any way that we could. I took a lot away with me that day. I saw people for whom life is difficult in so many ways show so much courage and so much spirit. I have never skied. That's right, born and raised in ski country and I have never strapped on a pair of skis. Why? I am not sure. Pretty much it boils down to fear. I mean there are other considerations but I think that is the underlying reason. So understandably I was impressed to see these kids go down the slopes. Not only that, but they cheered eachother on. If things didn't go well and they were having troubles they helped eachother. Time and again they walked up the slope and skied back down. They had so much courage.
I can't say that this experience has made it any easier to spend time with people who are mentally retarded for me. But I have a much larger respect for these people. They don't give up. Now when I go to Mc Donald's and I see someone who is disabled behind the register what I feel toward them is awe. They get up in the morning and go to work. Even though its hard for them they do all they can to make it in today's world. I know plenty of smart people who don't have those kind of balls.
One of my best friends from home worked this summer at a camp for the disabled. She worked with people of all kinds of disabilities… mental, physical, developmental etc. She was the art director and designed projects to give people who are blind and deaf the chance to do art. In talking to her about her experiences there are many gross and sad stories. It is obvious that this job was the biggest challenge she ever had in her life because there were plenty of times when she really didn't want to be there working with these people. But there are also lots of stories of triumph that she tells.
I wish I had her strength and could give of myself unselfishly in that way. In the end I don't think I will ever experience something like that because my fear of not being able to deal with it will stop me. I am proud of her for the work she did and the work she feels committed to do based on this experience.
I don't think that it does us any good to hide our fears of these people and our discomfort with them by making jokes. Especially since I have seen many people that in all other ways I respect make these jokes for hours on end.
Please take this post seriously and think about it seriously. I find that most people zone out if I tell them I don't like something they have done.
Why am being so heavy handed about this and ruining everyone's fun? I just don't think that its funny. People who are as lucky as I am and learn and live so easily in our world have no right to find it funny that others are unfortunate enough to have such difficulties. I am sick and tired of highly intelligent people who cannot imagine what it might be like to find even the simple aspects of life difficult. I have been blessed with brains and a body that make it easy for me. Others are not so fortunate. Not only that but you don't know who around you is hearing you joke. Who might have a child or sibling with these difficulties… mocking their pain is not funny.
I am an alumni member of a coed service fraternity called Alpha Phi Omega. One of the projects that my chapter loved to do was to work for Special Olympics as volunteers. I was worried about going to be honest. I am not comfortable around the mentally disabled and was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle it.
I went anyway. I went with the rest of my brothers to Copper Mountain where we cheered on the athletes and helped in any way that we could. I took a lot away with me that day. I saw people for whom life is difficult in so many ways show so much courage and so much spirit. I have never skied. That's right, born and raised in ski country and I have never strapped on a pair of skis. Why? I am not sure. Pretty much it boils down to fear. I mean there are other considerations but I think that is the underlying reason. So understandably I was impressed to see these kids go down the slopes. Not only that, but they cheered eachother on. If things didn't go well and they were having troubles they helped eachother. Time and again they walked up the slope and skied back down. They had so much courage.
I can't say that this experience has made it any easier to spend time with people who are mentally retarded for me. But I have a much larger respect for these people. They don't give up. Now when I go to Mc Donald's and I see someone who is disabled behind the register what I feel toward them is awe. They get up in the morning and go to work. Even though its hard for them they do all they can to make it in today's world. I know plenty of smart people who don't have those kind of balls.
One of my best friends from home worked this summer at a camp for the disabled. She worked with people of all kinds of disabilities… mental, physical, developmental etc. She was the art director and designed projects to give people who are blind and deaf the chance to do art. In talking to her about her experiences there are many gross and sad stories. It is obvious that this job was the biggest challenge she ever had in her life because there were plenty of times when she really didn't want to be there working with these people. But there are also lots of stories of triumph that she tells.
I wish I had her strength and could give of myself unselfishly in that way. In the end I don't think I will ever experience something like that because my fear of not being able to deal with it will stop me. I am proud of her for the work she did and the work she feels committed to do based on this experience.
I don't think that it does us any good to hide our fears of these people and our discomfort with them by making jokes. Especially since I have seen many people that in all other ways I respect make these jokes for hours on end.
Please take this post seriously and think about it seriously. I find that most people zone out if I tell them I don't like something they have done.