Andrew Soloman’s article holds so much that I can agree with and also relate to. When I think of people that have disabilities, I think they are people. They were meant to be here. Their lives may not be the same, but their lives are just as valuable as anyone else which Soloman even states. I think our society has became a little more understanding and that is why those with disabilities are more respected and understood, but there is still many flaws that I see. The article I read in class on ableism being on the ballot was sad, the way people think Fetterman should not run just because he had a stroke in the past. He is still human, he also could NOT control what happened to him, and even his cardiologist said that he can run perfectly fine like anyone else, he just has to take care of his body. Last week I had a stranger from this University calling me “autistic” because of the building I live in and honestly whoever it was is not a very good person. I respect those with disabilities, I have some of my own like depression, PTSD, Major anxiety, etc. and of course if I could I would wish it away, and I would not want anybody, not even my future children to feel what I feel and can’t control, but its something that needs to be talked about more and I think categorization of disabilities is changing because of people speaking up and the strategy activism. What Soloman says about dependence having its own poetry, I think that is beautiful. A “fundamental aspect of intimacy, a defining quality of love.” As a society, it is better to be a community, like we preach, rather than having false ideas on independence being brave because like Soloman said, “all our lives entwined with the lives of others.” The more our society builds on being a community and loving, the more categorization of disabilities will change. I also do not understand why some individuals think having a disability makes you “stupid” it DOES NOT. A show called “The Good Doctor” follows the life of Shaun Murphy who is autistic yet is an extremely smart doctor that can detect things others may not be able to notice. There is many other people with disabilities who are intelligent even if life may be more difficult in certain ways. I had to go to speech therapy as a child because I could not (and sometimes I still do this) pronounce words correctly; I always sounded them out. I would get laughed at for this and its made me very insecure. Also in Soloman’s article, I find it sickening that people would kill off their babies just because they were born with something they cannot control. THEY ARE INNOCENT, BABIES. And the saddest part is, this still happens in other countries like Russia. Doctors encourage mothers to get rid of their child if it is born with a disability which is so, so wrong. If you look at the past with the categorization of disabilities and then look at the present, there has 100% been changes and improvements. There is always more that can be worked on, but to continue this change of categorization for disabled people, we as a society have to be more understanding, speak up, and encourage others to share their stories.
