The same as everyone else …
p2pnet news view TV | Freedom:- Over the weekend we ran a story about Aimee Mullins, “an American athlete, actress, and fashion model best known for her collegiate-level athletic accomplishments, despite a disability that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs,” as the Wikipedia describes her.
It generated quite a few comments, but one in particular stands out.
Currently, “the population is changing from one where this kind of thing wasn’t talked about, to one where we have had to learn to deal with it and accept in a socially short space of time,” says cqb in a Reader’s Write, continuing »»»
People are ‘accepting’ it in different ways, some see this lady as brave, some strong, some may well view her as an attention seeker or something.
I am speaking from the position of having a younger brother born with Spina Bidefda, he had no use of his legs at all, I spent 24 yrs growing up with him (from 1972-1994).
The important thing is I spent all that time I realise now, watching how people reacted to him in situations. Through the 70’s and 80’s people didn’t discuss it or ask, only young kids asked why he was in a wheelchair etc, parents telling their kids to not be rude, don’t ask about it, ignore it etc, but it started to change.
Some saw him as brave as he did some fund raising and other activities not ‘normal’ for a disabled person. He was however just my little brother, I knew him to be a normal average person who’s legs didn’t work.
Society has only spent the last 20 years or so realising that handicapped people are perfectly normal folks, but it takes time.
Look a the stink on the BBC right now with the Cbeebies presenter with the lower half of her arm missing.
Many parents caused quite a stir saying how it ’scared’ their children, I call bullshit as in my experience children are the most easily accepting of anything different, a quick explanation of what the different is, how normal the person is otherwise and they are off, they don’t much care.
I hope and pray that more handicapped people make it onto TV, as by kids seeing difference now is how we change the perception.
It doesn’t matter that some right now view it as strong or brave, it doesn’t matter much that it may come over as a little condescending, what is important is them accepting it in their own way, which I can tell you from experience is better than 20years ago. Another 20 years and things will be different again, hopefully better.
’… offering equal opportunities’
On the Cbeebies presenter, her name is Cerrie Burnell, and when she, “joined the presenting team of the BBC children’s programme CBeebies last month many applauded the decision, not least because, as a disabled person with one arm, it appeared to be fulfilling the Beeb’s avowed aim of offering equal opportunities,” says the First Post.
But, “A flurry of complaints about the appointment have appeared on parenting message boards on the CBeebies website, with some so vicious that they had to be removed by moderators,” it says.
“Some even accused the BBC of hiring 29-year-old Burnell because of ‘political correctness’ and solely to meet employment quotas.
“A BBC spokesman said it had received only nine formal complaints about Burnell, and insisted that the new presenter had also received messages of support and that many parents were keen to have a range of people on screen. As to Burnell, who admitted she was upset by some of the remarks, she said: ‘It just goes to show how important it is to have positive disabled role models on CBeebies and television in general’.”
Aimee Mullins – Aimee Mullins: an unfair advantage, March 8, 2009
First Post – CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell repels one arm attacks, March 9, 2009
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