Comments on: Ableism and Ageism in One Tidy Little Package

By: EAPC

EAPC — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:35:56 +0000

Interesting….. I’ve seen this picture before (since this is almost a year old posting, I’m sure that’s not surprising) but I liked it. I didn’t go to any of the places about being old and in a wheelchair being negative (especially the chair – it didn’t even really register to me that it was a wheelchair versus just some nondescript hospital/nursing home/grandma’s kitchen chair), or that the ballet shadow was an idealistic anything. I thought it was just a commentary on human imagination. If that shadow had been of a seated racecar driver, or a fairy, or sasquatch or any other number of different fantastic shadows rather than of a dancer, maybe you’d have seen it in the same light I did. I suppose that’s why you put that part in your post about monks and not making value judgments based on appearances, but I hope there are more people out there than Buddhist monks (and me) who just see it as a flight of imagination being projected there rather than an escape from perceived restrictions. I’m sort of a day dreamer, though, and I dig the quote. I might look like an absolutely average, tame, frumpy librarian type to others, but I’m a rock star in my own head any time I feel like being one.

I guess I just wanted to throw in some optimism to counter the criticism there….. I don’t see it the way you’ve described it at all, and I’m sure I can’t be the only one. People aren’t ALL full of negative stereotypes and assumptions.

By: Melora | aspergersandmeblog

Melora | aspergersandmeblog — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:50:44 +0000

[...] Personally, I really liked this model of disability, and I like the idea that sometimes a change in perspective can make the difference between ability and disability. It matches my perspective on ASDs, so it [...]

By: the only disability in life…is a disability. | resistdance

the only disability in life…is a disability. | resistdance — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 23:03:40 +0000

[...] kind), but i don’t sugarcoat things, either. several people have written really great posts about why inspiration porn is hurtful, and i don’t want to regurgitate that here, but i do [...]

By: Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg

Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:19:25 +0000

Dena, for any image, there are multiple interpretations possible. If you’ll note, I suggested the possibility that the elderly lady was thinking of a former self. There is nothing wrong with doing so if one is simply enjoying a happy memory. However, the text overlays a value onto the image, and it draws a contrast being the perceptions of others, in which being old and disabled is a bad thing, and one’s self-perception, in which being young and able-bodied is a good thing. It’s the devaluation of being old and disabled that I’m critiquing here — not whether it’s okay to enjoy a happy memory. As I age, I get a great deal of sustenance from my memories. That’s very different from feeling good about myself by imagining myself as a young woman when I’m in my mid-50s. I’m not a young woman, and in order to feel good about myself, I have to feel good about who I am right now, not about who I once was.

And just to be clear: I don’t judge the validity of an interpretation based on credentials, so whether you have a master’s degree or not really isn’t important to me. I judge the validity of an interpretation on its merits; people are free to disagree with my interpretations whenever they see fit, and I will listen and reflect. If someone has a credential that gives that person a particular expertise and insight into something I’m saying, I will respect that, but I won’t automatically agree with the person or assume that the person must be right.

By: DENA

DENA — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:14:10 +0000

What I see is an elderly lady who is remembering when she was an accomplished ballerina. She is playing her music on her victrola and seeing her younger self. The smile on her face shows her happiness at the memory. She is not trying to instill the thought into anyone elses mind. I may not have a masters degree but I do know what (I) see.

By: Sharon daVanport

Sharon daVanport — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:57:33 +0000

Love this, Rachel! I appreciate your post, and I love the direction your work is going. These are important topics to bring to light and understand – thank you.

By: Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg

Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:28:30 +0000

Yes! I worked with a therapist for awhile who is very aware of disability rights issues, and we talked a lot about the work I do with my writing. She was very supportive of my truth that most of what depresses me has to do with stigma and discrimination, and with the ways in which I’ve internalized negative attitudes about disability from the world around me. By the time I went to see her, I had largely adapted to my disabilities, so the question really became how to navigate other people’s attitudes. In a lot of ways, our discussions of the work I do with my writing helped me to claim the value of my form of activism, and to develop pride and inner strength to deal with what the world dishes out. What was most helpful was realizing that I didn’t have to be doing the sort of activism that, given my sensory issues, would be very difficult — like taking a bus to protests or talking with my legislators — and that simply speaking out in my own voice was enough.

By: GirlWithTheCane

GirlWithTheCane — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 15:57:49 +0000

The graphic left me cold and I couldn’t say why. Then I totally got onto your train of thought and found myself anticipating what you were going to say next…and yeah, the graphic left me feeling kind of…icky.

The second part of your post spoke to me about locus of control, and it really made me think. I’ve been known myself to say to people with disabilities that I’ve worked with, “Focus on what you can control. You can’t control that person’s ignorant atttitude and what it makes him say; you can only control how you react.” But you’re right that it does put all the onus on the person with the disability to develop a thick skin. Perhaps a better way for therapists is to assist the person to develop coping strategies while helping them to explore what they feel they can do in their circumstances to feel like they’re contributing to changing peoples’ attitudes?

By: maylislovingthings

maylislovingthings — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 09:45:39 +0000

I like this post but this was not my interpretation of this graphic the first time I saw it. And even if I understand what you mean… I still see this graphic as a positive message… maybe because my biggest frustration in life is not beeing able to do ballet dance. I accept myself as a disabled woman and sometimes I like thinking about How my life could be if I was able bodied… and most of the time I think that I would be a totally different person… and not only in a good way… and it makes me appreciate who I am, partly thank to my disability…

Anyway thank you for sharing your thoughts and your knowledge, I love your blog!! it often rings a bell and makes me think of things in other ways! Merci!!

ps : sorry for the grammar mistakes, I’m french…

By: Happy Elf Mom

Happy Elf Mom — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:46:06 +0000

Interesting, because as I saw this picture before on fb, I “liked” it very much. I thought of it as showing the inner life and creativity of the person that is unchanged within … and hadn’t considered that this was really a “pretend you are someone else less old and disabled” sort of a picture at all. And then I thought that someone should totally take her to the ballet because she would enjoy it so, have you seen the new “spaces” between standard seats for wheelchairs? Such a simple accomodation, and yet why didn’t anyone think to do it before?

Anyway, it’s a great post and it’s very applicable to me as I raise teens and tweens who are going to need to find their place in the world and change it, all at the same time. That part I totally agreed with and understood.