Treatment of Disabled
We recently interviewed this amazing woman who was playing softball, slid into third base, broke her leg bone, then developed a bone disease that should have been curable. This led to her having her leg amputated. In the interview she talked about how hard this was and how she turned to the Lord and has been able to be an advocate for the disabled and help others, which is why she felt it happened.
After the interview she showed us her leg and I couldn't believe the technology. She said she had five different feet that fit into the leg for skiing, hiking, running, church, etc. Then we started talking about disabilities in general and she talked about how she is often stared at.
While Matt and I were in Turkey we saw a lot of disabled people. One had legs that basically were stuck bent and he was hurrying to cross the street in the middle of a bunch of traffic. It was really sad. I started to think about the difference between the way governments and people treat disabled. In the U.S. I would say we do a pretty good job of providing help and programs, especially compared to other countries. But why do we in the U.S. stare more at the disabled? In Turkey no one was looking at the disabled people begging, or just going about their lives. Is it because we are less exposed to them because they are getting help and are off the streets? Or does the fact that we are less familiar and therefore stare mean that our society needs to get more involved in serving and interacting with disabled? Or in Turkey are people just ignoring the disabled because they don't care and are desensitized? I think the main reason people stare is because they are seeing someone who they feel is different, and a lot of times they are just inquisitive.
After the interview we were talking about this and Tami said the different reactions that children and parents are interesting. Children are very inquisitive and almost excited to see her fake leg and think its cool. Parents react by thinking they shouldn't touch or ask to see or look at someone who is disabled. We shouldn't stare, but we shouldn't look away either. We should just smile and say hello and also help and serve the disabled so our society interacts more with those who are disabled.
Kind of random topic to blog about, but I just have been thinking about it lately.
After the interview she showed us her leg and I couldn't believe the technology. She said she had five different feet that fit into the leg for skiing, hiking, running, church, etc. Then we started talking about disabilities in general and she talked about how she is often stared at.
While Matt and I were in Turkey we saw a lot of disabled people. One had legs that basically were stuck bent and he was hurrying to cross the street in the middle of a bunch of traffic. It was really sad. I started to think about the difference between the way governments and people treat disabled. In the U.S. I would say we do a pretty good job of providing help and programs, especially compared to other countries. But why do we in the U.S. stare more at the disabled? In Turkey no one was looking at the disabled people begging, or just going about their lives. Is it because we are less exposed to them because they are getting help and are off the streets? Or does the fact that we are less familiar and therefore stare mean that our society needs to get more involved in serving and interacting with disabled? Or in Turkey are people just ignoring the disabled because they don't care and are desensitized? I think the main reason people stare is because they are seeing someone who they feel is different, and a lot of times they are just inquisitive.
After the interview we were talking about this and Tami said the different reactions that children and parents are interesting. Children are very inquisitive and almost excited to see her fake leg and think its cool. Parents react by thinking they shouldn't touch or ask to see or look at someone who is disabled. We shouldn't stare, but we shouldn't look away either. We should just smile and say hello and also help and serve the disabled so our society interacts more with those who are disabled.
Kind of random topic to blog about, but I just have been thinking about it lately.
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