We don’t need to be fixed: disability culture and universal human rights-2

By Heng-hao Chang

Professor, Department of Sociology, National Taipei University

Translated by Eden Social Welfare Foundation

Communicative Action and Collective Identity

Another core aspect of disability rights movement is “Nothing about us, without us.” This phrase decries situations such as describe. But to remedy such situations we need to determine who constitutes “us.” Disability should be seen as differences between people, instead of defects. We need to critically reexamine how society deals with disabilities as human diversity, and then adapt the system so that it serves everyone while recognizing the differences between disabled and non-disabled persons.

The diversity within the disability community constitutes a complication for unity. People who have mobility disabilities differ significantly from those with intellectual disabilities who in term differ from those with a visual or hearing impairment. Establishing a disability culture depends on communication between such subgroups, and disabilities themselves pose some challenges given that meetings must be accessible to the mobility-impaired, intelligible to the intellectually impaired, and translated for the Deaf. 

However, it is impossible to wait until all material bases are covered to start the communication. The initiation of communication is the willingness to communicate and listen to others. People with disabilities should ask themselves: are we curious about other disabled persons’ experiences, and would like to understand each others’ similarities and differences? Only when everyone is willing to open his or her heart for communication can it be effective on reaching consensus.

Positive Experience and Disability Consciousness

Disability culture relies on disability consciousness. Raising consciousness takes time. The pioneer of disability studies, Mike Oliver, pointed out that people with disabilities have long been silenced as dependents, and this is not undone quickly. There will be a transition period for raising disability consciousness and awareness. If we promote disability culture without disability rights consciousness, wewill end up replicating the old experience of charity concepts (Oliver 2012).

Then, what is disability consciousness? It is about people with disability having equal rights. It is their wish to have the same life quality as every other group. It is about understanding differences in the treatment of people with disabilities and those without, identifying oppression and how it might include what was intended as concessions, and the willingness to initiate a change collectively.

It is also important to generate positive discourse about people with disabilities. We can offer to the societythe discussion about how disabled persons contribute to society both in specific and cultural ways and create disability pride in Taiwan. For example, when Poliomyelitis spread in Taiwan in the 1950s improving professional rehabilitation techniques and assistive devices made it possible for people affected by polio to contribute to our society. Similarly, accessible environments designed for people with disabilities benefits parents with small children and the elderly as well. Increasing these kinds of positive discourses will help to change negative ideas about disabled people as underprivileged dependents.

Disability Rights Is Universal Human rights

Disability affects everyone, Zola (1993) points out“in the obvious sense that human existence without disability is unimaginable: The issue of disability for individuals... is not whether but when, not so much which one, but how many and in what combination” (Zola 1993). We need to see the commonality of disability policies instead of putting emphasis on special needs. The rights of disabled people should apply to everyone. In much the same way that gender equality and gender awareness benefits people of all genders, including men, disability rights are human rights. Only when more and more people join the advocacy of rights of disability can problems be seen and improved. As Zola puts it, “In short, what is done in the name of disability today will have meaning for all of society's tomorrows” (Zola 1989).

Acknolwedgement

 The author would like to acknowledge Kate Epstein’s help on editing this article.

References

Baynton, Douglas C. 2001 “Disability and the Justification of Inequality in American History.” In The New Disability History: American Perspectives, edited by Paul K. Longmore and Lauri Umansky, 33-57. New York: NYU Press.

Brown, Steven E. 2003. “We are who we are...So who are we?” In Movie Stars and Sensuous Scars: Essays on the Journey from Disability Shame to Disability Pride, edited by S. E. Brown, 77-86. New York: People with Disabilities Press.

—. 2004. “Personal Reflections on Disability Culture.” Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal 1:45-50.

Finkelstein, Vic. 2009. “The ‘Social Model of Disability’ and the Disability Movement.” In Understanding Disability: From Theory to Practice, edited by Michael Oliver, 142-152. London: The MacMillan Press.

Oliver, Michael. 2009. Understanding Disability: From Theory to Practice. 2nd ed. London. Palgrave Macmillan.

Oliver, Michael and Colin Barnes. 2012. The New Politics of Disablement. Palgrave Mamillan

Zola, I.K. 1989. “Toward the necessary universalizing of a disability policy.” The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly 67, Supplement 2: 401-428.

Zola, I.K. 1993a. “Disability statistics, what we count and what it tells us - a personal and political analysis.”Jourrml of Disability Policy Studies 4: 9-39.