Midterm— Fuel for thought: my road trip across disability studies

Maya, I enjoyed reading your essay, and I loved the way you referred to it as a "road trip." 

Acknowledging when we're wrong isn't always an easy thing to do, but it definitely is the only way to get back on the right track. If we never admit our mistakes, we won't have the courage to ask for guidance. While reading your paper, I looked back at what I was taught about disability as a child. Growing up in a developing, conservative country, society always taught me to treat people with disabilities with extra respect, and be very careful about bringing up anything that hints to their disability. As a child, when I would meet or run into a disabled person, everyone around me would get tense and act extra "careful." The amount of times I heard: "That poor child," or "Thank God our children are healthy," is countless. As far as society knew, that was the "right" or "normal" response. Looking back at it, I feel ashamed and disgusted that at some point I, too, thought that was the "right" way to respond and think about disabilities. Prior to this course, I never had the chance to learn about Disability Studies in order to realize how ableist our societies can be. 

Maya, you also make a great point about learning from those most impacted and following their lead, because we live in ableist societies that tend to lead us in an ableist direction, thinking that they're leading us towards a more accessible and just society.  Meanwhile, following the lead of those most impacted will certainly steer us in the right direction.