The term disabled in this case is a misnomer here. To be disabled means to have an inability to perform something, oui? If Mr Pistorius can run 400m in 46 seconds he’s hardly disabled is he? I couldn’t run 400m in any time, not even if there was an inexhaustible supply of chocolate rice-krispy cakes waiting for me at the other end as my prize and I do so love chocolate rice-krispy cakes.
I’ll continue to use those terms though cause I can’t think of a suitable alternative at the moment. No, what we have here is an athlete, we can all agree on this. But, his athleticisms defining qualities are his mechanical legs. There is no such thing as equal in terms of physical ability. One dude will always be taller than another for example, or have different levels of muscle tone, or stamina, but they’re all equal in so far as they are all flesh and blood.
If you’re going to let someone into a race with mechanical legs then I’m buying a Cheetah and I’m campaigning to have it entered into the next Greyhound Derby because it’s tantamount to letting different species compete against each other.
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You see now people, as a consequence of my own disability, I've been dealing with discrimination my whole life. From my experiences, I think the problem with all this is that disabilities place a huge burden on an individual and much of that burden is emotional baggage; resentment, frustration, anger etc etc and it’s very easy to demand that society shoulder some of that burden as there is no one else to appeal to.
But, an individual’s disability is not societies fault. And those demands are in many cases, unreasonable. Everyone has problems and they all manifest themselves in different ways. Disabilities are just a very obvious one and so, in many cases, are afforded an exaggerated degree of support from society. Obviously there are extreme disabilities which this argument does not apply to, but that's not what this wee entry is concerned with.
So anyway, I think these demands are unfair on everyone not fortunate enough to have their legs chopped off or be born with some sort of incurable disease, but are still dealing with issues every bit as disabling but without being quite so obvious.
I think everyone should have in mind an idea of what would constitute a perfect life. So the challenge in life is to overcome all the obstacles in the path of that perfect life that fate places in front of it, or as many of them as possible in order to realise it, oui?
Now then, a disability is a big obstacle. Sometimes an overwhelming obstacle. I for example suffer from Cystic Fibrosis, an incurable lung disease sporting a life expectancy of 35. This is an obstacle that is essentially, insurmountable, but it’s the only obstacle I’m facing. I have no other concerns; not really.
I can never get over this obstacle and no one can give me a leg-up either, so the challenge for me is to figure out a way of accepting it and manoeuvring my way around it, in much the same way as those cunning blonde haired Nazi’s did in manoeuvring their way around what were considered to be impenetrable blockades along the Maginot Line. It certainly doesn’t mean my life is over.
But at the same time, I have to recognise and accept that my health is not the fault of society and society and the individuals within it, all have their own problems to deal with, which collectively, present just as a big an obstacle to them as my own health issues. So, I ask that people as much as possible to make allowances for my condition; to recognise I can't walk very far and that I'm not very strong and I can't digest sweetcorn etc., but in all other areas and aspects of my life I have to insist and accept that I'm treated in the same way as anyone else.
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There’s an advert running at the moment about integrating disabled people into the work place. One dude with arthritis wants an office on the ground floor so he doesn’t have to negotiate a couple of flights of stairs. Fair do’s, nothing wrong with that. Another dude has poor eyesight and wants a calculator with large numbers..no worries. But the third example is a woman in a wheel chair who wants to work in a supermarket and so they have to build her a custom-made checkout so she can work there. Hmmm, no. Much like Mr Pistorius, I think this is asking too much.
Making allowances in order to integrate disabled folks into society is not a one-way street. It takes compromise from both parties. If this woman’s burning ambition is to work in Tesco’s, then OK fair enough if that’s what you really really want to do with your life, then let's get a nice low checkout built, but it’s not is it? You just want to work somewhere probably where you can interact with the public and just have a means of getting out of the house and providing for yourself so you're not dependent on Government handouts and charity. Great, but...
Why not work somewhere else where the facilities are already in place to accommodate a wheelchair user? Why not work in some other shop where they don’t have spend a few thousand pounds on a new desk? What’s the appeal of supermarket work? Do you so love canned goods you must work there? No, so how about compromising your own designs a little and working somewhere that would cause less disruption?
Mr Pistorius too, sorry fella, but what you’re asking is unreasonable. You’re campaigning for something, which just isn’t fair and places too many demands on the IOC, the IAAF and all the other athletes. And if your contention is that IOC aren’t accommodating enough when it comes to disabilities, well I think the fact that they organise a whole separate games for people in your position is evidence enough that they do care and they do want you to compete. If you consider competing in these games less of a challenge are you not guilty yourself of discrimination and prejudice towards other Paralympians?
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This whole argument reminds me of that scene in the Life of Brian where Eric Idle's character wants to campaign for his right to have babies. I’m afraid it’s the same as many campaigns undertaken by disabled people. If you're disabled, by definition, there are going to be some things you just cannot do and it's no ones fault. As I said there is no such thing as equal and unequal across the board, but someone with one foot is not equal to someone with both lower extremities. Someone mentally handicapped is not equal to someone with a three figure IQ.
If you have a speech impediment you ought not to demand that the BBC hire you as a Newsreader. If you have only one arm, let’s not demand the Fire Service hire you to rescue people from burning buildings. If you’re a wheelchair users let’s not demand Tesco’s build new fixtures and fittings to accommodate you and if you’re 30% bionic let’s try not lose any sleep over the Olympic Committee’s refusal to allow you to compete with 100% flesh and blood athletes.
In real terms, let’s just try to be a bit more grown up about this. Common sense and compromises from both parties rather than demands and campaigns. That’s how we’ll purge discrimination towards the disabled from our society, which to be honest is as much a consequence ofactions of the disabled as it is ignorance on the part of the able-bodied.
Everyone with a disability has exploited it in some way while at the time time demanding they be treated equally. Only with compromise, honesty and common sense will ever reach a level playing field as it were, where finally we can all be miserable and suffer on equal terms, that's what I always say.
OK The End.
