misunderstandings/intentions/thoughts

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Posted by Karen Downs on February 09, 19101 at 01:53:33:

I have no desire to silence anyone. All are free to express and share their experience. My purpose has been to express and share my experience. What is resonant to me is the spirit of the movie, available on video, of a young woman missing both arms who says: "I'm Not Broken, Don't Try to Fix Me". It is also the title of the film.

Black people, all people of color, do not want to be white. Their race is not something that can be changed. For too long, the dominant culture of this society viewed people of color more favorably if the POC acted like a white person. Blacks, Hispanics, East Indians as well as Native Americans are all proud of who they are.

So too are many paras and quads that I know. A paraplegic or a quadriplegic cannot "pass" as able bodied, "AB's" for short. Amputees often, I have experienced, try to "pass" as AB's. My experience informs me that many try to not be associated with those who are paralyzed or otherwise "different". I have been paralyzed. I know the feeling of being pitied. I also know the pride that runs through people who live their lives on wheels.

My amputations are quite apparent. Prostheses or no, I do not hide what I am. I embrace my identity; it is mine for the rest of my life. Even if the compression of my spinalcord in my neck leads to quadriplegia, I will remain an amputee. But what makes me disabled is the same thing that disabled a whole race in this country. What I hope to awaken is some understanding, a sense, of what happened to all of us, in that split second when we crossed a line.

One can pretend that one is "normal"; pass like a "high yellow" black brother or sister might have done in the past. Or one can embrace one's whole self and know that is is worth loving. As I said, I love my life. I have seen and experienced things and been places I never would have had I not become what I am.

I look in the mirror every morning. I like the person I see in that mirror; I love her and she always smiles back.

Karen

Follow Ups:

Re: misunderstandings/intentions/thoughts David 09:34:24 2/09/101 (1)
- Re: misunderstandings/intentions/thoughts Karen Downs 22:05:32 2/10/101 (0)
Re: misunderstandings/intentions/thoughts Ernie 07:48:11 2/09/101 (1)
- Re: misunderstandings/intentions/thoughts Karen Downs 22:22:21 2/10/101 (0)

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: I have no desire to silence anyone. All are free to express and share their experience. My purpose has been to express and share my experience. What is resonant to me is the spirit of the movie, available on video, of a young woman missing both arms who says: "I'm Not Broken, Don't Try to Fix Me". It is also the title of the film. : Black people, all people of color, do not want to be white. Their race is not something that can be changed. For too long, the dominant culture of this society viewed people of color more favorably if the POC acted like a white person. Blacks, Hispanics, East Indians as well as Native Americans are all proud of who they are. : So too are many paras and quads that I know. A paraplegic or a quadriplegic cannot "pass" as able bodied, "AB's" for short. Amputees often, I have experienced, try to "pass" as AB's. My experience informs me that many try to not be associated with those who are paralyzed or otherwise "different". I have been paralyzed. I know the feeling of being pitied. I also know the pride that runs through people who live their lives on wheels. : My amputations are quite apparent. Prostheses or no, I do not hide what I am. I embrace my identity; it is mine for the rest of my life. Even if the compression of my spinalcord in my neck leads to quadriplegia, I will remain an amputee. But what makes me disabled is the same thing that disabled a whole race in this country. What I hope to awaken is some understanding, a sense, of what happened to all of us, in that split second when we crossed a line. : One can pretend that one is "normal"; pass like a "high yellow" black brother or sister might have done in the past. Or one can embrace one's whole self and know that is is worth loving. As I said, I love my life. I have seen and experienced things and been places I never would have had I not become what I am. : I look in the mirror every morning. I like the person I see in that mirror; I love her and she always smiles back. : Karen

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