The Language of Normalcy

I’m rather proud of that title, actually. It sounds all academic. I mean, I’ve certainly done academic writing, but it’s been awhile. I have to give credit where it’s due, though. I didn’t come up with it, it’s a phrase I picked up from one of my professors. (Thanks, Ervin.) He told me to stop using the language of normalcy in my writing, because disabled advocates avoid it. Rest assured, though…this is the non-academic approach to an explanation, although I’ll link my sources at the end.
This made me start thinking. What’s so bad about it? I’ve never been a politically correct person, although I try my very best to not be offensive. If it were normal to have RD, then people wouldn’t come up to me randomly to ask me about my mobility device of the day, right? I must not be normal. As an aspiring writer, I know that words are far more important than most people give them credit for. Let’s take a look at what’s so important about the language of normalcy.

What are the implications of considering able-bodied people “normal?” If they are normal, then disabled people are considered “abnormal”, right? Sounds a bit rude, honestly. It’s great for those dumb euphemisms, though. You know the ones I’m talking about. Those cutesy stupid sounding things that able-bodied people use to be “polite”, but it really makes them feel better. For the record, I’m not “handicapable” or “differently abled” or anything like that. Nor am I “special needs”. I am disabled, and that term is just fine. Those cutesy euphemisms just make me feel like a small child, anyway.

Let’s keep going down this rabbit hole. Let’s get a little dark and consider the implications of the disabled being considered abnormal. Historically speaking, what has happened to people considered abnormal? I’m going to warn you, it’s not pretty. It starts small. Discrimination, weird looks, and people demanding your medical history to park in a handicap zone. Nothing unusual. We’ve all had those encounters. The crime rates against the disabled are far higher than the able-bodied population. No surprises here. We are less able to fight back than “normal” people.

Let’s get darker. Let’s go back in history. Not too far, though. Just in my grandfather’s lifetime. Because the disabled have never been considered “normal”, people have closed their eyes to the atrocities committed against the community. In the early 1900’s, it was perfectly acceptable to forcible sterilize anyone considered “feeble-minded”. Matter of fact, there were 33 states with involuntary sterilization laws on the books.

I’m going to break off here and examine the term “feeble-minded”. After all, people don’t really consider “feeble-minded” people as needing to become parents, anyway. Two problems here. First, people have a tendency to consider anyone disabled as “feeble-minded.” Don’t believe me? Go somewhere in a wheelchair with an abled-bodied person. Count how many times people talk to them instead of you. How many times they push you out of the way without asking. Second, where does that end? With that type of thinking, you could justify sterilizing anyone for any “undesirable” trait. That, ladies and gentlemen, is called eugenics and that has been practiced in our not-so-distant history. The Nazis did it. Helen Keller herself advocated for it. (Really. She did.) Universities did it. It hasn’t been that long. I’ll put a few links at the bottom of the blog.

So far, I’ve only spoken historically. No one thinks these things happen today. Eugenics is now against the law. We’ve become better. The point of studying history is so that we don’t repeat it, after all. So we are succeeding, right?

How many of you said “I’m not worried about COVID. It doesn’t kill anyone healthy, just the disabled and elderly”?

How many of you heard Dan Patrick say that opening the economy was far more important than the safety of the elderly? Just because he claimed to be “all in” doesn’t mean he spoke for the elderly community. He certainly didn’t speak for the equally vulnerable disabled community. By the way, I’m not stating this to argue about whether COVID was dangerous or not. It’s the ATTITUDE behind those comments that I’m worried about.

How do we fix this? Easy. The needs of the disabled are normal, and we are normal. Our needs are not “special”. I hate the term “special needs”. What’s so special about my needs? Do you need access to a building? So do I. Do you need the ability to communicate? So do I. Do you need access to medical care? So do I.

Do you live in this world and want access to be able to experience life in every way? So do I. Then why are my needs considered “special”?

Our needs are not special, and we are normal. To consider us abnormal opens the way to treat us like we don’t matter, and to ignore anything that happens to us. In the past, this has led to discrimination, segregation, eugenics, and even genocides among marginalized groups, not just the disabled. Don’t let it happen again.

Crime rates against the disabled

History Eugenics

The Right to Marry

Universities and Experimentation

Josef Mengele