When it comes to the topic of disability in society, I am interested in learning about what are the current support mechanisms for people with disabilities. While it is true that various anti-discrimination laws have been passed to enable people with disabilities to get jobs and be able to live life “normally,” I want to understand what other practices have been put in place that focus on social understanding and education when it comes to people interacting with the disabled.
All too often, people seem to think that since a person is disabled, they would be unable to function normally or are unable to have a normal life. This is erroneous since the disabled often finding various methods to adapt to their unique situation. It is based on this perspective that I hope to learn what practices are currently being developed and have been put into effect to help the general public better understand the current predicament surrounding the disabled.
I believe that the disabled should not be pitied or treated any differently; rather, it would be best for people to acclimatize to their presence and think of them as normally as possible. Throughout my studies into this topic, I hope to better understand the current support mechanisms that are in place, what has been done so far and what are the possible plans for the future when it comes to helping the disabled adapt to their situation.
Eugenics can be described as a form of improving the “genetic stock” of humanity through selective “breeding” practices that encourage the development of positive traits and the removal of negative qualities.
Proponents towards the implementation of eugenics state that with proper control of who can have children and with whom, this would help in lessening the number of children born with undesirable traits such as autism, genetic diseases or genetic bloodlines that have a propensity towards the development of heart problems, diabetes or an assortment of other possible issues.
While from a logical point of view eugenics makes sense, from a moral perspective it is completely immoral since it in effect dictates who a person can and cannot love. The right to produce children is an intrinsic and inalienable human right and is something that cannot be arbitrarily removed for the sake of “improving” human genetics as a whole.
There is also the issue of social discrimination that would inevitably arise from such a practice and the abuse people with “lower class” genetic material would receive due to no fault of their own aside from the manner of their birth. It is due to this that I cannot support such a practice from a moral point of view; however, I do understand it from a scientific mindset yet still find it completely irreprehensible.
The case of Maysoon Zayid is a great way to see how a person with a disability views their current situation. It is shown that she views her disability as something that does not prevent her from living a normal life, rather, it just makes it a bit more difficult to do so. Through the use of comedy, she tries to emphasize that people with disabilities are just as normal as everyone else and should be treated the same.