This is a difficult line to understand for a lot of people, even inside the disabled community. Some vigilantly believe that people with disabilities ought never be pitied, which means that anything nearing pity is an atrocity. This often makes the disability into not only a defining characteristic, but almost the goal of life for someone with a disability. They seem to think that the disability is actually a good thing, and thereby ought not be a cause for concern, empathy, or anything else nearing pity.
Mike Matthews of the Life, Faith and Disability blog (excellent blog, Mr. Matthews!), struggles with that very tension in his most recent post: For Noah:
Noah was born with cerebral palsy... I know a lot people in my field of work would be mad at me when I say it makes me sad to see this little boy going through this. There’s a difference between pity and compassion and my heart just went out to him...I think too many people in the independent living movement and the disability community inside that movement are too hard. If a person would say I feel bad about that person having to deal with their disability than they would get mad and say that your pitying them, and in a lot of cases that is not true. It’s not pity to care for someone else and the circumstances they face. God has called us to community and in a community each member must care about the next. We who have disabilities have a choice to make. We can use our lives to bring glory to God and encourage others or be prideful idiots and be miserable in our own circumstances. I hear it all the time in the disability community from people saying they don’t want to inspire anyone. I’m sorry to tell you, but if your disabled and are living an independent life, you’re empowering people to know they can do it to. So get off your high horse and encourage someone in your life today.
I think that's enough said, thanks to Mr. Matthews - be sure to keep up with his blog too!
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