Disabilities and Political Correctness

[brssmnky]

I'll just say this again, but in real big letters... if you use a wheelchair, are Deaf, Visually Impaired, whatever, I'M NOT TELLING ANYONE WHAT TO CALL YOURSELF. My comments are directed more towards the people who are non-disabled and interact in this forum. Why do you think this forum is "divers with disabilities" and not "handicaps only" or whatever? The wonderful people who run Scubaboard (and by the way, Kudos for this new form, I think it's awesome) probably checked with advocacy groups and they told them, this is what it needs to be. For me, it's a matter of dignity. The word handicapped paints a picture to many people of some poor wreched sould on the corner of the street begging for money. Oh, let's pitty him. Seriously ask a bunch of non-disabled people what they think of when you say "handicapped." I gaurantee most will tell you a wheelchair. Notice there's no person in that wheelchair.

Does anyone (out loud & in public anyway) still call different racial minority groups the same offensive words they've been called in the past. Did these groups say, "I don't care what you call me, as long as I can get equality." No, because they knew that you can't hope to be viewed as equal until you take away the negative words associated with your minority group. I am Keith first, and many other things before I am a person with a disability. But when you get to that distinction, I would prefer to be a person who, oh, by the way, also has a disability. Lord knows I've referred to myself as a gimp on several occasions, but that's very different from someone else calling me that.

And yes, I would love to see every stair disapear and be replaced with ramps. Part of what the organization where I work does is build ramps on homes for people who can't afford it. There's a 1 year waiting list for people who are confined, yes confined, to their homes. This is one of many underfunded programs. Maybe it would be more funded if our metro government thought more along the lines of this is the right thing to do for a person, who oh by the way has a disability... Instead of well, we can only give so many handouts to those handicapped. Yes it's a small distinction in words, but it may make a big difference.

That's my two cents, and I hope this didn't have an angry tone to it because that's not how I typed it and not how I mean it to come across.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

A person with a disability calling them themselves a gimp is appropriate while a non disabled person calling a disabled person a gimp is defintely wrong. Kieth makes a great point about the imagry that some words produce and how this shapes how people view someone based on a term.

Who uses the word is important. It's the same as a black person or group of black persons referring to themselves using the "N" word. This works just fine in the right social circumstances, but I can't think of any social situation where it would be appropriate for my white self to be referring to a black person with the N word.

So, while I know it's hard for some people, lets all try to be at least a little sensitive about proper terminology. It's kinda like being DIR and having someone refer to your BP/wing as a "BC", "stab jacket", etc. - In some circumstances it could be considered insulting.

Then there is the new HIPA BS.

HIPPA has nothing to do with disability - it's a law regulating the release of protected health information.

HIPPA is in fact a monument to govermental stupidity and what happens when the people who write the regulations to implement a law designed to streamline electronic payment of insurance claims get totally out of control, miss the point and inflict a needless and set of regulations that decrease effective communication and efficiency on the entire health care profession. Really, really stupid, but not disability related.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

First of all if I were politically correct I wouldn't be me, too late to change now.

Secondly I'm an instructor. I have dealt with handicapped divers. One lady I know has a condition which is steadily leading her downhill. She is stubborn which is probably the main reason she was able to dive at all. She had to be stubborn.

But labels aside, I have encouraged her to not dive unless she dives with a professional which has been trained to work with handicapped divers. I was unable to get this point through to her until I used the polically incorrect label. She is a danger to herself and to anyone that she dives with.

 

[cudachaser]

An interesting twist on these terminologies...Several years ago whe I did my HSAI training with Jim Gatacre (Dir of HSAI), the question arose as to why Jim still continues to call the organization the Handicapped Scuba Association and thats not a politcally name. Well Jim..who is disabiled himself said "when I started this in 1985, handicapped was accepted and I coined the organization this name...well over the years, terminologies have changed and I'm not changing my organization's name to fit every political whim"

Joe

 

[brssmnky]

An interesting twist on these terminologies...Several years ago whe I did my HSAI training with Jim Gatacre (Dir of HSAI), the question arose as to why Jim still continues to call the organization the Handicapped Scuba Association and thats not a politcally name. Well Jim..who is disabiled himself said "when I started this in 1985, handicapped was accepted and I coined the organization this name...well over the years, terminologies have changed and I'm not changing my organization's name to fit every political whim"

Joe

Which, of coarse, is perfectly understandable. Afterall, the NAACP is still the NAACP.

 

[medical1]

An interesting twist on these terminologies...Several years ago whe I did my HSAI training with Jim Gatacre (Dir of HSAI), the question arose as to why Jim still continues to call the organization the Handicapped Scuba Association and thats not a politcally name. Well Jim..who is disabiled himself said "when I started this in 1985, handicapped was accepted and I coined the organization this name...well over the years, terminologies have changed and I'm not changing my organization's name to fit every political whim"

Joe

Funny thread. I met Fraser Bathgate - Head of the IAHD while I was at DEMA in Houston this year. We had a discussion regarding this exact matter. They have offices in Japan, Greece, Korea, Spain, etc and they don't have a problem with the name. Are they politically correct :06: Their definition is as follows

The International Association for Handicapped Divers (IAHD) is a diving association, which has focused upon providing the means for those with physical disabilities who wish to become scuba divers.

 

[JustinW]

Right on Wayne!!!
yeah i find it very annoying that we have the PC police down the backs of everyone, it is especcially annoying this time of year during the "holiday season." I say holiday season because i refer to thanksgiving, christmas and new years. It bugs me that we cannot say merry christmas but instead must say happy holidays so as to not offend people that celebrate other things or nothing at all. I have yet to meet someone who is actually offended by a christmas card or a christmas greeting. The political correct thing has gone off the deep end. Welcome gimps and stumpies, I am Justin, the stiff back cripple, my back constantly bothers me with a dull pain since being rear ended in monterey by truck at a high rate of speed while I was parked.

I have always thought that the PC term Asian-American to be more offensive than any non-PC term to describe anyone with "oriental" phenotypes. Especially when considering that Russia is in asia, so in reality, being from asia isn't even the requirement for being an asian american, and there are peoples from off the asian continent that are asian american, so asian-american is just an ignorant word to lump together anyone with similar physical features or genetic phenotypes. Sorry to run so off track, but thought i would lay down some ideas while I was agreeing with Wayne.

 

[miketsp]

Can a golfer with a disability still be handicapped or is that offensive too?

 

[miketsp]

Will I ever be forgiven for buying some gear and other stuff I called "Used" instead of "Pre-owned"?

I got corrected on that last night.

Flippin idiot has way to much time on his hands!

Then there is the new HIPA BS.

Gary D.

In many countries "used" gear, sorry, "pre-owned" gear is second-hand gear. So maybe that's offensive to people who only have one hand!

All this reminds me of Golliwogs when I was a kid. Very few people considered them racially offensive. All of a sudden a few people with warped minds took offense and they were banned.

 

[divemed06]

I'll just say this again, but in real big letters... if you use a wheelchair, are Deaf, Visually Impaired, whatever, I'M NOT TELLING ANYONE WHAT TO CALL YOURSELF. My comments are directed more towards the people who are non-disabled and interact in this forum. Why do you think this forum is "divers with disabilities" and not "handicaps only" or whatever? The wonderful people who run Scubaboard (and by the way, Kudos for this new form, I think it's awesome) probably checked with advocacy groups and they told them, this is what it needs to be. For me, it's a matter of dignity. The word handicapped paints a picture to many people of some poor wreched sould on the corner of the street begging for money. Oh, let's pitty him. Seriously ask a bunch of non-disabled people what they think of when you say "handicapped." I gaurantee most will tell you a wheelchair. Notice there's no person in that wheelchair.

Does anyone (out loud & in public anyway) still call different racial minority groups the same offensive words they've been called in the past. Did these groups say, "I don't care what you call me, as long as I can get equality." No, because they knew that you can't hope to be viewed as equal until you take away the negative words associated with your minority group. I am Keith first, and many other things before I am a person with a disability. But when you get to that distinction, I would prefer to be a person who, oh, by the way, also has a disability. Lord knows I've referred to myself as a gimp on several occasions, but that's very different from someone else calling me that.

And yes, I would love to see every stair disapear and be replaced with ramps. Part of what the organization where I work does is build ramps on homes for people who can't afford it. There's a 1 year waiting list for people who are confined, yes confined, to their homes. This is one of many underfunded programs. Maybe it would be more funded if our metro government thought more along the lines of this is the right thing to do for a person, who oh by the way has a disability... Instead of well, we can only give so many handouts to those handicapped. Yes it's a small distinction in words, but it may make a big difference.

That's my two cents, and I hope this didn't have an angry tone to it because that's not how I typed it and not how I mean it to come across.

I understand your point, however, not everyone needs to agree with you or use the terminology you use. Many words have many meenings for many different people. Like saying if a person is normal...well, normality is defined by those within the "normal" subgroup and is therfore a bias term. Furthermore, if you look at a standard deviation curve, you'll note that "average" is right in the middle of the distribution. That means that "average" is actually the furthest point from either extremity, and therfore should not be termed normal. All this to say that the average person who thinks he or she is normal is neither normal or average. Accept that someone who says "handicap" on this forum is not saying it to be meen or impolite, and that in many social circles, the term handicap IS accepted and used by people who are disabled and those around them.