http://pushliving.com/dear-media-please-stop-saying-we-are-bound-to-wheelchairs

 

To those who say we are “bound” “victims” or other patronizing terms;  Dear Media:  Please Stop Saying We Are “Wheelchair Bound”

How many times do we have to tell you that we are not “wheelchair-bound”? I know you see the letters, the comments on articles, and Facebook groups whose sole purpose is to help you understand.

Yet over and over again the media insists on using the most dramatic, ableist, and sensational terms when referring to people who happened to have a disability.

“Meet the woman helping wheelchair-bound people dance”:

For TODAY, NBC’s Morgan Radford reports on a woman who wants to help make life a little better for people who are wheelchair bound by giving them the chance to dance.” http://www.today.com/video/meet-the-woman-helping-wheelchair-bound-people-dance-648120899918

‘BEYond excited!’ Wheelchair-bound model with muscular dystrophy stars in Beyonce’s new merchandise campaign
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3497703/BEYond-excited-Beyonce-taps-wheelchair-bound-model-muscular-dystrophy-pose-new-merchandise-campaign.html

I am sure it helps you sell ad space, as people love a good victim-overcomes-tragedy story, or how an “Inspiration Porn” feature helps make able bodied folks realize just how lucky they are, but this type of angle is offensive and is defeating all the efforts for normalization, integration, and anti-stigmatism we are all working to achieve.  We honestly do not want, nor do we need, the sensationalism.  We just need equal rights, job opportunities, friendship, love, and access.

So, please, stop it.

We use wheelchairs for mobility.  We are not bound or “confined” to or by them. That terminology is antiquated, and does not reflect how we care to be perceived. It does not even meet the professional standards provided in the National Center on Disability and Journalism Style Guide. It is also clearly an attempt to overdramatize, stigmatize, and marginalize who we are as people (even while you are purportedly trying to feature us positively.) Stephen Feldman helps to put this in perspective: “It’s social darwinism. Wheelchair-bound = less than, less deserving, to put it mildly. “Wheelchair-bound” positively drips with pity. It keeps us in our place — bound to our wheelchairs.”

And, while we’re at it, we are also not “victims” of autism, cerebral palsy or any of our disabilities.

In case it is still not clearly understood, comprehended, or you just need a more visual clarification of what it is that we’re trying to communicate, here’s a picture to help illustrate the difference.

Here is someone who is clearly BOUND to the wheelchair.

Woman seen bound by tape with words written on tape conveying negative stereotypes about disability

“A Paralyzed Life” Image of Rachelle Friedman by Ira Goldstein

Here is someone who USES a wheelchair.

Blonde woman in yellow wheelchair smiling into camera

Model Wendy Crawford is the founder of Mobilewoman.org

So, to the Today Show, and all other media outlets who want to do a positive story about a person who is wheelchair dancing with the fabulous, integrated dance troupe Infinite Flow, doing something noble and exceptional (and no, getting married and getting asked to the prom is not a remarkable accomplishment, so you can also stop patronizing us with these types of stories), creating a remarkable new enterprise, or simply winning the Nobel prize, please remember to be BOUND by what is the morally and factually correct way to describe an entire group of individuals who are trying to overcome pity, fear, and discrimination.

Continuing to use these type of words and descriptions are not helping.

– See more at: http://pushliving.com/dear-media-please-stop-saying-we-are-bound-to-wheelchairs/#sthash.nO0QmiGT.dpuf

hi everybody, I just wanted to write this again if you need to talk I’m here; I am still working on, having a coaching program and hopefully one day I will be able to open my own life coaching business/support network to do what I love more than anything is helping others! Please share this group and the page.  Thank you so much for your support. https://www.facebook.com/LiveLifeOfLoveWithInYourself/

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/335116573314607/.

It is hard to see and experience the beauty in life when we are sick and feel terrible. People often write me and ask for my prayers for their family during a serious and often self-inflicted health crisis. What they don’t understand is I have been praying for them for years by trying to inspire them to evolve their lifestyle. The best time to pray for your health is long before a crisis. The best prayer is a prayer of action. The best time to pray for your deliverance is today. The most sincere prayer for health is the daily prayer of respecting your body temple. You can’t dig your own grave with a spoon for decades and then expect a miracle to pull you from the depths of that deep hole because you uttered one shallow last-minute plea for help. It’s insincere. The truth is you have been praying for decades with your actions, and your unwholesome prayers are being answered. You really do get what you faithfully ask for with your actions. What are your actions asking for right now? Be careful what you ask for; you may get it. Quit abusing your body temple today. Pray for your deliverance tomorrow — by taking good care of yourself today. This message IS my prayer for you right now. I hope it will penetrate your heart and inspire you to make the changes that you need to make in your life.

— Bryant McGill

How do you show someone how much they they mean to you?   It’s not possible no matter how much you try to;  it never seems to be enough or maybe you are like me.   You don’t know the right words to let someone know how much having them always.  Than you think about it when someone says they love you;  everything else doesn’t seem to matter as much, but still it doesn’t feel enough but it only way to tell them!

’ Keep Loving’’
Keep loving because of.
Keep loving in spite of.
Keep loving when to love is most difficult.
Keep loving when you have on strength.
Keep loving because Jesus loves you in good times and bad on mountaintops and valleys.
When all else fails,
Keep Loving..
A friend loveth at all times.
Proverbers; 17;17

International Day of Happiness

Today is national happiness day.  Happiness is not having in life but being thankful for the little things;  is not having all the money that you think will give you true happiness.   It is knowing that you have everything you need if you believe that love is the key to truly being happy!  We sometimes don’t realize how much love can do,  think about it, when you are having a hard time when someone tells you that they love you;  what does that do for you ?  Letting someone know how much they mean to you, can be enough to change their day, knowing that you are not alone can help someone so much! 

Smoking

There has been something on my heart for a while now and I think it is a fitting subject to start writing on here;  I have said that I want to help people in all hard times.   But I guess what I am going to write on is not really something thought of as a hard time,  maybe to the person who is a smoker its not a big deal;  but to family and friends who love you.  maybe you smoke,   because it’s a way for you to get through the times when you felt alone or maybe you are around people who smoke.  Yes things can happen in life, we could get sick without smoking, or you have smoked all your life and you are healthy.  I have loved ones who smoke and it doesn’t mean I love them any less, I just because I don’t think smoking is good for you,  I just want my loved ones to be happy and live a healthy life.   

“You are not who you think you are. You are not your fears, your thoughts, or your body. You are not your insecurities, your career, or your memories. You’re not what you’re criticized for and you’re not what you’re praised for. You are a boundless wealth of potential. You are everything that’s ever been. Don’t sell yourself short. Every sunset, every mountain, every river, every passionate crowd, every concert, every drop of rain – that’s you. So go find yourself. Go find your strength, find your beauty, find your purpose. Stop crafting your mask. Stop hiding. Stop lying to yourself and letting people lie to you. You’re not lacking in anything except awareness. Everything you’ve ever wanted is already there, awaiting your attention, awaiting your time.”

― Vironika Tugalevap

“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me. I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.”

― José Micard Teixeira

The most powerful manifesting is realized by those who walk in love and create through love. There is no getting around this immutable truth; love creates and hate destroys. Love is the calm space of creation. People come from making love. Businesses are often built on the foundations of love and passion. The practice of love is the procreation of hope. Love is a lifelong practice. The master creators are masters of love. They inject, infuse and imbue everything they touch with the perfecting magic and miracle of love. Love is not just for people; it is also for animals, plants and even objects, which I know may seem strange to you. But what is love really? Love is a lens of an observer. Love is an attitude with action. One who walks in love sees the world through the envelope of their mission. As a servant of love every exchange passes through the practice. Through love, you see the whole world, not just people, differently.

— Bryant McGill