Public Perception of Person's with Disability

In Nancy Mairs’ article for The New York Times, “Disability”, published in 1987, she expresses her distaste with the media's representation of handicapped people. Mairs, who struggled with multiple sclerosis herself, clearly and sharply conveys this disgust by stating, “I’m not, for instance, Ms. MS, a walking, talking embodiment of a chronic incurable degenerative disease.” (Mairs 13), and that she is actually, “the advertisers’ dream: Ms. Great American Consumer. And yet the advertisers, who determine nowadays who will get represented publicly and who will not, deny the existence of me and my kind absolutely”(Mairs 14). Mairs is greatly upset that disabled people are defined by their disabilities and, therefore, are underrepresented in public media. This might lead to one asking themselves, but why are they? And the answer, according to Mairs, is quite simple, “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of daily life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anybody’s life”(Mairs 14). Mairs concludes by pointing out how this effacement could have dangerous consequences for both disabled people and, as she called everyone else, TAPs (Temporarily Abled Persons) alike. Treating disabilities as an abnormal characteristic (as opposed to viewing them “as a normal characteristic, one that complicates but does not ruin human existence” (Mairs 15)) can cause one of these repercussions, as it makes the

Lennie has his mind set on one thing. That is getting out of the barn and getting his own piece of land with George. This dream motivates Lennie to always listen and follow what George says. There he can finally tend the rabbits he has always wanted. Lennie loves petting things such as small animals and dresses which usually leads him to trouble.

Ultimately Americans’ view disabilities as something that needs medical treatment and educational intervention. Other cultures views toward individuals with disabilities are both similar and different in some ways. Pacific Islanders believing that disabilities are a result of their ancestors wrong doing, individuals from the Philippines believing that that a disability is a curse and reject the individuals, and the Chamorro culture believes that individuals with disabilities should be protected because disabilities are a gift from good.

This is the first mention we have of the American dream. Even from the introduction, it seems Lennie is more excited than George about the prospect. George’s easy dismissal of "them rabbits" makes it seem as though he thinks the whole thing is silly. This will get more difficult as we realize that George might be as excited about the dream as Lennie; it seems he is just more cautious about that excitement, given that he’s more knowledgeable than his companion.

The article “introducing disability Studies” by Ronald J. Berger was an eye opener in uncovering the past history of negative stigma associated with having a disability. Through history people have felt the need to stare at people with disabilities or to turn away in fear of maybe contracting the “disease”. This negative attitude was positively reinforced by ordinances such as the Chicago “ugly law” in which a person with physical deformities would have to pay a fine for simply being too “disgusting” looking to other citizens. This law was in place from 1880 to 1973, which is pretty recent in history. However there are positive glimpse in history when it came to uncovering and defining disabilities. Men like Leo Kanner and Asperger have dedicated

In “On Being a Cripple,”  Nancy Mairs describes her life as a “cripple,” being treated different for her multiple sclerosis. She describes how society views her as handicapped or disabled both which are terms that the author dislikes.  Her viewpoint makes readers question their own beliefs on how the terms handicapped, disabled, or cripple influences a person to think differently about each term and its meaning. One of the reasons I chose this essay was because the author shows how different terms could affect the way society thinks about a person. Mairs believes that society often judge others based on their physical appearance and use the terms handicapped, disabled, or cripple to label. She argues that the outcome of this is creates an idea where being a cripple, or being disabled is considered a taboo where you're expected to be treated differently. Mairs claims that society i

First of all George and Lennie’s dream was to own a farm that Lennie was the most

with George where he can take care of rabbits. One night, before arriving at the ranch, Lennie and George camp by the Salinas River and talk about their hopes for the future. Lennie says to George, “Tell about what we’re gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits,” (14). Later in the story, Lennie is in the barn with Sometimes dreams don’t come true

The mainstream press today when discussing a disabled celebrity disregards many of the persons accomplishments throughout their life, but instead focuses and finds themselves becoming more and more susceptible to drawing attention to their disability alone. Charles A. Riley II enlightens the able-bodied community on many issue’s throughout his book, “Disability and the Media: Prescriptions for Change.” He argues that the media is inaccurately depicting the disabled community throughout the use of advertisements, but may also be unintentionally disrespecting the community as well in face-to-face contact. Riley is a professor of journalism at Baruch College, and throughout his career, has received multiple awards for his writing’s on issues relating to disability. In Charles A. Riley II excerpt from “Disability and the Media: Prescriptions for Change”, Riley argues for a change from the media’s perception of disabled people, as a whole, due to how they are portraying celebrities within today’s media throughout the use of ethos, logos, and pathos.

Well, George and Lennie are using their dream as a goal to reach. George is telling a story about him and Lennie being different from other people, not only because they have each other, but also they know they will be able to get their own land. “‘Tell me- like you done before.’ ‘Tell you what?’ ‘'About the rabbits.’

Invisible disabilities are exactly what they seem to be: hidden from view. Invisible disabilities come in almost endless varieties, including mental illnesses, HIV, AIDS, diabetes, learning disabilities, epilepsy, and more. While there may be visible components to these disabilities, all of them can be virtually invisible and “hidden” from view. People often make assumptions based on what is visibly seen, so when someone is suffering from something invisible, it is assumed that the person is fine, because they appear to be fine. This assumption causes the reinforcement of stereotypes and prejudice that form misconceptions regarding invisible disabilities. Despite these physical and psychological

Someday—we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and—""An' live off the fatta the lan'," Lennie shouted. "An' have rabbits. Go on, George! Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in the winter and the stove, and how thick the cream is on the milk like you can hardly cut it. Tell about that George.""Why'n't you do it yourself? You know all of it."No…you tell it. It ain't the same if I tell it. Go on…George. How I get to tend the rabbits." This shows how Lennie had a dream to live in a farm and tend rabbits despite his mind of a child he had a dream that he wanted to accomplish.It also states in “Mice &Men (pg.52):”The voices came close now. George raised the gun and listened to the voices. Lennie begged, “Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now.” “Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta.” And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger.”This further shows how Lennie had a dream to live in this farm with George,but George decided to end his life and his dream just because of the way he was born. Many people

His dream is to just touch rabbits and soft things and not hurt them and trust George that he will be able to do that. “The rabbits we’re gonna get, and I get to tend’em cut grass an give’em water.” (69) Lennie has hope in the American Dream to pet rabbits and his hope never dies no matter what Crooks or other tell him. “I said s’pose George went into the town tonight and you never heard of him no more.” (71) Crooks tries to give Lennie a harsh reality that people can be selfish and forget about their dream.

Society’s ideological constructs and attitudes towards minority groups are created and reinforced through media imagery. Although negative associations that maintain inequities with regard to race, gender and homophobia (Conner & Bejoian, 2006) have been somewhat relieved, disability is still immersed in harmful connotations that restrict and inhibit the life of people with disabilities in our society.

Mass media allows many people in society to understand different problems and receive news around the world. In the United States, mass media plays a big role in portraying stereotypes and creating stigmas, especially for people with disabilities. It can be very difficult for people who do not have a disability to portray the feelings of someone with a disability or understand how to create media that does not contain stereotypes of people with disabilities.