Saturday, July 11, 2009

Busting Sterotypes

Su Rinas Leone remembers being a little girl when Jeff was 15, and some of the older boys calling
him, "Retard! Retard!" She continues, "Jeff seemed confused and shamed at the same time. His head ducked down and he looked at them laughing. He wanted to laugh, too! But he knew they weren't being nice. Those Big Jerks! I don't remember what I said, but I remember being MAD!" I believe Su saw him as being more like other children than different.~~~Laughter -- Good or Bad?~~~ Can it be good when we laugh about disabilities? I discovered the website: familyvillage.wisc.edu where Judy Bently from State University of NY talks about jokes that make us laugh, then rethink our own assumptions and sterotypes about unexamined issues. There are cartoons called "dizABLED" with the hero, LEEDER O. MEN whose real-life twin, Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham, is featured in videos. He has spinabifida, but that doesn't slow him down. Aaron has made his wheelchair into a fun toy, combining half-pipe Bmx and skateboarding into "Hardcore Sitting." The dizABLED cartoons reflect some of the things Aaron CAN do with his wheelchair. AMAZING!! Check it out!!

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