Some articles on the disability rights movements

The first article is a description and analysis of the politics of the disability rights movements. The second is a blog post on the article that takes the sentiments of the article a little further. The disability rights movements are frequently ignored, not only within mainstream society and media, but also within leftist/radical society, media, and movements. I remember taking part in an anti-racist, anti-oppression workshop that focused on racism but spent a lot of time evaluating intersectionality and other forms of oppression. Yet so much of the language used in everyday conversation and organizing is ableist (stand up for your rights, speak up/make your voice heard, step up, etc), and that was something both the organizers and participants struggled with at times.

I think it is particularly important that we begin integrating a fuller analysis of ableism and disability rights into other anti-oppression movements because disability and ableism intersect with other movements to a much greater extent than many people realize. For example, a high percentage of prisoners have mental illness(es), and many who do not when they enter prison acquire one due to the physical, social, and emotional conditions of prisons. People of color are also much more frequently "diagnosed" with particular learning disabilities, particular black males. I know of one case where a recent African immigrant was diagnosed with an anger management/behavioral problem--never mind the fact that his family moved to the U.S. as war refugees and he had probably seen some uncool things prior to being moved from his home country to a new and unfamiliar one where he had to learn a new language, etc, etc. Yet his treatment did not involve therapy for any of this or additional English lessons, simply seclusion from his classmates and work on behavior control techniques. Due to the fact that some analysts estimate fewer than a third of adults with impairments/disabilities in the U.S. have jobs, and because many who do have low-paying jobs, disability is also strongly associated with poverty. Any movement that attempts to take class into consideration and fight for better economic conditions is sorely limited by its lack of consideration for disability rights.

I think you get the idea. I think it is also important to mention that, just as general models of health and sickness vary from culture to culture and country to country, models of disability do too. While the lives of many people with disabilities are more difficult in other countries, in some countries and cultures people with disabilities fare far better. In some cases, people we would consider to have a disability in the U.S. are not considered disabled in other places! (This happens even within the U.S., as is the case with deaf people's self-perception and identity vs. that of mainstream society.) Anyway, the articles are below.

http://ww3.wpunj.edu/newpol/issue31/malhot31.htm

http://gatheringforces.org/2010/02/13/thoughts-on-politics-of-the-disability-rights-movement/