Comments on: Disability as Entertainment

By: Sarah@EmergingMummy

Sarah@EmergingMummy — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 02:56:52 +0000

Bad lurker here. I read everything but rarely comment, I'm afraid. I just wanted to say that this is a true and beautiful post, raw and vulnerable. Thanks for writing this.

By: Karl

Karl — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:09:39 +0000

"So often this is about people not knowing what to do with us, sometimes just a little education or suggestions for tweaks can make a huge difference."

Julie, that's a great point. Often people want to do the right thing to accommodate or make a differently abled person comfortable and able to participate simply as one human being among many, but just aren't sure what the "right thing" is. They don't want to be patronizing, but they don't want to be callous. They don't want to make unwarranted assumptions – some people are very self-conscious about their disability while others act so naturally about it that everyone forgets about it within 30 seconds. People don't want to offend by either omission or commission, and are afraid that whatever they do or say may be the wrong thing. This causes awkwardness, which is felt by all parties. I know I've experienced this anyway and some helpful suggestions and education would have been very welcome.

By: Julie Clawson

Julie Clawson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:50:19 +0000

Kevin – thank you so much for sharing that link! I really appreciated this statement from the site – "PHAMALY also educates other theatre professionals in methods of adapting their performances to include differently abled actors."
So often this is about people not knowing what to do with us, sometimes just a little education or suggestions for tweaks can make a huge difference.

By: Kevin Pettit

Kevin Pettit — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:05:22 +0000

Thank you very much Julie for highlighting this embarrassment for those who watch little TV. Shows like the one described are sadly rather natural; but, the natural human instinct to notice differences in people, and to objectify them as "other", stems from vestiges of a very low rung on the evolutionary ladder.

Human beings are capable of so much more. The acting company, of which I am a part, named PHAMALY is a group of actors, dancers, and singers that happen to have a variety of disabilities. We're good not because were a bunch of disabled folk who can draw on the audience's compassion and move them 'because we're trying so hard'. We're good and draw large crowds because we're very talented actors, dancers, and singers. We're simply damned good!

Our website is http://www.phamaly.org.

Come see PHAMALY present entertainment that just so happens to be produced by people who are considered by some people as 'disabled'!

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:03:10 +0000

Tia Lynn: I knew Julie was missing an arm, and I *still* didn't catch on to the name of her blog until Dawn's comment!

By: Julie Clawson

Julie Clawson — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:45:36 +0000

Hil – great meeting you too! I wish we had had more time to chat personally.

By: Hil

Hil — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:28:32 +0000

Julie(s) -

I loved meeting you tonight. My blog is focused on much less important topics than yours … but I am a woman of faith and tolerance and look forward to continuing a conversation with you.

By: Tia Lynn

Tia Lynn — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:54:21 +0000

wow…I know I already posted how I never realized that you were missing an arm, but I only JUST NOW got the name of your blog…onehandclapping. Boy, am I slow or what!

By: Karl

Karl — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:06:54 +0000

Good post and good reminders, Julie. Reading about your experiences made me both angry and sad. Hopefully also, more committed to treating people with disabilities just plain normally – with consideration if they need extra help with something but without condescension or embarrasment/awkwardness.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:38:14 +0000

Julie, thanks for this post. I found your blog quite by accident one day and I don't really recall how. I might have been on another person's blog that linked to yours… At any rate, I was drawn to it because of the title; onehandclapping.

My daughter who is 11 had a stroke in-utero and has little functional use of her left hand. Over the years, she has mastered the art of one hand clapping. As an 11 year old girl, she's not as comfortable in her skin as you are, but I pray she will be one day. She is a masterpiece in my eyes.

Thanks for sharing.