Inspiration Me Not: The Oppressive Cycle

Last Thursday, I was delivering documents to the Social Security office. This random guy struck up a conversation with me. During the conversation, he informed me that he was proud of me and that I must be strong as he would not be able to handle having a disability.

There is no reason for this guy to be proud of me as he does not know me; this guy does not know any of my accomplishments (or if I even have any), nor what my day to day life is really like. I simply was an inspiration to him due to my disability.

The ironic factor of this conversation was our location. There are no inspirational terms connected with going to Social Security. In my mind, I am at the place that represents the lowest part of my being; there is no pride in collecting Social Security at age 24. The simple fact that he finds me inspiring because I have a physical disability is demeaning.

This situation paints the perfect picture of how society views people with disabilities. All this guy knows about me is that I use a wheelchair and I collect Social Security - how is this inspirational?

There should be a reason to be proud of someone. And even though it is well-intentioned, it is still demeaning when an "inspirational term" is cast upon a person for no reason at all. I want people to talk to me as a human being, not an inspiration and then give credit when credit is due. Empowerment does not come from false success.

The high standard of success is lost when a person with a disability is considered inspirational for just having a disability. This treatment of people with disabilities perpetuates the view that a person with a disability cannot be a viable member of society as there is no expectation.

Disabled people are stuck in an oppressive cycle. If there are low expectations, then there is no need for access. If there is no need for access, then there is no way for a disabled person to be successful and if there is no way to be successful, there is no success to raise the bar of expectation; thus society's standards are kept low.

This situation exposes the social stigma that those of us with disabilities are not capable of accomplishing anything more than just being alive. Because of this low expectation, society does not see a need to provide access for any higher accomplishment.

Until society stops viewing the disabled as "inspirations" (for simply being disabled) rather than their accomplishments, people with disabilities will continue to be stuck in an oppressive cycle.

A Pageant for Advocates: Ms. Wheelchair Washington 2017

This past weekend, I had the incredible opportunity of running for Ms. Wheelchair Washington 2017! I truly enjoyed the ability to share my platform on an equal opportunity for people with disabilities. Ms. Wheelchair is an organization that promotes disability advocacy.  Women have the opportunity to run for the state title, and if they win, they can go on to compete for Ms. Wheelchair America, all while advocating for disability rights through their platform. 


At the pageant, I also saw and met so many amazing people! Ms. Wheelchair is an awesome way to make contacts and just meet some pretty sweet people! Thank you to everyone that made this opportunity possible, and thank you to everyone who was cheering me on! I so, so appreciate it!
Here is my speech and my answers to the two random questions I was asked!