The provocative film Sound and Fury and the article Deaf to Good Sense by John Leo help to raise questions about whether or not our society is correct striving for normalization for all members, or is there a group of people who are united in the conviction that a new culture has developed among the disabled ? This culture can be likened to that of deaf people, who have long had their own language. What happens, though to an individual who has just gotten a cochlear implant and is able to talk on the phone for the first time? Is this truly a happy moment? Immediately, he/she is rejected by his/her deaf friends. Exactly where does

The disability culture is a movement that embraces disability as a necessary valued part of people’s lives. Artists with disabilities generate art, music, literature and other expressions of emotions that reflect their experience (VSA arts: Disability Culture).

Ethical issues are likely to arise when there is a clash in view points between what parents or the community wants and what the professional views as needed. I feel that we must work at understanding and respecting both perspectives. In my opinion, there may be generalizations to make about a group, in terms of beliefs, values, actions, but these generalizations can not be applied to all members of a group. Members of every group are not only shaped by culture, but also by acculturation, gender, roles, age, income, education etc( Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services). Recognizing intra-group differences is critical and helps to avoid stereotyping. Many reasons why persons with disabilities place a threat on society is because others are naive and do not know all of the facts concerning the disability. As a society, we create boundaries in which there are norms. People outside of these norms are considered deviant. Often times families do not want to hurt their “reputation”, so instead of helping the member of the family, they try to “change” the individual in order for them to fit in. The history of disabilities has been characterized by the progressive development of several models of disability: religious, medical and the rights based model. These models have set standards in which we react or treat people with disabilities. Although these models have become more complicated over the years, their content remains the same, that of ”otherness”. Otherness comes in many different and various ways. Physical disability is not the only attribute that society reflects upon. There are cognitive differences, emotional distress, autism and mental retardation ( The Practical Skeptic). Even though we know that treating others poorly because of something that is wrong, we still tend to stigmatize the disabled. Through research, I discovered that there are three types of stigmatism: tribal, physical, and character. Tribal stigmatism deals with being a member of a certain group; physical stigmatism consists of a bodily deformity, and character stigmatism refers to morals and standards which we live our life by( The Practical Skeptic). Stigma is a stain on our character which negatively affects others and their identity is spoiled by negative assumptions. I believe that diversity is natural, and we need to recognize it outside the classification of difference. Yet difference is simply a construction of ideology not a state of reality. Therefore, we as a society need to rise up and educate ourselves to the point where we are comfortable with ourselves and are able to embrace the differences in others. I feel that unconditional acceptance is the answer.

I feel that society should focus on highlighting issues without being judgmental, as well as providing information and options to make good decisions. People with disabilities are like you and me. They may look, move or act differently sometimes, but they strive toward similar goals. They do not want to be treated differently, on the contrary, they want the same things in life that we do…to be loved, appreciated, respected and productive.

The term culture has been defined as” a learned system of meaning, behavior” from one generation to the next, and as “all the customs, values, and traditions that are learned from one’s environment.” In every culture there is a set of people who have common and shared values; customs, habits and rituals; systems of labeling, explanations and evaluations, social rules and behavior; perceptions regarding human nature, natural phenomena,, interpersonal relationships, time and activities; and symbols, art and artifacts.

Some topics in this essay:
Skeptic Stigma, John Leo, Services Recognizing, Practical Skeptic, Culture Eager, Culture Ethical, Disability Culture, Children Stare”, Disabilities Act, Disabled Action, people disabilities, disability culture, feed them”, bite hands feed, bite hands, hands feed, practical skeptic, hands feed them”, eager bite hands, eager bite, persons disabilities, arts disability culture, culture eager, arts disability, culture eager bite,