Throwback Thursday

One year ago in Disability Thinking: “The Definition Of Ableism”

Unless I’m thinking of a different case, I believe this one turned out well, with the child being returned to her mother. I still think there is unexplored territory related to the deeply ingrained prejudices that can be held by child welfare workers, prejudices that are bolstered by personal conviction and intensified by thoughts of the consequences if something were to “go wrong” resulting in a harmed child, or worse.

Two years ago in Disability Thinking: “Alex and Frederic Bilodeau”

Here’s a post about one of my first dives into the subject of “Inspiration Porn.” As I reread it, it occurs to me that one reason journalists keep going back to these “inspirational” disability stories is that they are so simple, and so familiar. Little or no explanation is required. Viewers know exactly what the story is going to be about as soon as a smiling disabled person is introduced in a family context. Adding a bunch of uncomfortable questions or unexpected twists to these stories would cause them to overrun their 5-minute segment limits.