Beyond Tolerance: Moving Ahead Together
A Community-wide Conference Organized by the Santa Barbara School Districts
June 28, 1997
Henry Reed, Department of Rehabilitation Counselor
Persons with Disabilities
Thank you for inviting me and thank you for being here. I am here to speak my views and represent a very diverse population...people with disabilities. People with disabilities are just that, people. They come in all sizes, races and temperaments. They range in intelligence, capabilities and emotional stability. They are diverse and complex with desires, hopes and dreams. They are individuals, just like everyone else. And, just like everyone else, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and given the opportunity to reach their own potential. Using a broad definition it is estimated that as many as forty-five to fifty million Americans belong to this group. And you could join us at any time. Being remindful of our subject and in the economy of time, today, I will briefly take us...to...where we have been...where we think we are...presently...and to where we want to be...a journey...that leads us from intolerance to tolerance and beyond.
Think about this quote:
"An individual act of hatred has two victims...one, the individual upon whom the act was perpetuated, and two, the community in which the individual belongs. Please keep this in mind as the day progresses."
Intolerance has existed for millennia. People with disabilities have endured the repulsion and inhumanity for centuries. The sub-human circumstances into which people with disabilities were relegated is similar to the condition of many enslaved populations. Society mistakenly allowed myths and stereotypes to take the place of knowledge and understanding in regards to people with disabilities. The incredible efforts made by many, from well known public figures with disabilities such as Helen Keller, Harriet Tubman and modern day "Superman" Christopher Reeve to millions of ordinary people, have changed the stereotype of the "cripple" from a paternalized, pitied, non-entity to a person with human foibles who just happens to have a disability. Remember, yesterday was a time without: telephones, electricity (invented by a person with disability), lightweight crutches, folding wheelchairs, curb cuts, elevators, hearing aids, independent living, access, and legal rights, etc. These are just a few of the reasons which have permitted people with disabilities to emerge into the realms in which they now reside. But let us NOT forget yesterday was without TOLERANCE.
Well, you and I have come an impressive distance to today. And today, on the extreme margin, there is violent crime perpetrated against people with disabilities. For instance, a 1997 article by the California District Attorneys Association reports that violent crime is experienced by people with severe disabilities at a rate five times greater than the general population. The report continues, expert opinion and evidence indicate that when crimes against people with disabilities are reported, there is a lower rate of police follow-up, prosecution and conviction. Negative stereotypes and prejudice by law officers are some of the reasons listed by the report as why this could happen today. Nevertheless...people with disabilities have an extensive array of inventions, advances in sciences and technology to assist in accommodating their limited functions, from power wheelchairs in reading and speaking computers, sociological concepts of independence, along with federal civil rights laws finally passed in 1990. All of which have helped to create a more incorporated citizenry where individual independence is a goal but NOT to the exclusion of interdependence nor to the extent of inclusiveness we as a society want to endorse.
And TODAY...we must recognize what is performing this function of inclusiveness. For instance, a concept that began in architecture called universal design is doing just that. If I use chairs, I know people with mobility disabilities can easily access it, building. It meets the needs of more people. When we apply the principle of universal design to learning and we teach auditorially, visually, and kinesthetically, more learners learn, fewer people are eliminated from the process of achieving knowledge. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, knowledge IS the antidote to fear, and fear can lead to bias. And bias is where we have been but...TODAY we are here to dream into creation the community we want, the future that is beyond tolerance, that is as free from obstacles as we can build, obstacles of architecture and more importantly, attitude.
AND TOMORROW...if we apply universal design to intolerance we can devise a plan for our future. A plan to embrace ALL in the unfolding of this OUR NEW community. How can I say it is new...because after being here today, you will have changed, perhaps in a slight manner perhaps more than slight but nonetheless changed and with that altering, with that change, with that education you influence your friends, families and ultimately your community. Intolerance is an undeniable force within our society, so prevalent it can be found within the most open minded people and enlightened organizations, subtly taking its toll despite the best of intentions. Intolerance is alive and well in this room today, as too many of us view a disabling condition with such dread that we treat persons with disabilities in one of two extremes: EITHER with pity and condescension because we view them as incompetent OR treat them as super-humans because they are able to function with a degree of independence which we perceive as being impossible "in their condition."
These attitudes are expensive, expensive to those of us who are disabled because we are denied access to employment, recreation and basic human relationships. Expensive to our society because we are deprived of reliable employees, loyal customers and good friends. Subtle intolerant behavior is the most widespread form of intolerant behavior and the most responsive to change. To recognize the pernicious and pervasive power of intolerance is to take the first step in defeating it. Assigning blame or guilt, however, will only yield avoidance, denial, and defensiveness. Understanding that intolerant thinking can be greatly diminished through education and action. Simply coming together is NOT enough. Studies have demonstrated other conditions need to exist in order for prejudices to be reduced. People need to be performing an act that is cooperative and successful. So let us act, now and in the future so that we ALL can go beyond tolerance. Let us accept our responsibility as citizens, not as human beings, to bring people together to successfully work out this shared barrier to an all-encompassing society thriving with its diversity NOT suffering because of it. It is critically important to recognize that acknowledging similarity and respecting difference will guide us away from intolerance into a paradigm of trust and unity.
Thank you.