Tonight I would like to correct a mistake I made a while ago. I once wrote on here that we shouldn’t try to ram our disabilities down peoples throats, or accentuate them. In other words we shouldn’t try to stand out for ‘political’ reasons. I didn’t want people going around saying ”look at me, I’m different”, for I feared that would set us apart. Yet I realised yesterday that that was utter folly.

On the train, coming up from Lyn’s, I was sat opposite a family of orthodox jews. As you know, they dress differently, and the men and boys have funny strands of hair either side of their faces. Nice people. it occurred to me that jewish people and disabled people are kind of similar, inasmuch as they are both oppressed. I began to wonder why they wanted to stand out so much; surely it would just be easier to cut the hair, pull on some jeans and blend in. it then occurred to me that this would mean giving up their culture; a culture of which they could be proud. Why should they sacrifice that for the sake of conformity? Surely the problem lies with those who see them as different, for they are the architects of Aushvits.

The same principle applies to us cripples. We are proud; we have a nascent subculture. Why should we hide that?