The article “Reflections on the Latimer Case: The Rationale for a Disability Rights Lens” written by Yvonne Peters analyses the murder of Tracy Latimer by her father, Robert Latimer. A summary of the historical context and implications of the rights of disabled people and how they impact the Latimer case is discussed, as well as an analysis of the author’s claims. Additionally, a critique of Peters’ disability rights approach to the Latimer case will be offered. Also, Peter’s arguments will be assessed to determine if any counter arguments can be made opposing her position.
The main purpose of Yvonne Peters’ article is to critique the Latimer case through a disability rights lens, which advocates for people with disabilities to be entitled
…show more content…
Peter’s highlights how even though Tracy was the victim of a crime of murder, her disabilities served to make her the problem. This approach worked to devalue people with disabilities and reassert able-bodied norms; it also represented a step backwards in the promotion and understanding of the rights of persons with …show more content…
One reason Robert Latimer gave for ended his daughters life was because he refused to subject her to further painful medical treatment or “mutilation”. In Peter’s view, it was Tracy’s able-bodied father who unilaterally decided that her disability was too much of a physical burden. In other words, his beliefs were based on his own reality as an able-bodied person, and not necessarily on the reality of his daughter’s life; his own bias led him to the conclusion that his daughter would rather die than live through another surgery. Peters’ argument is very important, as these biases would have troubling implications for people with disabilities, many of whom have had similar surgeries and consider it a normal part of their life and not as a catastrophe. Constant attention to Tracy’s medical condition and resulting quality of life led Robert Latimer to the conclusion that his daughter would rather die than live through another surgery. Peter’s believes this view to be troubling for people with disabilities, many of whom have had the same surgery and consider it a normal part of their life and not a catastrophe . Additionally, Latimer’s defense states that he murdered his daughter not due to her disability, but because he wanted to end her pain. Given that the
Down syndrome is a condition which extra genetic material slows down the way in which an individual develops, both physically and mentally. As stated by the NHS; each individual with down syndrome is affected differently and can vary, some may need a lot of medical assistance whereas others may lead a normal healthy lifestyle but share similar characteristics. Delayed development: All service users with down syndrome has some degree of learning difficulty and delayed development, however, this varies between each individual. Having down syndrome they may experience some health problems which may effect them in every day life. However yet again each individual is different some may have more health problems than others.
People with disabilities are often viewed as less capable, less intelligent and not available to cope well in society. Mairs uses the different persuasive strategies such as ethos, logos and pathos to create a conscious awareness to build a world in which despite the differences everyone is treated with equality and dignity. She imagines her body as something other than problematic, but a reason to fight to build a world in which people wants her in. Mairs mentions in page 169 “I imagine a world where people, allowed the space to accept- admit, endure, embrace- their diverse and often difficult realities.” As Robert M Hensel, a famous Guinness world champion and a man with spina bifida said once “There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as
As an individual who developed a serious case of multiple sclerosis, Nancy Mairs begins to see herself in a different way, not as a normal person but as a “cripple”. As she opens with “I am a cripple.”. The disease ripped away her ability to walk. The disease allowed her to realize the deeper meaning of derogatory terms, such as “disabled” or “handicapped, especially the term “cripple”.
Murphy lacks mobility and sensation in his lower body other than the feeling of occasional muscle spasms, and has limited movement in his upper body below the neck including his arms. Murphy writes the story as it recounts events throughout his entire life, from childhood onwards. He was sixty-two when he wrote the novel. The story provides Murphy’s anthropological commentary on the life of a person with a disability and how society views and treats people with disabilities (Murphy, 1990). Murphy’s performance patterns both support and inhibit his occupational engagement.
“Only 50 years ago persons with intellectual disabilities were scorned, isolated and neglected. Today, they are able to attend school, become employed and assimilate into their local community” (Nelson Mandela). Prior to the later part of the 20th century people with intellectual disabilities were often ridiculed, treated unfairly, feared, and locked away in institutions. According to Rhonda Nauhaus and Cindy Smith in their article Disability Rights through the Mid-20th Century, The laws of any nation reflect its societal values. The real life issue of discrimination towards people with intellectual disabilities in the United States and Australia is demonstrated in the novel, Of Mice and Men by showing how this issue affects one of the main characters, Lennie Smalls.
In the essay, “On Being a Cripple,” Nancy Mairs uses humorous diction and a positive tone to educate people about life as a cripple and struggles of people with disabilities. She does this to show how hard it is to be disabled and how it differs from the life of someone without a disability. She talks about the struggles and the fears that disabled people must deal with on a daily basis. Mairs use of rhetoric creates a strong sense of connection and understanding for the reader. Nancy Mairs is successful in using detailed imagery, diction, and tone to educate her readers about the difficulties of living with a disability.
In “Unspeakable Conversations” she details her experience. Harriet McBryde Johnson effectively uses the rhetorical appeals of ethos and pathos, along with her uses of first-person narrative and descriptive language, to support her argument that contrary to stereotypes, a person living with a severe disability can live a happy and fulfilling life. Harriet McBryde Johnson was born in 1957 with a neuromuscular disease. At the time of this essay, she had been disabled for over four decades. Born to parents who both taught foreign language, they were able to afford hired help but she knew it could not be for her whole life.
When people hear handicap they think not able to care for themselves. Nancy wants to be known as a tough individual able to take care of herself. The reader can feel the agony of what Nancy is feeling. The tone of this passage is determination and agony. Nancy feels that cripple is more stronger word than “handicap” or ‘disabled.”
When you look out at the world today; it won’t take you long to point out all the tragic and horrific things that are occurring daily which include: terrorism, the current refugee situation, genocide, poverty, and mass murders among many others tragedies. Currently in the world today, people desperately need more love than hate, more compassion than judgment, more grace than harshness, and more justice than inequity. These qualities are important (love, compassion, grace) in order to making a difference in the world today, but I want to focus on justice and how it affects people with disabilities. The online English-Oxford Dictionary defines justice as, “a concern for justice, peace, and genuine respect for people” I do not agree with this definition entirely; I believe the word justice is more accurately defined as, “respect and compassion for all people no matter what situation they are in.” I have not had any personal experience with the criminal justice system, but I have seen a beautiful picture of my definition of justice unfold in my freshman physical education class back
Within Sheila Black’s Passing on my Disability is the opinion that a disadvantage, like having a disability, does not mean the withdrawal of a person from what would be considered an ordinary life. In the opening of Black’s essay, the author mainly focuses on laying down the foundational knowledge required to understand her story, including her family and her condition, X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) — a form of dwarfism — that debilitated herself and two of her children. During the most of the middle of her essay, Black proceeded to further elaborating on her and her children’s life. The author mentions many of their difficulties and pains, such as when Black writes on the difficulty of seeing her “loved one [with] that psychic pain” everyday
n Nancy Mairs essay, “Disability”, she illustrates the lack of representation of people with disabilities in the media. While disability plays a major role in Mairs’ life, she points out the various ways her everyday life is ordinary and even mundane. Despite the normalcy of the lives of citizens with disabilities Mairs argues the media’s effacement of this population, is fear driven. She claims, “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of daily life is to admit that there is something ordinary about the disability itself, that it may enter anybody’s life” (Mairs 14). Able bodied people worry about the prospect of eventually becoming physically impaired.
People today with mental disabilities are often criticized for not being “up to par” with everyone else in the world. This is true especially in the 1920’s, in which the novel Of Mice and Men takes place. Take Lennie Small for example, a large and hefty man, who has a mental disability. He, as a character, is blamed for the heinous act of murdering the antagonist’s wife, whose name is never revealed. It is true that Lennie does fracture her neck, but he does so without knowing.
For anybody, being employed can have a crucial impact on their lives. It also has great importance on our social and material well being. Income, self-esteem, identity and sense of independence are just a number of benefits that people can gain from being an active and useful member of the workforce. Yet from a historical perspective, many disabled people have been denied such benefits because of their exclusion from mainstream social and societal activities such as worthwhile employment in particular. Interestingly, disable workers have in the past found themselves welcomed and encouraged into employment during time of shortage of able bodied workers during times of war (Barnes, Mercer & Shakespeare 1999, p.22).
The Religion of Disability: How Flannery O’Connor Uses the Concept of Disability in “The Lame Shall Enter First” In her short story, “The Lame Shall Enter First” Flannery O’Connor shares the tale of a self-righteous reformatory counselor, Sheppard, who forgoes the raising of his own son to embark on a quest to improve the life of a young miscreant, Rufus Johnson, who has a clubbed foot. Eventually after devoting all his time and effort to the saving of this young boy, Sheppard realizes the selfish nature of his actions, but it is too late to save to save his own son. O’Connor employs disability perceptions through the contrasting ideas of confinement and freedom as well as the idea of moral superiority.
And a disabled person’s ambition is like all other human beings, the looks of pity and compassion negatively affect that ambition. People should embrace the disabled person and give them a helping hand, and they should have laws, which defend their rights, which should be respected. However, most societies do not have laws that ensure an equal life for the disabled population. It is a shame that the rights of the disabled people has turned many times to mere slogans.