I never realized that people with disabilities are often used as subjects, as "Supercrips" but it makes quite a bit of sense. I think I understand why.

When most people think of what would happen if they were permanently disabled i.e with paralysis, blindness, or a mental disorder such as tourettes syndrome, they probably believe that it would be unbearable, unfortunate and that they would be highly inhibited from many normal activities. Like the article said, people probably file these kind of "what if?" thoughts away because they are too upsetting. So when someone with a disability accomplishes anything that requires hardwork and dedication, it is deemed newsworthy. "Look, she is overcoming her disability."

But I can't help but be interested in these stories. On Monday, in Journalism 2310 we read an article that ran in the DRC about a NT grad student who lost his sight while in college- he now paints and is pursuing an Art Degree. It was fascinating, an enjoyable article to read. It ended with the subject making a point about how a handicap is just something a person can't do, so everyone is handicapped. I agree. We all have advantages over one another but the severity of the disadvantages are what we label as "handicap."

I couldn't find the link to the DRC article but here is an NTDaily one on the same student:

http://media.www.ntdaily.com/media/storage/paper877/news/2005/01/18/UndefinedSection/Blind.Artist.Paints.With.Perfect.Precision-1892515.shtml