This week talking about religious
discrimination and aging with disabilities both made me think of my
grandparents. My grandparents, especially my grandmother, are enthusiastic
southern Baptists. This is a nice way of saying that they are narrow minded
about their Christian beliefs and they tend to want everyone else to behave
accordingly. When I was growing up I remember being confused about other
religions, specifically around the holiday times. I remember asking about other
religious beliefs and being told that they existed but that I did not need to worry
about them because basically, they were wrong. I don’t say this to make it seem
like my grandparents are unaccepting of all other faiths, simply that they
genuinely do not consider them or their perspectives relevant. They are so
caught up in the hype of Christianity and saving everyone else that they never
stop to consider that they could be wrong or how their beliefs are affecting
other people. I do not apply this to all Christians, but it is an all too
common problem based off of my personal experience.
When reading the list of
Christian privilege, I felt that the items on the list were privileges that I
have very recently become all too aware of. As I said I was raised southern
Baptist and before my senior year of high school I was very devout. I prayed
and read the Bible daily and I even went on a couple of mission trips. I never
thought to be upset that other religions were not represented in movies and television,
or the radio, or my church. When you are surrounded by so much of your own culture
and religion it is hard to understand why you should question it. While I
genuinely had the interest of others in my heart, I was still not trying to understand
their beliefs or cultures, I was trying to inflict my religion upon them.
Unfortunately at the time I did not realize this, based off of everything I had
been taught I was doing the right thing.
Disability is easily
identified as a difference, but I do not think that people often consider the
differences within disability. When we group those with a disability all
together we are refusing to acknowledge their uniqueness, stripping away their
humanity. When reading about being an ally to those with disabilities it seemed
that one of the biggest barriers is that people either ignore disability or
view it as a weakness. Time and time we hear from the disabled that they are
not weak and that they do not want or deserve lesser standards. This week Rosie
King spoke about having autism. She did not complain or discuss the things she
has been unable to do. She tells us that through her autism she has been able
to accomplish things she could have never done in an “able” body.
I mentioned that the aging
disabled population also made me think of my grandparents. This is because they
are both afflicted with a physical disability. I remember in high school when
both of my grandparents were on disability (income from the government) for the
first time. It drastically decreased our household’s yearly income and it was really
scary. As time went by and I was able to work myself things got better, but for
a lot of people once they are unable to work there are little or no options in
terms of annual income.
Adams,
M., Blumenfeld, W. J., Castañeda, C., Hackman, H. W., Peters, M. L., &
Zúñiga, X. (Eds.). (2000). Readings for Diversity and Social Justice.
New York: Routledge.
King,
Rosie. (2014, September). How autism freed me to be myself.
Brittany, I found your blog to be very interesting. Being that I am Jewish, I know I generally am in the minority. Even with this given, we have similar experiences. Growing up in a Jewish community, while I knew that most of the world beloved in Christianity, I did not understand that so much narrowmindedness was common.
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents are too very religious and believe only in Judaism. While I now know there are many other beliefs prevalent in society, I did not understand. This narrow minded opinion on the people who differ from us is what makes the world such a dangerous place. Unfamiliarity is not scary or bad, it is what makes us unique.
Rosie explains that people do not understand what makes autistic people unique. They have amazing imaginations and tremendously big hearts. Regardless of their given disability it also inhibits them to have many other important qualities as well. Rosie is able to complete things that people without or in absence of autism cannot.
Talking about income is another issue when it comes to handicapped, either physical or mental. The government subsidizes a portion to this population, but given housing, healthcare and costs of everyday living, for this population, it is till hard for them to get by. I too have relatives that struggle mentally. My great aunt has autism and makes minimum wage working at Walgreens. This has allowed her to gain an income, but given all her costs of living it is still hard to make ends meet.
Brittany,
ReplyDeleteI really liked that you mentioned your own family in your post; it made it more personal, which in turn made it more enjoyable to read. I personally didn’t grow up with a specific religion, which affected me in similar ways as your Christian upbringing affected you. Because I did not believe in a religion, I wanted to show others that religion didn’t “make sense” and they should also not believe in a religion. Realistically this was in effort to have people agree with me because I wanted to have more people agree with me so I could have friends who believed as I did. I now see, as you do, that trying to impose my own religious stances on things is wrong because people all believe different things and that is a good thing. I say it’s a good thing because today I think our differences in religion as well as other variables makes us all more interesting and beautiful.
When it comes to disability I can relate in the past with looking at all people with disabilities the same way. For example, my boyfriend works in home health care and currently is caring for a man who is physically disabled. The picture I had in my head when I learned this was a man in a wheelchair who would have a hard time doing day-to-day things. The wheelchair part is accurate, but he is incredibly capable of doing everything I do. He goes to UT and is incredibly smart, he has lots of friends, he dates, and much more. For some reason my idea of what he would be capable of was very wrong and this comes from me classifying all disabled people in the same category. This was an eye opening experience and taught me to stop generalizing disability and see all disabled people as normal people with differences just like everyone else.
Hey Brittany! I really enjoyed reading your post. My favorite part was this quote specifically: " When you are surrounded by so much of your own culture and religion it is hard to understand why you should question it." This is so very true, and one of the greatest things about going to college is forcing yourself out of this comfort zone and seeing the different beliefs and perspectives that are out there. I did not grow up religious, but many of my friends did and I often wondered if something was wrong with me if I didn't believe the same way they did. Once I got into high school and college I began to learn more about different religions and it was great to see all that was out there, after only being exposed to christianity in my hometown. What you said about disability is also spot on, and I know I have been guilty of seeing a disability as a weakness, or thinking of a person as a victim of their disability. This goes back to the video we watched of Stella Young discussing "inspiration porn" and how she does not feel bad for herself and neither should anyone else. Hearing stories like Stella's and Rosie King's really give me perspective as to what it is like to live with a disability, and the ways in which I have been unintentionally putting disabled people into boxes my whole life. This is something I have strived to work on, and this class is helping me do so.
ReplyDeleteBrittany, great blog post!
ReplyDeleteLike you said, this week also made me think of my grandparents. My grandparents on both my mom and dad’s side are Christians and very vocal about their beliefs and opinions. I grew up in a family that was non-religious, this was something that constantly drove my grandparents insane and they would load my siblings and I up on Christian education any chance they got. As I have grown up, I have seen similar patterns across Christians that cause non-Christians to be turned off to the religion like you mentioned.
Thank you for your vulnerability, relating to Christian privilege. There were privileges on that list that I did not realize, the majority of them I did. The ones I did not realize might relate to the fact I was not raised Christian and did not become a Christian until late into my high school career. Or maybe it is because I am white and the majority of whites are Christian. Overall it made me realize that separation of church and state is not something that is carried out correctly in many of our government systems.
I agree with your statement about the majority of the population ignores the individuals with a disability instead of stepping in as an ally. I wonder the changes that could be made if we truly were allies and used out privilege to help others realize the harm that can come from ableism.