Is CP Tragic?

I feel that we need to look closer at what we mean by ' tragedy ' or ' tragic ' with regard to disability. I have cerebral palsy, but I would feel uncomfortable in describing having cerebral palsy as good or bad and I guess ' tragic ' is mostly associated with the 'bad'. There are good and bad consequences of having cerebral palsy, for anyway. First, my cerebral palsy made it difficult for me to take part in sports and made me more concentrate on my academic pursuits when I was much younger - I might be that I would not being doing a PhD (this assumes of course that doing a PhD is a good thing).

And yet, I have back pains, and I cannot take part in certain activities that otherwise I could. Whether disability is ' tragic ' assumes that the alternative to disability is desirable. I would say it is, but the desirability and the desiring of a life without disability does not make a life with disability bad or tragic.

That someone may bemoan occasionally their disability does not mean they fall foul of the ' tragedy ' view of disability. It merely means that one is frustrated with one’s lot - as many people are with or without disability. In short I feel there often is a dualistic logic at work, even by those who argue against the personal tragedy model - its good/bad, there is no in between. But there is.

Finally, there is a trend in disability politics to "re-educate" those with disabilities who see disability as tragedy. I use that phrase because a similar form (those obviously using much harsher tactics!) were used in Communist Russia - those who didn't believe were 're-educated' into being a 'good communist'.

Back down the fox hole I go.

Michael
michel_peckitt@hotmail.com

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