When I was in high school I was a hostess at a white tablecloth Italian restaurant, and I remember one night a lady with no lower arms, she just had 1 finger on each elbow area. She opened the door, ate... did everything perfectly normal and I was floored by her. I mentioned to my buddy the bartender how amazed I was in which he responded, "How dare you be amazed by her. Don't dumb her down because she is different. She has compensated to what we call average life so there is no reason to think of her any different". This stuck with me (and I remember specifically what he said because I wrote in my journal about it as soon as I got home). This reading made me remember this because she moved to a place where she would feel more "normal" and the people were more accustomed to helping the disabled.
It is interesting the idea of total independence being fiction. Even taking an action as simple as walking and proving how one does not do it 100% on one's own. This is an important idea to take in because for greatness to happen, one cannot act alone. Whether it's involved in brain storming for brilliant ideas, or a shoulder to cry on, dependency (to a certain extent) is vital to success. One thing that I still wonder about is not how "average" society should act with a "disabled person", but would it be offensive to be impressed and amazed by their compensations? It is totally normal for Taylor to open a door with her mouth, but is it right for "normal" people to find this alternative function admirable? Or would it be better to play it off as normal?
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