It is Labor Day weekend, and many people will watch and take part in the MDA telethon. I am a client of MDA, and it does indeed help families deal with neuromuscular disease. The research efforts toward prevention, cure and treatment of these diseases are indeed important.
Some people with disabilities (PWD) believe Jerry Lewis hurts the cause for the rights of PWD. I’d like to try to put this in perspective, and discuss an important subject; the notion of victimization.
First, we need to remember that Jerry Lewis comes from an era when PWD were pitied, ignored and treated differently. Those notions are prevalent among people of that generation; I saw it in my parents who had difficulty facing reality when I decided to begin using a wheelchair. Also remember that Jerry Lewis is a performer, and the very nature of that business promotes using emotional means as a way to raise money. So Jerry Lewis uses pity and guilt as tools to accomplish the mission of the telethon. He treats people with neuromuscular disease as victims of a terrible disease, and implores us to feel badly and send money. Mr. Lewis does that well!
While I agree that Jerry Lewis’s methods portray PWD as victims, I believe the telethon supports an important cause. The methodology used is “media hype”, and that is something we are confronted with constantly. The media portrays people with disabilities as innocent victims of diseases over which they have no control; we are portrayed as people to be pitied. That doesn’t help our cause. However, the worst thing we can do is act like victims.
Most PWD I know who are out in the community refuse to be treated like victims. Because we know that doing so hinders our ability to fully accept reality. And that acceptance is what drives us through our daily lives. Media hype is just that; hype!
The best advice I can think of for anyone, including PWD is this; don’t let yourself think like a victim! Control what you can and accept the rest. Remember, what binds us together is our common humanity.
