We all need heroes, or heroines. The
late Harriet McBryde Johnson is one of mine.
McBryde Johnson was a wheelchair
user because of the complications of a neuromuscular disease. Mobility and the
everyday tasks of life were no small struggle for her.
Like all people with disabilities
– not just the inspirational, determined ones of popular media depictions – she
wanted to make a life for herself. The path she chose was to earn both a law
degree and a master’s degree in public administration. She practiced law and
lobbied for legislation that promoted inclusivity of other people with
disabilities.
McBryde Johnson was also a
brilliant communicator. She wrote op-ed pieces for the New York Times as well
as books. Her collection of memoir essays, Too
Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from a Life, is captivating. Her
observations on life lived with a disability are often hilarious, poignant and
insightful, all at the same time.
For me, the highest
accomplishment of her talents as a communicator was her debate with Peter
Singer. The debate was on the Princeton philosophy professor’s argument that
parents and doctors should legally be allowed to euthanize newborn babies who
have severe disabilities or lack higher brain functions. I don’t think I need
to tell you which side of the issue McBryde Johnson was on.
Singer contended that euthanasia
in such cases is justifiable because newborns, like animals, are neither
self-conscious nor rational beings. McBryde Johnson homed in on Singer’s false
assumption that the presence or absence of a disability automatically predicts
quality of life. She saw that his argument was predicated on the prejudices of
ableism.
Simply put: people without
disabilities are inherently superior to those with disabilities. Absence of a
disability is the norm, the gold standard for human life. If you don’t meet the
standard, your life -- and you – are of lesser value. It’s the same paradigm
found in bigoted beliefs held against other marginalized groups.
We’re the standard; you are not.
You must strive to be like us and if you cannot, then go away. Stay with your
own kind and out of sight. Or in the case of Singer’s argument: die at the
hands of the majority -- literally.
If you feel uncomfortable just
now reading this -- perhaps even queasy – I encourage you to read McBryde
Johnson’s account of her debate with Singer. It ran in the New York Times as Unspeakable Conversations: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/magazine/unspeakable-conversations.html
Thank you, Harriet, for giving
all of us a voice.
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