Humanity research paper writing

No Pity Chapter One Review

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Introduction

Joseph Shapiro in this book champions for the right of the disabled and the difficulties they go through as they fight for their civil rights which incorporates the American Disability Act (ADA) (Shapiro, 2011). Similarly, the author considers people with disability as a minority group struggling to get a new civil right movement just like similar minority groups such as women and Africa Americans who were awarded for their long fight to freedom and equality. Therefore, Shapiro digs deeper into the problems affecting the disabled and how these people are trying to air these issues with at times zero results on their significant efforts. Hence, this paper will explore and provide an analysis of the first chapter of the book and look into critical issues that affected these people.

Chapter 1- Tiny Tims, Supercrips, and the End of Pity

The first chapter explores the struggles of the people with disability. The author points out that these people are oppressed and they are aware that they are undermined by people. Furthermore, the chapter starts off by criticizing the use of telethons and the handicapped to source for funds as a way of playing pity (Shapiro, 2011). These make these people feel different and far away from the normal society which is a source of their problem. By collecting money to support these individuals, the community tries to make them feel like they are outcasts and they need total help and they are incapable of providing for themselves. This limits their potential and makes these people feel bad about their condition. Therefore, an attempt by society to tell these people that they are special actually worsens their situation. Besides, the fundraising strategy is a backward way of thinking where these organizations want to raise money by making people feel guilty or worry about their condition. It is a manipulative way of doing things and Shapiro considers this as wrong and these disabled people should be subjected to such kind of torture.

The chapter also classifies the bad people in comics, films, and television as "differences". These people are aware of the bad people and the use of "difference" shows that they have some unique bad trait that makes them inflict pain and cause havoc to society. The word "differences" reflects the bad character of these people. This means that the people with disability could identify these individuals and the society who have contributed to them being undermined and considered less fortunate in the community. Shapiro (2011) confirms that these people want to eliminate these people since they are seen as a burden to society and don't add much value. This was devastating to these people and they felt unwanted in the community. Shapiro explores that these individuals people are demanding their rights and not medical cures people need to understand that disability is not disabling as it may seem.

The other issue that Shapiro looks into in this chapter is the limited opportunities offered to the people with disability. Even more, it is not the individuals with a disability who need to change rather the society's view and perception of these people. It is a common assumption that that lady or gent within a wheelchair cannot get a job done and is need of charity or assistance. This underestimation of these people is very dehumanizing and we need to consider these people as part and parcel of our community. In effect, these people end up locking themselves waiting for that one person who will see them for who they are not their disability (Shapiro, 2011). The society has locked job opportunities for this individuals and it is not because they don’t have the ability to perform it is simply because the community is making their lives difficult by failing to offer the necessary support system such as job opportunities and barrier-free buildings. According to Shapiro (2011), these issues have made these people stand up for their rights and affirm their existence. They are rejecting the stigma and embracing their disability without fear, shame or guilt and taking pride in their condition.

Discrimination has been a common problem that these people encounter in their everyday life. For instance, Shapiro (2011) points out that the New Jersey zoo owner who failed to admit children with disability claiming that they would scare away his chimpanzees. This is a practical case on how we view these people as fewer humans to the point that monkeys are better. Shapiro agrees that this level of discrimination is wrong and people with disabilities should not be treated in such a way that suggests they are not valued at all.

Discrimination is considered as a subtle matter since it is based on the opinion that disabled people cannot make their own decisions hence they are not entitled to lead the lives they chose. This extends to judicial matters where these people's opinion is rejected or viewed as weak. However, we are not doing justice and these people need to be treated with some sense of respect and recognition in society (Shapiro, 2011). More so, this discrimination is also observed in the job market where firms are based on employing the disabled since they undermine their ability to work effectively and deliver quality results. The head of firms says that it doesn't make sense to maintain people in a dependency state and often these employees are hidden from potential customers and partners.

Conclusion

This chapter explores the challenges that people with disability go through as highlighted by Joseph Shapiro. He starts off by explaining the ineffectiveness of the telethons as a way to collect charity money for these people. Furthermore, he explains about the bad guys who want to harm people with disability (Shapiro, 2011). The paper has highlighted more issues affecting the disabled such as discrimination in employment, and offering of opportunities. The society has undermined their ability and they need to change this perspective so that people with disability can live a normal life. Above all, Shapiro explains these issues and how they affect the disabled and the society needs to work towards fighting these problems and champion for equal treatment.

Reference

Shapiro, J. P. (2011). No pity: People with disabilities forging a new civil rights movement. Broadway Books.