October 26, 2006

• The era of passing for normal is over.

  Those are not my words.  I heard that statement yesterday, from a
  news analyst on public radio.  I think news analysts have similar
  job descriptions to those of the people that were called commentators,
  once upon a time.  His commentary was built upon something that
  Rush Limbaugh said about Michael J. Fox.

  They played a sound bite from a political TV spot made by Michael J.
  Fox, in which his voice quavered from his Parkinsonian tremor. 
  Apparently, his disorder was even more evident in the video.  The
  candidate whom Mr. Fox was endorsing supports embryonic stem cell
  research.  (So, by the way, do I.)  His point, I suppose, was
  that stem cell research currently offers more hope than any other for a
  possible cure for such disorders as Parkinson’s disease, and is
  deserving of the same governmental financial support as less promising
  avenues of research are receiving.

  The list of disorders without cures, for which many people think stem
  cells might hold the answer, is a long one.  I  have heard
  optimistic researchers say that stem cell research has potential
  benefits we have not yet imagined.  That ignorance, superstition,
  and political manipulation (AKA “public diplomacy” [in Newspeak] or
  old-fashioned propaganda) are preventing such research from going on is
  an offense against humanity, but that is not my point here and now.

  Rush Limbaugh reportedly accused Michael J. Fox of avoiding his
  medication in order to exaggerate his symptoms for that political ad,
  and that his tremor was also exaggerated through “acting.”  He was
  said to have later issued a conditional apology, in case his original
  accusation was false.  But he went on to say that Mr. Fox was
  exploiting his disability, and implied (if not stated outright) that
  such “exploitation” is wrong.

  Limbaugh’s implied subtext, that disabilities should not be publicly
  displayed, reveals that his attitudes have not been keeping up with
  social progress.  In my youth, people with physical or mental
  disabilities were kept closeted in the family home or warehoused in
  institutions, out of the public eye.

  I see signs of the aformentioned religious
  superstitious ignorance and fear in that cultural practice.  Since
  (it was believed) imperfections and disabilities were the signs of
  God’s displeasure, nobody wanted to reveal to their neighbors that
  their family did not enjoy the Lord’s favor.  In some communities,
  such facts, if made public, could lead to ostracism and worse. 
  The family business might be boycotted, their family home burned, or
  family members attacked and even sometimes killed.

  I’m glad our cultural mores are becoming more enlightened.  I used
  to take pride in the fact that some of my friends and acquaintances
  didn’t know that I was handicapped, even as I missed a lot of school
  due to illness and then lost job after job because of frequent
  absences.  All that has changed for me, through influences such as
  National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week.  I certainly take no pride in my illness, nor am I ashamed to let it show.

  I don’t mean that I go out of my way to tell just anyone and everyone
  (except you, my readers here) that my limping, whimpering and frequent
  absences are manifestations of myalgic encephalomyelopathy / chronic
  fatigue immunodysfunction syndrome.  But I do communicate openly
  with friends and neighbors, largely to convey to those with similar
  “invisible” disabilities the message that it’s okay to let it show.

  Yesterday, when I heard that radio commentary, I had just returned from
  taking a sugar-free, gluten-free custard pie up the highway to Lois at
  her bake shop.  Months ago, when our casual conversation had
  revealed that both of us have sensitivities to wheat gluten and her
  husband is diabetic, I had promised I’d bring her a sample of one of
  the gluten-free recipes I’d developed through my experimentation.

  It took me this long to get around to doing it, because I have “good
  days” and “bad days” and all summer I had been using the energy of
  those good ones for other work.  Lois understood; in fact she was
  surprised to learn that I’d actually meant it when I made that
  promise. 

  Carol, another neighbor with food sensitivities who dropped in while I
  was there, also understood about the “bad” days.  She has them,
  too.  Our conversation, which probably wouldn’t have taken place
  in the old days of that hide-the-gimps paradigm, provided to us all a
  sense of community and included an exchange of information that can be
  beneficial to each of us.

  I find it odd, as did the commentator yesterday, that Limbaugh has been
  so public about “exploiting” his own addictive disorders and yet is so
  judgmental about another man’s Parkinsonism.  Go figure. :-}

  I applaud Mr. Fox for his stance on funding for stem cell
  research.  Regarding his disease, I admire his openness, as I did
  when Richard Pryor and Muhammad Ali went public with their
  disabilities.  The fact that I am not equally impressed with Rush
  Limbaugh’s openness about his illness has nothing to do with its being
  addictive in nature.  When you get to the bottom line of all these
  disorders it’s ABC, all brain chemistry.

  

  • 1:18 pm
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