Prejudice against people with a less-than-perfect health status is becoming increasingly common today. Case in point: The hoopla over Judge Rehnquist. There are cries from some quarters that Rehnquist has to resign because he has cancer and is elderly, similar to what was said of Pope John Paul II in the years before his death.
In this culture, if someone is elderly, ill, and especially if they look ill, they are to be put aside. Not seen and not heard. We can't handle it so they have to disappear. Recent legal decisions in Florida will only validate this point of view. The world is to be populated by pretty, healthy looking people who can make and spend money, according to some.
I can't help but wonder if these same people would feel differently if they found themselves in a similar situation. Remember, we are all one car accident away from being disabled.
For more on this point of view, visit Not Dead Yet--the Resistance disability rights group.
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Yeah, what about mentally sick guys in prisons? They commit a crime not knowing what they are doing and are slammed in the pen.
ReplyDeleteOne young guy like this got 45 yrs for being involved in a robbery / murder case. They need help and they won't get it in prison. Lots of mentally challenged folks behind bars wasting away. Lord have mercy on them