Thanks Candidly....
I think it is the "Generalized" attitude of " i'd kill myself before i lived THAT way" that hurts and offends me so much.
While I don't agree personally, I don't deny someone the right to chose to end their own life.
HOWEVER I DO NOT AGREE WITH the stereotyping and generalization that living with a disability is a fate worse than death and it is far more courageous to face the dark face of death than it would be to survive, fight and live.
I use a wheelchair...I am NOT "wheelchair bound" or "confined to a wheelchair"....my chair is a tool to allow me to function productively and independently. My wife loves me....My son and daughter love me...I pay a crapload of taxes because I earn a decent wage as well as operate a successful business and I am happy and active.
Do I have constant pain ? yep.... Do I struggle to manage my pain ? yep... Am I in and out of the hospital a lot ? yep... Will my disability continue to get worse as I get older ? yep... Should I kill myself because of that ? Some may like to see me do it...but I certainly won't and why ? Because life is precious.
If I had a terminal disease of some kind and knew with a certainty that there was no hope of treatment or survival then I would certainly have a DNR to avoid prolonging the inevitable. What I see in hollywood however is encouraging drastic measures when someone loses the use of their legs or becomes a quadrapelegic or developes some other disability. These conditions are certainly a struggle but many people have proven time and time again that it is possible to lead productive active lives with such disabilities.
As a person with a disability.....we have enough stuggles and barriers in our way both physical and attitudinal...we don't need hollywood glorifying the stereotype that it is not worth living if you have a disability. We don't need movies that make heros out of people who sneak into a hospital and kill someone, whatever the reason.
Obviously I am biased on this issue....I don't like people devalueing my life or saying they would rather die than live like I do....it is offensive and sickening to me for people to actually say that to someone. I would never say, "Oh my God...I would rather die than be black" or I would kill myself rather than be gay". Those statements are offensive...I just can't understand why people can't see why it is offensive to us, as people with disabilities to hear those same statements about our lives.
I wear a tattoo on my arm of three red crosses and the word Kruppel. During the early days of the nazis they perfected their killing methods on 350,000 of my people...people with disabilities in a program called T4. They called us "worthless eaters" because they felt our lives were of no value and we only burdened the system. People with disabilities were checked by three doctors who each places a red cross on their chart along with their affliction...cripple, spastic, mental idiots - lovely words - deaf, blind...whatever the case may be. Once there were 3 red crosses on the chart...the person was killed. I wear my 3 red crosses and my affliction "Kruppel" to help educate people that I am NOT a "worthless eater" and I will not sit quietly as I am wheeled to the gas chamber or the doctor's office or as someone sneaks into the rehab center or hospital that I am in...looking to be a hero.
Ok...enough ranting.....back to my rocking chair and shawl where us cripples belong. LOL
