Link of the day, obviously. http://dunyasmirnova.livejournal.com/8994.html About how a theater director said he would not allow autistic children or children with cerebral palsy into a performance. Lyuba wanted to film a trip to the theater. A girl named Nastya (cerebral palsy, autism) and her dad Misha, who is effectively both father and mother to her and is raising her alone, were supposed to go. Lyuba called our St. Petersburg Buff Theater, where the trip was planned, to arrange the filming. Not only was she refused permission to film, she was also told that they would not let the sick girl into the theater. “If I saw a sick child in the audience,” said the marvelous Alevtina Khabibovna, the theater’s deputy director, “I would have security escort them out.” In the comments and on people’s feeds, everyone is denouncing the bastard director. The director is of course an ass, if he really did say, “I’d have a child like that escorted out by security.” And the suffering of families with autistic children and children with cerebral palsy is horrific. But it seems to me that it’s not all that simple. First of all, here is an argument that is not without common sense. Even if it isn’t politically correct. But that’s not what I mean. I think most of the people doing the denouncing simply don’t have children. And they don’t understand what childhood cruelty and childhood curiosity are. Put a child with cerebral palsy among ordinary children aged 6 to 11. In 99% of cases there will be neither sympathy nor compassion. There will be staring, mimicry, snickering, and so on. And it’s not at all a matter of “children just need to be raised properly,” but of the fact that this is what children are like. They pull the wings off flies. They keep May beetles in little boxes. They may feel compassion in their own way, but they will still stare at a disabled person with horror and curiosity and point fingers. Yes, yes, yes, we need to work on this... blah blah... go through a process... blah blah... teach them... blah blah. But all that will happen someday. And the children’s performance is tomorrow. And yes, we must ensure that children with cerebral palsy have the opportunity to attend such performances. But we also have to realize that there will be plenty of children who, wanting to amuse the others, will mock the sick child, while everyone else laughs merrily. Would that be a good performance? In that sense, the idea of holding special performances for sick children is quite reasonable. I am absolutely not saying that disabled people should be herded into a ghetto, isolated, and left to live some special disabled life of their own. I’m simply saying that it’s not all so simple. UPDATE. THE COMMENTS ARE HELL. I’ve already become the enemy of disabled people. That’s it, I’m not answering anything else. Please consider this my surrender.
Places