the life of a cripple
On Being Cripple by Nancy Mairs tells her story about her life as a handicapped person, and how she doesn’t want to conform to how society sees disabled people as weak. She is suffering form multiple sclerosis which is a disease that slowly degenerates the use of her limb overtime.
“Cripple seems to me a clean word straightforward and precise… as a lover of words, I like accuracy with which it describes my condition: I have lost the full use of my limbs. “Disabled” by contrast, suggests any incapacity, physical or mental.”
Mairs doesn’t want sympathy from people which one the reasons she doesn’t identify herself as a handicapped or disabled. She chooses “cripple” because she wants people to wince at her, and usually people shy away or are uncomfortable calling some a cripple. You might ask why she wants to make people feel uncomfortable? I think is because she doesn’t want people to ignore her condition because she wants people to treat her as normal person, and not be careful not to mention her disability. People will ignore someone disability because they think it would be rude to mention it or it will make the person feel a little sad. Another reason she calls herself a cripple is because she thinks it describes her condition accurately, and as she mentioned she loves accuracy.
She states that children with disabled parent are normally shout them out of their school life by not telling their parents about school events because their embarrassed of their parents disability.
But Nancy Mairs children and husband are the opposite because they are supportive of her mentally and physically by doing the house chores and acknowledging her struggles like when she would get frustrated and shout “I am so sick of being crippled!” ,and her daughter would say “there now, do you feel better?” Which surprisingly does make her feel better maybe because venting her frustration to someone helps her cope with MS?
Then she wonders “unless they’re faking… tugging at the
“Cripple seems to me a clean word straightforward and precise… as a lover of words, I like accuracy with which it describes my condition: I have lost the full use of my limbs. “Disabled” by contrast, suggests any incapacity, physical or mental.”
Mairs doesn’t want sympathy from people which one the reasons she doesn’t identify herself as a handicapped or disabled. She chooses “cripple” because she wants people to wince at her, and usually people shy away or are uncomfortable calling some a cripple. You might ask why she wants to make people feel uncomfortable? I think is because she doesn’t want people to ignore her condition because she wants people to treat her as normal person, and not be careful not to mention her disability. People will ignore someone disability because they think it would be rude to mention it or it will make the person feel a little sad. Another reason she calls herself a cripple is because she thinks it describes her condition accurately, and as she mentioned she loves accuracy.
She states that children with disabled parent are normally shout them out of their school life by not telling their parents about school events because their embarrassed of their parents disability.
But Nancy Mairs children and husband are the opposite because they are supportive of her mentally and physically by doing the house chores and acknowledging her struggles like when she would get frustrated and shout “I am so sick of being crippled!” ,and her daughter would say “there now, do you feel better?” Which surprisingly does make her feel better maybe because venting her frustration to someone helps her cope with MS?
Then she wonders “unless they’re faking… tugging at the