Well this restores my faith in humanity... /sarcasm
Darren Sumner of GateWorld tells me - and everyone else - why we're wrong to be offended by the casting call and sides recently released for episode Sabotage.
Spoken like a true white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, heterosexual, non-disabled, man. Talk about miss the point much.
And bonus failcakes by the dozen in the comments.
For the record, people like Darren don't get to tell me I'm wrong to be offended by disablist tropes in TV shows. 'Casting Documents Aren’t Meant for You' and 'Depiction Does Not Mean Endorsement' are NOT valid get-out-of-jail cards for offensive depictions of disabled people in TV shows - or of women, lesbians or people of colour for that matter either.
But then, people like Darren don't have to live with the consequences of such depictions that warp society's view of those groups. It's disabled people - like myself - who have to try and go about their daily lives dealing with the misconceptions of disabled people this shit breeds. Things like sitting in a restaurant talking to your friends and being asked by a random stranger how you manage your sex life. Or an able person striking up conversation at the bus stop and telling you how they'd commit suicide if they became disabled. Or people automatically assuming you need help without asking because they actually don't know how to ask because TV shows treat disabled people like aliens.
Further reading here.
Spoken like a true white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, heterosexual, non-disabled, man. Talk about miss the point much.
And bonus failcakes by the dozen in the comments.
For the record, people like Darren don't get to tell me I'm wrong to be offended by disablist tropes in TV shows. 'Casting Documents Aren’t Meant for You' and 'Depiction Does Not Mean Endorsement' are NOT valid get-out-of-jail cards for offensive depictions of disabled people in TV shows - or of women, lesbians or people of colour for that matter either.
But then, people like Darren don't have to live with the consequences of such depictions that warp society's view of those groups. It's disabled people - like myself - who have to try and go about their daily lives dealing with the misconceptions of disabled people this shit breeds. Things like sitting in a restaurant talking to your friends and being asked by a random stranger how you manage your sex life. Or an able person striking up conversation at the bus stop and telling you how they'd commit suicide if they became disabled. Or people automatically assuming you need help without asking because they actually don't know how to ask because TV shows treat disabled people like aliens.
Further reading here.