Unlikely Advocates: How One of America's Most Influential Families Became Some of the Disability Community's Strongest Allies

Recently I finished a book entitled “Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter” by Kate Clifford Larson. I was turned on to the book by my girlfriend Samantha Lebron. She knows that I love history, especially political history. When I first began reading the book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The Kennedy family has been written about extensively. I thought this would be another look at the Kennedy family through the lens of politics, and, to some extent, it was, but it was much more than just a book about politics.

As I got deeper into the book, I realized the book was about something more. It was on a deeper level about the history of the treatment of people with disabilities in the United States. Although Rosemary Kennedy was born to one of the most affluent families of the 20th century, unbeknownst to her she would face prejudices not only from the outside world but even from some members of her own family. Without recounting the whole book which I highly recommend you should read, I will say that what happened to Rosemary Kennedy reflected attitudes about disability at the time.

The book does a great job of not only detailing Rosemary’s struggles as a young child, but it also does a great job of using her experiences to highlight the subhuman treatment of people with disabilities that was commonplace during that era. However, Rosemary can serve as an example of how the best characteristics of the human race are often seen during the darkest of times. Not every member of Rosemary’s family saw her disability as a thing that should be looked down upon. In fact, her sister Eunice would become one of the disability community’s most powerful advocates. It is through the work of the Kennedy family and their relatives that two of today’s most powerful and influential disability organizations are even in existence. Eunice took a special interest in a program known as the Special Olympics and helped transform it into what it has become today. If this was not impactful enough, Anthony Kennedy Shriver would go on to found Best Buddies International. For those unfamiliar with the organization, it aims to give people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs) the chance to live fuller and more inclusive lives by increasing socialization and opportunities for growth.

In closing, it is this writer’s opinion that the Kennedy family, a family who is often associated with heartbreak and tragedy, needs to be remembered not only for what they have undergone but also, they need to be celebrated by people with disabilities more than they already are. Without the Kennedys the disability rights movement may have taken longer to reach the goals it has so far.

Until next time, your friendly neighborhood super advocate, 

Jay

Come On, You Know That Was Funny, Quit Being P.C.

So I've talked about some serious topics, but I've always thrown humor in on some level or another. Well, this one is going to be about the importance of humor and disabilities. To begin, let me get scholarly on you guys. What is "humor"? Humor has many different definitions, and it can be either

1. a comic, absurd, or incongruous quality, causing amusement: the humor of a situation.

2. the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical: He is complete without humor.
       These were found at Dictionary.com. There are many different types of humor to each person; other things can be funny. Some who fall on their face might be hilarious to me but might not be all that funny to someone else. What does humor have to do with disability? Everything. If one can't laugh at their obstacles, then they will be that much harder to overcome. I can't tell you how many times a day I make gimp jokes or lobster jokes. I call myself a lobster because my hands look literally like claws because they are so badly deformed.  Most people who know me have gotten used to it. However, even in my own family, there are times when they are caught off guard by my humor.

       Disabled people make fun of themselves quite often. What is rarer is the kind-hearted friend or family member who makes fun of the disabled person. An incident like this occurred recently during a family event. Rather than seeing me as an oddity, my six-year-old cousin decided to make up a lobster dance. In my view, it was hilarious! Everybody around the table thought it was for at least five seconds, but they quickly got offended. My question is, why were they getting offended for me when I was not? It's not like the child was malicious. He was trying to include me as an individual. He did not see me as something different. He just saw me as a funny dude. We all make fun of each other, but why do others have to get offended for them when people are making fun of each other? Another example of this societal offense can be found on the Internet.

       A hilarious comic named Stephen Lynch does a variety of songs where he makes fun of everything from the devil, too fat women, to people who play dungeons and dragons, and one-piece, in particular, is his most famous song. It is known as "Special Olympics." I am disabled and find it freaking hilarious! Because I know that Mr. Lynch is satirical and joking. He is not malicious in any form whatsoever. Some find it offensive, and I say to them, "You have a right to your opinion, and I have a right to mine. I'm glad you watched the video, and I'm glad you are expressing your opinion." What I don't understand is that a majority of disabled people love the video. This is the demographics that are being poked fun at in the video. If we love it, why is it that society gets offended for us? The following is a comment that I posted on the YouTube video, along with a few replies that I received. To protect anonymity, the names of the posters have been either changed or not given.

       My original comment for the video: "‪Jay Hahr ‪‪20 hours ago

I know that's entirely true. I find humor is the easiest thing for me to have, but people are often thrown off because I make fun of myself. I always say to them, "Dude, I make fun of myself because you can't make fun of other people if you can't make fun of yourself," and I love making fun of people. I know it's a YouTube video, but I might also mention it here. My blog on disabilities is thevoicelssminority.blogspot.c­om Check it out. I think you will enjoy it."

       The poster responded with: "It's funny I'm disabled as well, and it seems that everyone around me hears my friends joke about me being in a wheelchair and act offended, but I don't. I have noticed that it's non-disabled people who get offended about it and not the disabled people."

       He emphasizes my point. It is always the able-bodied population that seems to get offended for me. I would instead people ask me if I was offended then assume I was offended. I know my family meant well when they told the little child, but I feel like they could have handled it better. Some of them who read this might not understand why I think the way I do, but it's mainly because humor is a dying art in our society. Soon we are going to be too sensitive for anything.  Comedy is what keeps us from going crazy and shooting people in post offices. If they thought that the six-year-old was doing something wrong, they could have said, "Now, you can joke around like that with Jay, but with other people, you have to be more careful." Just some food for thought.

       I only bring this up now because I have recently shown the YouTube video to others, and some have laughed hysterically with me while others said, "How can you be an advocate while also laughing at that?" My answer is simple because I'M HUMAN. If we do not find hilarity in our misfortune, then we will only find misery. Misery is boring. If this offends people, then so be it, but I would rather laugh at my misfortunes then cry about them.