Hehir: Eliminating Ablelism & Butler and Taylor: Examined LIfe- Extended Comments

Hi Megan!

I really enjoyed reading your post on Hehir and the Judith Butler video. The way you explained the information was very concise and definitely helped me connect better with the information. Reading the Hehir piece was a little difficult due to its length and density, so I found it useful to have other’s posts to help explain.

I picked your post to respond to because you and I seem to have found similar merits in each assignment for this week. I too thought some of the most profound information in Hehir’s piece was the discussion on how people with disabilities can be put at a disadvantage when they aren't given relevant education. The need for teaching people the best ways that they can interact with the world is present in all classrooms, but is doubly important for people with disabilities. This pervasive idea that people with disabilities have less skill and ability is so damaging. In addition, the discussion on the importance and value of an integrated classroom is so important! As an art educator (which I of course look through the lens of) I believe that integration is essential to the growth and development of artistic talent and knowledge, as well as representation of artists from all backgrounds and abilities. If youre interested, you should check out this article on one of my favorite ceramic artists, who happens to have lost his vision, Felice Tagliaferr. https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-ouch-29837275 Anyway, one of the most powerful sentences in your response was the following “...there seems to be a present narrative that disabled peoples' impairments are solely hindering, and therefore they are "less than'' as people, with their accomplishments being the only thing that displays their value.” This idea of disabled people having to work twice as hard to be seen for their accomplishments, and that when they accomplish something they are applauded for “overcoming” their disabilities is a pivotal idea in Hehir’s work.

Once again your comments on the Examined Life video were spot on. The thing that stood out most to me was the idea of “impairment” and “disability” being distinct in their relation to society. The viewpoint of “disability” applying to the social ramifications of impairment rather than the physical aspect makes so much sense, though I never would have considered it on my own. One thing that I found interesting about this video was Taylor saying that San Francisco is the most accessible city in our country, which to me seems bonkers. Having been to San Francisco, I can't imagine that navigating the narrow streets and enormous hills would be particularly easy for those with ambulatory disabilities, so the fact that it is one of the most accessible places shows me that we need to work on accessibility in other cities far more than we do.

Thanks for your post! It was very illuminating and a good read.