One sad note is that in his many appearances, Roosevelt convinced the general public that while he may have been struck down by his illness, he was not really disabled. In private, he used a wheelchair to get him to move around. Publicly, however, he was always seen standing upright which, I recently found out, was choreographed.
I understand that to boost his chances of running for public office, Roosevelt had to project the image of a 'normal' and healthy man. Unfortunately, in doing so, Roosevelt had underscored the stigma often attached to a physical disability; that it is a disgrace to the family and that it is something that ought to be kept from public view.
Of course, that was a long time ago, back when disabiliities were still considered oddities and in some cases, curses.
These days, while there are still some who regard people with disabilities as second-class citizens, there are many laws which protect them from discrimination. If Roosevelt had lived in the present time, then, he would most probably have opted to go public on his wheelchair.
No comments:
Post a Comment