Disabled HeroEs
FEATURE
STORY
Physically disabled individuals in Phoenix are being discriminated and judged in their everyday lives. This is not just the type you can obviously see. It’s also the discrimination and judgement that isn’t as apparent, such as being stared at. A study states, “Nearly four in ten (38%) people surveyed think of disabled people as less productive than non-disabled people, over three quarters (76%) think of disabled people as needing to be cared for, and 13% think of disabled people as getting in the way some or most of the time” (Scope, n.d., p.1). These three statements all have to do with being inferior. Based on the evidence, most people think of disabled individuals as less than themselves. Thinking of someone as less than is a form of judgement and typically leads to discrimination. A New York Times article states, “The researchers, who sent résumés and cover letters on behalf of fictitious candidates for thousands of accounting jobs, found that employers expressed interest in
candidates who disclosed a disability about 26 percent less frequently than in candidates who
did not” (Scheiber, 2015, p.1). In the study, the résumés from the disabled people were all very good. The only thing they differed from their competitors was that they were disabled. Just that one difference caused the employers to not want them there. It is discrimination to exclude someone just because they are disabled. Disabled individuals are also discriminated and judged in Bioscience. A few months ago on
Edmodo, a meme that disrespected disabled people was posted by a student. It implies that blind people are oblivious to what things are just because they can’t see. In reality, they are extremely perceptive. People generally think of disabled individuals as less than, whether they mean to or not, and disabled individuals have to face the negative repercussions of that fact.
Judgement at Bioscience