When you’ve spent as much time as I have with people who have been totally rejected by society, when you have been written off by nearly everyone you around you, it becomes very difficult to draw the line at which life is no longer worthwhile. I choose not to draw that line at all.
-Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer,I Raise My Eyes To Say Yes
“People with disabilities generally function at a lower social status level, and therefore asking for or demanding accommodations that bring us to the same level as everyone else can seem like we are asking for too much.” pg 101
“Disability theorist Lennard Davis echoes [Kuttai’s feelings]: ‘When ‘special needs’ (and let us notice the valence of that term) are required, too often the person making the request is seen as overly self-concerned, overly demanding.’ Susan Wendell also makes arguments about what I call ‘disability guilt’ when she confesses that her ‘greatest psycho-ethical struggle is with guilt’ for not being able to do more, give more, and put up with more. “pg. 100
“When I reflect on the source of it, I think it comes from a need to apologize for taking up too much space, needing too much extra stuff, for taking up more time, effort and money, for many of the things that are effortledd for nondisabled people. I think it comes from both a perception that I am somehow ‘getting more’ than nondisabled people, like wheelchair parking or designated seating at a concert (even though the later is always a limited choice and number). I think it also comes from a need in me to aplogize for wanting and yet not feeling like I deserve what other people have in their lives: love, children, gainful employment, a comfortable home, an education, some fun and the ability to get from place to place. But all of these things require adaptation, extra time, extra planning, money, and compromise.” pg. 99
