Harriet Mcbryde Johnson And John Hockenberry's Disability

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Recommended: The medical and social models of disabilities

Disability and reactions to those who are disabled are socially constructed, and vary from generation to generation and from culture to culture. As these precepts change and alter with time and knowledge how we treat those who are labeled as disabled evolves- sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst. Harriet McBryde Johnson’s and John Hockenberry’s experiences are all too familiar. The challenges faced by these two individuals many times were not with the disability itself, but was from how the world responded to them. Harriet McBryde Johnson had many of her work colleagues unaware and unbelieving of a dire prognosis because of how she personally handled life, how integrated she was with the world around her. Her experience in Cuba …show more content…

I am not sure if the attitude was because I was a woman, did not have a wheelchair, or because of small town politics. This is far from the first time seeing someone in spaces without tags or place cards, or spaces that are legal in size but are horribly placed on the property. There are times when I have my ankle and knee braces on but do okay without my crutches, yet I feel compelled to adjust my straps so others can see that I really belong in the handicap space. In the United States, our “healthcare” system model works on the mode of you go to the doctor when you are sick in order to get better and move on with your life. That model does not work for those with chronic, mild, or invisible disabilities. None of the people I have talked to want to be a paraplegic – although I have some friends that are – or have cancer, but our culture makes people feel guilty for being ill for too long. One is either healthy or getting cured. There seems to be little patience for those who are in between, or for those who have greater disabilities, and have the nerve to venture out without a caregiver. Similar to John Hockenberry’s experience in New York City (Hockenberry 297), those who are handicap are seen as unwanted appendages that have a nerve burden the rest of society. However, Hockenberry’s experience in Iran was glaringly different (Hockenbarry 287). He was treated with dignity and as a fluid part of the group and not as an accessory that was to be disregarded when it was out of

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