Not all disabilities are visible. We should be more open to helping people with less visible disability; and we should try to be more understanding and aware. The society definitely needs more awareness for pain and mental health.
The notion of ‘model minority’ deeply resonates with me. Once one is a member of a minority group, at times one would have the pressure of feeling the necessity of representing the group by oneself. I am from Hong Kong, which is a very small place with only 7 million people. I somehow believed that I should ‘represent’ my own people (Hong Kong) as well (at times I still do).
As a people, we have to try not to associate the person of minority with the group of minorities, regardless race, disability, and so on.
When I was a college student, I always had a tendency of not asking for help (even when I really needed to). In my teaching experience, minority students also tend to not ask for help. Perhaps they worry that they would be perceived as weak and powerless. Not to mention most scholarship and studentship would only be offered to local/home students.
She mentioned that she literally imposes pain on herself by making her art. I think that the labelling is also an issue. Perhaps she doesn’t want to be labelled as a ‘disable’ person and receive awareness only because of that. We should stop glorifying the people who suffer for artmaking; or even see it as a possible thing.
“The notion of ‘model minority’ deeply resonates with me. Once one is a member of a minority group, at times one would have the pressure of feeling the necessity of representing the group by oneself. I am from Hong Kong, which is a very small place with only 7 million people. I somehow believed that I should ‘represent’ my own people (Hong Kong) as well (at times I still do).
As a people, we have to try not to associate the person of minority with the group of minorities, regardless race, disability, and so on.”
This is such an important point! One people often forget, too.
[Trigger Warning about terrorist events]
“As a people, we have to try not to associate the person of minority with the group of minorities, regardless race, disability, and so on.”
This is so important. I guess it can be seen a lot in disability – specifically mental health – discrimination (writing about what I know). One negative depiction of this disability in the media automatically taints everyone. I guess it’s most obvious as well with Islamophobia. Following September 11th and the 7/7 bombings, hate crimes against Muslims increased dramatically, as did Islamophobia in general. The people who committed those atrocities were anomalies, yet somehow all Muslims were categorised as dangerous.
It’s horrible.