Recommended Reading for December 21

Stuart Penn sculpture* NRC Handelsblad: Disabled poster boy banned from rail stations

Not Normal, an art-exhibition focussed on the position of disabled people in society, which opened in Amsterdam on Wednesday has immediately sparked controversy. The exhibition features pieces by 80 visual artists, whose work all evokes the same question: what constitutes normality? And who decides what is normal and what is not?

An answer to the latter question came more quickly than expected. The Dutch national railway company NS refuses to display posters advertising the event at its train stations. The poster in question features a nude sculpture British artist Marc Quinn made of Stuart Penn, a British stuntman and amputee.

The NS defended its decision citing fear of customer complaints. According to a spokesperson, the NS’ stations should be “a pleasant place” for passengers. “We feel this poster is too confrontational and unfit for the public at large,” the spokesperson said.

description: A white sculpture reminiscent of the Ancient Greek tradition, on a plain black background. The sculpture is of a young man, naked, standing on his left leg. His right leg, with what appears to be an above-knee amputation, is raised in the style of doing a karate kick. His right arm is raised, bent and clenched in a fist; his left, with an above-elbow amputation, is by his side.

* synecdochic: six things make a post

[on replacing ableist terms at Wikipedia; synecdochic’s working on “Wheelchair bound”] I’ve gotten up to item 180 260 out of 822 on search results (which don’t seem to be updating), if anyone else wants to pitch in. “Confined to a wheelchair” is another good target, with 349 results as of now.

* eruthros: Casual Ableism

2. “She just won’t go to sleep at her bedtime.”
“Kids today!”
“Well, she’s on some medication that makes her agitated.”
“I don’t care how strong the medication is, you have to make it clear that there are LINES that she can’t cross. Bedtime is bedtime.”

Yes, guys, side effects can be reduced if authority figures make rules! Also, rules and lines are the same for everyone, regardless of circumstances!

* Angry Black Bitch: From the soap box on the topic of autism…

Autism is not a childhood disorder.

Autistic kids do not grow out of it. I don’t give a shit about celebrities who claim otherwise or books that speculate about blah, blah and another blah.

The current reality is that autistic kids will become autistic adults.

The Jamaica Gleaner: Taxing even the blind – Disabled community outraged and saddened

Members OF the disabled community are both outraged and saddened by the recent decision by the Government to impose general consumption tax (GCT) on essential items used by persons with disabilities. […]

[Virginia Woods, executive director of the Jamaica Society for the Blind] said this could mean that the organisation might have to start charging a small fee for canes, which it does not want to do because many blind people are struggling to make ends meet.

* China View: China relaxes driving restrictions for disabled people

China’s Ministry of Public Security on Thursday issued an amendment to driving license rules, giving more disabled people the rights to sit behind the wheel.

Those with disabled right leg or both legs but able to sit up independently are allowed to drive small-sized automatic transmission cars which are specially designed for them, according to the new rules which will take effect on April 1.

The present regulation only allows those with disabled left legs to drive.

2 thoughts on “Recommended Reading for December 21

  1. When I saw the picture of the statue, I knew it wasn’t exactly classic Greek – lots of movement – not symmetrical! But the… something style… Man I really enjoyed ART 1030 this year.

    Anyways, if it was for an exhibition of recovered statues missing parts of their limbs due to decay, no one would say boo. (Well, except that group from the Simpsons who objected to “David.”)

  2. “My sister doesn’t like to go out of the house, so sometimes we have to make her.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah, she claims she’s agoraphobic or something, but she’s really just lazy. She got a doctor to say she’s depressed, but I think she just needs to get more exercise.”
    “Oh, absolutely getting out of the house will help with that.”

    wat.

    Cue rage.

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