Disablity

In her essay “Disability”, Mairs reveals that people with recognizable disabilities are “just like every other” (para. 4) human being yet the media portrays them as inferior to “Temporarily Abled Persons” (para. 7).  They face enough injustices in their daily lives due to their faults and making the harassment by the media even more unwarranted. Disabled people are completely dehumanized by both the media and society in general. TAPs fail to see the true personality and character of these people and unjustly identify them through their liability. The disabled are made to feel as though they don’t exist but rather just spectators of the show that is life. Mairs states that some “deny the existence of me and my kind absolutely” (para. 4). They aren’t allowed to interact with society in the manner TAPs can and don’t get an accurate representation in the media or advertisements. They are never portrayed as capable and responsible human beings but rather as hopeless and dependant. The irony and sarcasm Mairs utilizes in her piece reflects the paradox present in the depiction of disable people; in a sense, we will all be disabled at some point in our lives whether it be through age or physical injury.