Embracing disability... or not?

The Fanie Dreams Movement does not embrace disability.

The term "embrace" can have different meanings depending on the context. Here are a few possible interpretations:

1. Acceptance: To willingly accept something, including its challenges and difficulties, rather than trying to change or avoid it.

2. Inclusion: To welcome and include something or someone as a natural part of a larger whole.

3. Empowerment: To take ownership and control of something.

4. Love and affection: To hold someone or something close, physically or emotionally, as a sign of love, care, or appreciation.

In our opinion, it's not fair to expect someone to accept, welcome, include, love, or take ownership of a concept like disability that is imposed upon them, especially when it's humiliating or exclusionary. Disability is imposed by societal barriers, and it is essential to acknowledge the pain, frustration, and marginalization that comes with it.

Society must understand and acknowledge the struggles that people who have impairments face, including exclusion from buildings, meetings, or social events, which can be devastating and isolating. Instead of expecting acceptance, we should emphasize:

1. Acknowledging the exclusion and challenges

2. Advocating for change, accessibility, and equity

3. Supporting empowerment and self-advocacy

4. Working together to create inclusive environments

Disability is a result of societal barriers, attitudes, and exclusions that prevent people who have impairments from fully participating in society. It's not the impairment itself that's the problem,

but rather how society responds to it. This understanding is at the heart of the Social Model of Disability, which distinguishes between:

- Impairment (a difference)

- Disability (the societal barriers and exclusions resulting from it)

By recognizing this distinction, we can work towards creating a more inclusive and accessible society that values and empowers people who have impairments, rather than perpetuating ableism and exclusion.

Society must take responsibility for the extent to which persons who have impairments are excluded.