Book Review

BOOK REVIEW
by Ronald A. Scheurer

Disability, Difference, Discrimination
By       
Silvers, Anita; Wasserman, David; and Mahowald, Mary B.
1998

The number of synonyms that can be used to describe various disabilities and the degree to which those disabilities affect the afflicted can seem endless after reading the points and counterpoints of these authors. What constitutes a disability and to whom? How is one’s disability perceived by the person affected, and at what point was that perception conceived? Before or after its occurrence? How did the disability occur? Is it permanent or temporary. And what is the dis-abled’s felt need for compensation or accommodation by society for transportation or other access compared to others?

The other side of the coin considers the degree to which society accepts the claims of the disabled for compensation. accommodation, or both. Are these claims honored in the name of social justice or moral honor. Who pays, how much, and for how long? What accommodations are needed for various disabilities to match the equal access of walking, talking, hearing, and sighted others? Can any of this be legislated and equitably enforced by government as determined by lobbied politicians?

To what extent does accommodating the disabled inconvenience so called normal walking, sighted, and hearing people? What is their ethical position on helping the crippled, the blind, or the deaf depending on their relationships?

Other issues: If the physically handicapped have limited to access to schools and jobs, their disadvantage is largely caused by the environmentally constructed world that caters to the normally able. Is this morally fair in a society that claims equal opportunity for all regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religious preference, etc. The list of possible differences between any two people could be endless, and in the competitive society many countries on the planet have become, differences give certain groups the edge in the search for success, wealth, and fame.

For insight into the world of the disadvantaged irrespective of the causes, the book is an excellent introduction to the world of people with physical or cognitive problems. It also examines issues felt by their caretakers. While its authors seem to use many ten-dollar words to note differences in and justifications to their own ideas, a few more one-to-five dollar words and shorter sentences would make the book more accessible to average readers.

There is an excellent afterword in the book written by Lawrence C. Becker.