The Dog's Blog

Today, 3rd December 2009, is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

For more information please visit the United Nations Enable site.

My head is hung low in shame…

Today, apparently, is Web Accessibility Day, 2009 and I knew nothing about the occasion until a few minutes ago.

All I can say is ‘Good Luck’ to those organising and taking part in the various events.

Next year, I’ll have a suitable post lined up.

I was idly surfing the Web carrying out deep and intensive research for a blog post, when I inadvertently landed on an old page at ‘BBC – Ouch!’. Ouch is the BBC’s Disability Magazine and the page that I ended up at was a blog post from 2007.

The post, submitted by a chap called Dave Hingsburger, had the intriguing title ‘10 Favourite Disability Quotes’.

Not having heard of Mr Hingsburger, I was impressed enough to find out more about him after reading his post. He lives in Canada, has a physical disability and writes about disability and other things.

If you like his 10 favourite quotes, reproduced below, then you should definitely check his blog at ‘Rolling Around In My Head‘.

And now, without further ado, ‘The Dog’s Blog’ gives you David Hingsburger’s:

‘10 Favourite Disability Quotes’

1. “Rebellion against your handicaps gets you nowhere. Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world – making the most of one’s best.” Harry Emerson Fosdick
2. “There are two kinds of “disabled” persons: Those who dwell on what they have lost and those who concentrate on what they have left.” Thomas S. Szasz
3. “You know the hardest thing about having cerebral palsy and being a woman? It’s plucking your eyebrows. That’s how I originally got pierced ears.” Geri Jewel
4. “Although there are many barriers facing people with disabilities today, the single greatest obstacle we face as a community is our own sense of inferiority, internalized oppression and shame.” Sarah Triano
5. “Suicide prevention for you, but suicide enhancement for us. … Society wants the disabled community to have access to a dignified death when we want access to a dignified life.” Gregor Wolbring
6. “… if I have a bad day, it’s all over. It’s always because of my disability. “Oh, that poor girl, she’s upset because she has a disability” and I’ll say, “No, I’m upset because my boyfriend left me.” “Oh, because he couldn’t deal with the disability?” “No, because I slept with his best friend”..”Oh, you slept with his best friend because you were feeling bad because you have a disability.” Ellen Stohl (first Playboy Playmate with a disability)
7. “I like to shop at factory discount stores. Clothes marked irregular fit me fine.” Brett Leake
8. “I dropped a hammer on my foot. I said, ouch, I bet that hurt.” J.D. England
9. “I know it’s not politically correct to call myself handicapped. I’m supposed to say physically challenged or developmentally disabled. But I don’t have that kind of time.” Chris Fonseca
10. “On my income tax 1040 it says ‘Check this box if you are blind.’ I wanted to put a check mark about three inches away.” Tom Lehrer

Do you have a favourite quote on disability that you’d like to share? Why not submit a comment and let us all know about it!