Using political views to stigmatize others
Driving home today, I saw a large sticker plastered on the back of a truck that read: LIBERALISM IS A MENTAL DISORDER.
To be fair, I'm not sure if the driver was referring to a mental illness or a developmental disability, so I'll address both... since, of course, I want to be politically correct. Both mental illness and developmental disabilities or delays transcend one's political ideology.
When being treated for mental illness, if you can afford it, you meet people of all walks of life. Every socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and political party is impacted by mental illness. 20% of American adults have a psychiatric disorder, so if you can't think of someone close to you who battles mental illness, then they just aren't telling you. Would you park this truck in a neighborhood that just lost a community member to suicide, or outside a house where a person with anxiety is learning to cope with his mental illness so he can attend college?
As for developmental disabilities, I wonder if the driver would feel proud parking his truck at a treatment center for children and adults with developmental disabilities or in a neighborhood where the community loves and respects their neighbors who have developmental disabilities. For people with a developmental disability or families who are fighting for the rights of their loved ones, seeing a sticker like that is a reminder that people with disabilities should not have a voice or an opinion.
As a woman coping with a mental illness, the daughter of a special education teacher, a family member of people battling mental illness, the friend of a family touched by cerebral palsy, the former babysitter of a child with a disability, and as a future human services worker, I will forever fight for the rights and well-being of the people society says have "A MENTAL DISORDER." Liberal, conservative, in the middle, wherever you stand on the political spectrum: DO NOT LET POLITICS BE YOUR EXCUSE FOR STIGMATIZING PEOPLE UNLIKE YOURSELF.
If you have a "mental disorder" or are the loved one of a person with a "mental disorder," stand up for what's right.
To be fair, I'm not sure if the driver was referring to a mental illness or a developmental disability, so I'll address both... since, of course, I want to be politically correct. Both mental illness and developmental disabilities or delays transcend one's political ideology.
When being treated for mental illness, if you can afford it, you meet people of all walks of life. Every socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and political party is impacted by mental illness. 20% of American adults have a psychiatric disorder, so if you can't think of someone close to you who battles mental illness, then they just aren't telling you. Would you park this truck in a neighborhood that just lost a community member to suicide, or outside a house where a person with anxiety is learning to cope with his mental illness so he can attend college?
As for developmental disabilities, I wonder if the driver would feel proud parking his truck at a treatment center for children and adults with developmental disabilities or in a neighborhood where the community loves and respects their neighbors who have developmental disabilities. For people with a developmental disability or families who are fighting for the rights of their loved ones, seeing a sticker like that is a reminder that people with disabilities should not have a voice or an opinion.
As a woman coping with a mental illness, the daughter of a special education teacher, a family member of people battling mental illness, the friend of a family touched by cerebral palsy, the former babysitter of a child with a disability, and as a future human services worker, I will forever fight for the rights and well-being of the people society says have "A MENTAL DISORDER." Liberal, conservative, in the middle, wherever you stand on the political spectrum: DO NOT LET POLITICS BE YOUR EXCUSE FOR STIGMATIZING PEOPLE UNLIKE YOURSELF.
If you have a "mental disorder" or are the loved one of a person with a "mental disorder," stand up for what's right.
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