This post is based on two things: Firstly, I heard a fantastic speech by Haben Girma yesterday and one of the lines she used should be taken to heart by well-meaning people who do not wish to sound insensitive or politically incorrect: `Don't describe me or my talk as inspirational'. The offending adjective is frequently used for a person who is an achiever and has some manner of disability. The entire sentence `you are inspiring/inpirational' reeks of condescension in this context, conveying the impression that you must be inspired/have divine powers/ be a divyangjan in order to be able to achieve anything if you have a disability. Secondly, the first question tossed to Haben by a member the audience was `You say technology should come to the aid of enabling such people to contribute to society; on the other hand, India is a poor country; how does one reconcile these two problems?'. This question came from a former colleague at the institute where the talk was given, and many is the argument we have had over the years on different points of view; and it is time to cross swords again! Haben hit the nail on the head when she answered him with `it is just a matter of attitude; it only requires a willingness to recognise and solve the issues'.
To resume my squabbling with my ex-colleague, I will say `our poor India has money to build four lane highways all across our land, cut all the trees to build monumental flyovers and gift her cities to such of her poor citizens as can drive their gas-guzzlers and create pollution to the alarming levels that Delhi witnessed recently'. This idiotically short-sighted belief of our city-planners that building wider and more roads will solve all our problems, is an abhorrent gift to the world by America that never fails to get my goat.
The question I am ranting about amounts to this: should we continuously build all these roads which make it impossible for a wheelchair user, even a pedestrian, to step out of his home (unless he himself has a car), at a cost which is of a much greater order of magnitude than that of making information technology and our buildings accessible to people (with or without disabilities/wheelchair-using/sick /elderly)? In an earlier argument with this colleague I had dismissed some statement as bulls..t, and he publicly chastised me for using `barnyard epithets'. Seriously, asking Haben the question he did merits a repeat usage of such epithets, because they are the mots justes in this case.
This lecture of Haben's was recorded and a link to that video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOYthLcP1ZM
To resume my squabbling with my ex-colleague, I will say `our poor India has money to build four lane highways all across our land, cut all the trees to build monumental flyovers and gift her cities to such of her poor citizens as can drive their gas-guzzlers and create pollution to the alarming levels that Delhi witnessed recently'. This idiotically short-sighted belief of our city-planners that building wider and more roads will solve all our problems, is an abhorrent gift to the world by America that never fails to get my goat.
The question I am ranting about amounts to this: should we continuously build all these roads which make it impossible for a wheelchair user, even a pedestrian, to step out of his home (unless he himself has a car), at a cost which is of a much greater order of magnitude than that of making information technology and our buildings accessible to people (with or without disabilities/wheelchair-using/sick /elderly)? In an earlier argument with this colleague I had dismissed some statement as bulls..t, and he publicly chastised me for using `barnyard epithets'. Seriously, asking Haben the question he did merits a repeat usage of such epithets, because they are the mots justes in this case.
This lecture of Haben's was recorded and a link to that video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOYthLcP1ZM
Good read and good points as well. Let me also share you this Old Habits Die Hard
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