On Being A Cripple Essay

Cripple Intro. and First Body Paragraph “I don’t know if many people know this about me, but I have multiple sclerosis. So I don’t have time for a lot of shades of gray . I don’t have time for BS.” - Neil Cavuto. In “On Being a Cripple,” Nancy Mairs discusses the language of American society while including personal accounts of her struggle with multiple sclerosis (MS). Mairs presents herself as a proud individual through her utterly defiant personality, her word choice in deciding to identify as a cripple, and explaining why other socially accepted euphemisms do not define her. Mairs makes it clear that she is a cripple and only wants to be identified as one by stating that “Whatever you call me, I remained crippled.” To her, identifying with the word “cripple” makes her tough, like a cancer survivor. She throws the idea right back at American society that she does not want to be identified as “handicapped” or “disabled”. She

She states “I am a cripple. I choose the word to name me.” She prefers to be deemed as a cripple showing her decisiveness to be associated with the word cripple, which creates a sense of self-worth , in turn giving her satisfaction. In addition, Mairs mentions, “I made the choice a number of years ago, but I recognize that they are complex and not entirely flattering.” Although she realizes that here are negative connotations associated with the being a “cripple”, she conveys acceptance of herself by wanting to identify as one. Moreover, she says, “As a cripple, I swagger.” This statement implies that she struts both literally and figuratively. Consequently, she likes the attention that being perceived as “tougher” than everyone else gives her; she is aware of how she’s recognized. Although she prefers to be looked at as a cripple, people often associate her with other