person filed for disability due to chronic back pain, their employer only knows that the individual is disabled, not the exact diagnosis. If we were to do away with the term “disabled” individuals would be forced to say their exact diagnosis. For some conditions that fall under the category of a disability, such as chronic back pain or depression, the word “disability” has less stigma behind it then the actual conditions. Instead of being labeled someone with chronic back pain, as opposed to disabled, the individual runs a larger risk of discrimination. The word “disabled” has the purpose of acting like a safety net so individuals can keep their privacy.
I propose that the word “disabled” is not meant to be deeming. The problem with the saying
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If we were to stop looking at individuals as being “sick” and “unfortunate”, labeling individuals as “disabled” would be no different than labeling individuals as men or women. I feel that identification tools are important as they give people a sense of unity. Especially for individuals with disabilities, such as myself, it is easy to feel lonely in “normal” society, as I see the difficulties I battle that others do not have. I believe if we were to get rid of the stigma, individuals who do identify as disabled will feel a strong sense of community with others who are also disabled, but also with the rest of society. Individuals who are disabled should not be made to felt like societal outcast, instead, they should feel supported. In one of my previous examples, homosexuality was once thought of as a disease because it did not fit into societal norms. However, with proper education, homosexuality has become widely accepted. I feel that if we push proper education for what it means to be disabled, being disabled will be more widely accepted and not thought of as a burden. As Silvers says in her article, “to characterize an anomaly as a weakness or loss improperly closes by definition what