Saturday, July 28, 2012

Fuck the Olympics

The Olympics is a celebration of what a physical body is capable of. I have Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which is a degenerative motor neuron disease, and all it is good for is TAKING AWAY everything that the physical body is capable of doing. So, I am an expert at what the physical body is UNABLE to do... I can't walk, I can't speak loudly, I can't reach out and touch anyone, I can't feed myself, and I can't express many outwardly physical emotions.

As I'm watching the opening ceremony tonight of the 2012 Summer Olympics, all I'm reminded of is the millions of people around the world who are physically unable to display any type of grace, expression, or excitement BECAUSE of their physical disability. Sure, there is a segment of the Olympics that occurs after the regular games (the Paralympics... typically unaired on national television, of course) that includes those with physical impairments, but it is still focused on what a person is physically capable of doing.

I am physically capable of moving one finger to drive my electric wheelchair, and I'm physically capable of speaking well enough for a software program to convert my speech into text. Where it is the celebration for what I am physically capable of doing? Who is TiVoing the program where my physical abilities are expressed and shared with the world?

Am I bitter? Perhaps... I must admit that I have been drinking tonight... but this does trouble me. In a world where it seems that the only thing that matters is what one is physically able to do, I wonder where I fit in. Sure, some of these thoughts tonight are probably a result of me being single... and the fact that I am constantly reminded of how difficult it is to attract a mate without the ability to reach out and touch... but it is there.

I apologize for the negativity tonight... wait, no I don't... fuck that... this is what I'm feeling.... I hope you enjoy the 2012 Summer Olympics, as I'm having a hard time doing so.

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