Thursday, September 23, 2010

Gimp Is trible and Strong!

I often get asked what is the correct terminology when referring to one’s disability. I question to myself if I am the right person to offer my opinion. Don’t forget I am the guy that introduced him self as king gimp to millions of people around the world. At first the producer really did not know what to think of the name. They asked if I really want people on the street to call me gimp, sure why not. Then my mom did not like the name, because it referred to being homosexual. I asked around in my many circles of friends and none of them have heard of this. Maybe in some under ground fetish culture, like in Pulp Fiction gimp does label some one’s sexuality. But ten years later I still have not heard gimp used in that way. Then there is the opposite end of the spectrum, in the age of political correctness people demanded not to call a disability an illness, decease, or condition. I guest, they wanted a disability by its prober name, so should I get upset when people say that I have M.S. and not C.P. No Dena and I just take the time to explain the difference between the two. According to the lawyer on T.V., C.P./Cerebral Palsy is a very expensive mistake! Yes, life with a disability is expensive, but not a mistake. It is a challenge to make life more interesting. I think if from the start the family and the disable person look at this as a mistake. They are sure to fail in life for not accepting the challenge and live life to the fullest. When I was about 14 I would go to camp and I saw a shirt that had X over dis in the word disability. To this day I still cannot figure that out, because it was like cutting off a part of who I am. I think of my disability, it help makes me the person that I am and would not have it any other way.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Dan,
    I'm the mom of a little boy who has CP (due to a stroke), and I too struggle sometimes with the terminology. I don't like it when people call my son's CP/stroke an illness, because that adds more stigma to it. I've had a few people act like they were afraid to come near him because they could catch it. It also really makes me angry when people ask what's wrong with him. There's nothing wrong with him; he's my son and he's the greatest person in the world (in my somewhat biased opinion, anyway). Sure, some things are harder for him, but there's nothing wrong with him as a person. Other than that, though, most of the terms don't bother me. It will be up to him to decide which ones to use when he gets older, though.
    Anyway, glad I found your blog. I first watched King Gimp years before I became a parent, and I really enjoyed it. It helped a lot after my son's diagnosis, when I really knew nothing about CP. Take care!

    - Jo

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