"cool to crippled" is the exact text and message sent to America's youth. Without qualification, readers are told that if you use a wheelchair for mobility you are nothing but a "cripple", and therefore the exact opposite of all things "cool".
"wait until the day you roll it [your wheelchair] into school" is the final sentence. America's impressionable youth is now told that the end all of tragedy and social ostracization is the simple act of "going to school in a wheelchair".
These statements and the photograph are a slap in the face to the estimated 5,600,000 Americans living in the US with some type of paralysis. They are an insult to the millions of Americans that use wheelchairs for mobility. They are cruel and defeating words to the thousands of young soldiers who have been permanently wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and now hope to lead productive and fulfilling lives.
As people who use wheelchairs every day, we stand against this negative characterization of ourselves and our lives. We defy its defeatist message. We give our support and encouragement to anyone who through accident, disease, or otherwise uses a wheelchair whether it be for a single day or for a lifetime.
CONTACT US VIA INFO@NOT-ME.ORG
