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II. Subheroic Narrative And Disability Studies
Let's start, as it’s properly to do, with something rather unrelated. The first pride parade in Croatia was held in 2002, that’s common knowledge. What media covered, it was rather vivid manifestation, should I restrain myself from using other words. The less well-known fact is that the zero-pride was held three years earlier in Zadar. Rather unintended, I must say.
After eye surgery and short-term improvement, Denis lost vision completely. The first and worst shock he confronted with Ivica and, as far as I can tell from aside, Ivica did a magnificent job, overcoming his own fear supporting Denis when he needed it most. Upon returning to Zadar, the whole team was visibly shocked. They guarded on anything what would be said to prevent admitting what had happened. I remember how much that vigil made me nervous and I started to be more supportive to Denis. By that time we were just part of the team, and then we became friends. I do not know if it was about identification – one disabled person does not need to be over diplomatic to another. Perhaps it was just a creative adaptation to rage, but it worked - Denis started pulling out of depression, going out and facing his life no matter how hard it was.
In the middle of August, about a month after surgery, we went to Pergolesi's cheerful opera "Maid Mistress" in the St. Francis monastery. We needed a decent thirty minute walk. As Denis had not yet received either a white stick or a guide dog, the philosophical guide could ultimately serve the purpose. We walked casually, chatting until we reached the bridge. August in Zadar is synonymous with creeping through the crowd, especially in the Old town. There was something weird about Branimir coast, I could not put my finger on it. When we made a few steps toward the bridge, I realized what was wrong – there was an invisible balloon around us. Since we came to Branimir coast, and until I got my bearings, around us, a balloon was formed, of which a meter, a meter and a half, and obediently followed us every step. Simply, Denis held me for the arm, and that was enough for the scandalous associations. I say, holding the arm, so his fingers hold my upper arm (triceps, to be precise). No handhold, arm below arm or the like – everything by the book how to help a blind person.
When I told him what I saw, we laughed. The sophisticated students of psychology, as we were then, decided to test the hypothesis – a walk to the end of Kalelarga. I am not a fan of the summer crowds in the city and I prefer my walk by lateral streets, but this time it was worth the face the disadvantage in the name of science. And the balloon closely followed us: from Branimir, across the bridge to the People’s square, and then to Our Lady of Health. Denis noticed a change in the soundtrack - a typical chatter of the cafes silenced around us. The balloon did not change in front of Lovre or the Central, maybe it inflated a bit around the Kalelarga stalls, but that's a subjective estimate. And all that time there was no single comment, no one ugly word.
And yes, the concert was great.[1]
So what!
A personal perspective
It might be good at first to clarify the motivation. I am a person with disability (Erb's palsy), with twenty years of hospital experience, and hence apparently obvious motivation for choosing a research topic. Apparently, because the rehabilitation process was a series of mostly unchallenging, repetitive visits to physiatric ward (physical exercises, electrostimulation, paraffin, healing mud), with a sprinkle of traumatic experiences, but strategically well deployed.[2] I did not perceive myself *primary* as a person with a disability, that’s the sticker that came from others; I did not picture myself as significantly different. It was simple to position myself among peers: bad in sports, good at school - I believe every child can be easily found in the description ‘good in X, lousy in Y’. From my perspective, dissimilarities (identity’s differentia specifica) were due to my success in mathematics and to the fact that I found reading more entertaining than peers. So I'm introverted, sue me! What I experience as strange was the interlocutor’s discomfort when they tried to offer an explanation *why* they had to find proper instead of usual script to describe me. There was stigmatization, emphasizing exceptional achievement, compassion, high cognitive dissonance, eve metaphysical attempts to explain the maintenance of the cosmic balance ("God Gives and God Takes Away") ... None of the presented I found satisfactory.
It took a lot of time while I understood some of the mechanisms of disability relationships. It was on college, studying sociology I came across Goffman's book "Stigma" (1990). The experience in basic gestalt psychotherapy training has opened up new perspectives on how and how to understand myself and how others understand me. With this work I try to push the horizon a few steps further.
Not your ordinary heroes
As the disability debate is often emotionally charged, and the work of a philosopher is a rational analysis, it may be best to look for the Spanish Inquisition - something quite unexpected. On the VH1 channel, the X Ambassadors’ single "Renegades" was frequently released. at least for a while. In the video, you could see a number of disabled people who successfully participated in some demanding physical activity. There are also scenes shot before and during a concert showing their keyboard player Casey Harris, who’s blind. Comments on that video that I had a chance to hear in an informal conversation spoke of extraordinary achievement, and sometimes the word 'hero' would appear. The song comments one may find on the YouTube service ("X Ambassadors - Renegades" 2015) show a similar pattern:[3] mentioning "real problems in life," "inspiration," "hero".
It is interesting to note that persons with disabilities are twice put outside of boundaries of ‘normal’. They are usually perceived as persons outside the normality range, then they’re put outside the expected and 'normal' ones for a person with disabilities because of their achievements. This double deviation will then be labeled 'extraordinary' or 'heroic'. How the perception of people with disabilities is perceived, and where the transformation of perception from 'ordinary' disabled into 'exceptional' takes place, is the subject of this research.
As a second set of illustrations, let's talk to some of these exceptional people with disabilities: Rick Allen, Douglas Bader, Norman Jeffrey Healey, and Henry Smalls.
Rick Allen is a drummer in the hard rock band Def Leppard since he was fifteen. On December 31, 1984, in a car accident he lost left hand. What most musicians would consider the tragic end of their career, with the encouragement of group members, drummer Jeff Rich and the technical expertise of Simmons, a custom set of drums was developed allowing him to continue his active music career, record albums and group concerts. According to one of the engineers, he becomes a better drummer than before the accident ("Rick-Allen" 2016). Allen summarizes the point of transformation through disability: "Having survived a car accident and losing my hand could ruin my life, instead it took me to an unexpected path of finding my own deepest power." ("Musician" 2016). In 2001, together with her husband, Lauren founded Raven Drum Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to "educate and empower individuals and communities in crisis by means of healing arts, drum sessions and collaborative partnerships" ("Humanist" 2016). The Foundation provides support to the Resistance Program ("Programs" 2016), which includes a number of workshops for the general population, a war veteran support program and their families, Resiliency Radio, an interactive radio program, and online integrative programs. For his humanitarian work, Allen has received several prominent awards.
Norman Jeffrey Healey (1966-2008) is a blind jazz and blues guitarist. Having lost sight in early childhood due to a rare type of cancer, he began to play guitar by the age of three. He developed his own style, playing guitar placed horizontally in his lap. Since August 1988, he has been broadcasting a radio show on CIUT-FM on jazz and blues music (McIntosh and McLean 2009). The height of international glory came during the 1980s and '90s. The first breakthrough on the scene was in 1985 when he performed with Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughn. That same year he founded Jeff Healey Band with a successful international career, including the Grammy nomination in 1989, a performance in movie Road House (Herrington 1989), a world tour and a few highly regarded albums. He played with renowned musicians such as B. B. King, Eric Clapton, ZZ Top (his electric blues-rock style was compared to), Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones and The Allman Brothers Band. Healey was also a passionate collector of vinyl recordings with a collection of over 30,000 titles (McIntosh and McLean 2009).
Fig.1 Sir Douglas R. S. Bader with his Hurricane aircraft.
Sir Douglas R. S. Bader (1910-1982) was a RAF (Royal Air Force) with fifteen confirmed aerial wins during the Second World War. Bader became a member of the Royal Air Force in 1930. In December 1931 he lost control of the aircraft during the air acrobatics, crashed and seriously injured both legs, which were later amputated ("Douglas Bader" 2016). After a lengthy rehabilitation, he has been able to have an active life again with the help of the prosthesis. After the British declaration of war to Nazis, Bader back on disposal to RAF. His commander imposed the requirement that he should be able to place himself in a aircraft cockpit if he wants to fly again, which Bader, with a lot of effort, eventually succeeded (Levy 2013). In August 1941 he was shot down over France and ending in war capture. Whether it was a collision with an enemy Bf109 or was he a victim of a friendly fire is disputed (Mackenzie 2008, 102). Extraordinary events are following - RAF and Luftwaffe agreed to a one-night armistice in order to deliver new prosthesis via the Bader’s fly group (Levy 2013) - the title of the CP dated August 20th 1941, reads: "The Bader unit threw his legs wrapped in the parachute. Entire squadron flew to bring a spare part to the captive" ("Douglas Bader" 2016). All this did not prevent him from escaping from the military hospital only a few days later; they caught him 100 miles away! The UP of September 28th 1941 introduces the article entitled "Bader almost fled on 'tin-foot'" ("Douglas Bader" 2016). After several attempts to escape, he so frustrated the camp commander that he threatened to seize the prosthesis if he did not promise to stop escaping (Levy 2013). He awaited the end of the war at Colditz Castle, the Oflag IV-C camp, considered to be escape-proof.
Henry Smalls is the first African-American in the world who attainded the sixth dan in kendo, the holder of the fourth dan in karate, and he also trained iaido, aikido, and kung fu. This becomes more impressive, at least in order of magnitude when you find out that he has lost both legs with 11 years of age, when in game he was inadvertly pushed under the train in Philadelphia. Smalls has become an inspiration in the world of martial arts, and currently leads the Martial Arts School in Honolulu (Ako & Arakaki 2009). He describes the near death experience and motivation to find the reason why he survived the accident, which gives him drive to train hard. A positive breakthrough was a meeting with Jim Clarke, who invited him in his dojo. Smalls, almost as a school example of Glasser’s reality therapy (1999, 84), provides a sample of complete behavior: a square of behavior, attitudes, emotions and physiology. It emphasizes the importance of one’s own choices crafting experiences as a mean to effective coping. "The only thing no one can deprive you of is the freedom to manage your own world of quality" (Glasser 1999, 55). Despite a negative feedback from the environment, Smalls is persistent in achieving the maximum by his own abilities and becoming the first kendo fighter without a leg in the world. It lead him to audience to the Japanese emperor (Ako & Araraki 2009). Smalls develops a unique style of single-handed fighting in kendo.
Disability studies
Disability concept - approaches
An illustration: education
Disability studies and philosophy
Research hypothesis and structure
Subheroic narrative model
Research goals and hypothesis
Methodology
The results
Conclusion
Appendices
A1: questionnaire Q1
A2: questionnaire Q2
B: statistical tables
References
[1] Essay is published on author's blog (Ćirić 2013).
[2] Disability humor, not up to everyone's taste. If you're not aware of proverb on cats and curiosity, Google "deep electromiography".
[3] When we exclude a third of about 9.000 commentaries, those about Jeep Renegade commercial, about The Flash TV-show or mistyped lyrics. Usenet spirit never dies.