Generalizations, Differences, and Human Commonality
Working in the field that I do, I've been reminded several times recently that it is dangerous, and usually not advisable, to make generalizations and blanket statements about groups of people.
For example, people with developmental disabilities are highly varied, both in the nature of their disability or disabilities (cognitive, emotional, social, etc.) and also the level or severity of those disabilities. There is also a distinct difference between mental health and developmental disability. Then there are people who are physically disabled but have no developmental disabilities or mental health problems, and so are very different. People with cerebral palsy are perhaps the best and most common example of this.
We have to be careful to not create distinct groups of "us" or "them," whether we are referring to racial, ethnic, social, physical or mental or developmental disability, and possibly even religious differences. Individual members of humanity have much more in common with each other than is different, and that human commonality is where equality and mutual respect comes from. As I already mentioned in a previous post on my other blog (see Link below), people with developmental disabilities rarely have an us/them mentality even though to you and me it might seem as they have more reason to categorize themselves than we do. Rather, many of the people I have worked with have an innate sense of how they are like a person, or unlike them, and it only takes a small similarity to create a unique bond between people.
The other day, we had a barbecue at the house I was working at and there were a bunch of people there from two of three different houses, both coworkers and residents. As I was observing what was going on, I had a weird feeling that residents were more socially adept with overall, and with each other, than the coworkers were. Maybe there is something to that statement that Jesus said: "There are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last" (Luke 13:30).
For example, people with developmental disabilities are highly varied, both in the nature of their disability or disabilities (cognitive, emotional, social, etc.) and also the level or severity of those disabilities. There is also a distinct difference between mental health and developmental disability. Then there are people who are physically disabled but have no developmental disabilities or mental health problems, and so are very different. People with cerebral palsy are perhaps the best and most common example of this.
We have to be careful to not create distinct groups of "us" or "them," whether we are referring to racial, ethnic, social, physical or mental or developmental disability, and possibly even religious differences. Individual members of humanity have much more in common with each other than is different, and that human commonality is where equality and mutual respect comes from. As I already mentioned in a previous post on my other blog (see Link below), people with developmental disabilities rarely have an us/them mentality even though to you and me it might seem as they have more reason to categorize themselves than we do. Rather, many of the people I have worked with have an innate sense of how they are like a person, or unlike them, and it only takes a small similarity to create a unique bond between people.
The other day, we had a barbecue at the house I was working at and there were a bunch of people there from two of three different houses, both coworkers and residents. As I was observing what was going on, I had a weird feeling that residents were more socially adept with overall, and with each other, than the coworkers were. Maybe there is something to that statement that Jesus said: "There are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last" (Luke 13:30).
posted by Luke at 11:31 AM
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