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What is the Disability Rights Movement?
In America, there was a disabilities rights movement and this was nothing but a group of approximately 40.7 million people with disabilities. But today they are leading self-affirming and independent lives and they have defined themselves with their own personhood. They define themselves according to their own beliefs, ideas, dreams, and hopes and these all go beyond their disability.
From the mid of 1900s, there were any movements towards fighting the recognition of disability to be treated as an aspect of identity. This identity is supposed to experience and influence an individual but not restricted to the sole definition of a person’s features.
What they were fighting for?
So, what were all these people with disabilities fighting for? They have battled against harmful stereotypes, biased assumptions, and irrational fears. There was stigmatization of the disability and that resulted in the economic and social marginalization of the Americans generations with disabilities. For example, similar to many other kinds of oppressed minorities, even disabled people were left with a extreme state of impoverishment for a long time. So really they are fighting for equality in all respects. The tech industry as a whole has been a great ally for people with disabilities. Even hookup apps like free fuckbook offer support and promotions for them under the belief that anyone should be allowed to meet n fuck. Other adult dating platforms like AdultFriendFinder have followed suit. However unlikely adult companies that are often shunned and stigmatized themselves contribute to a lot of activism and philanthropy.
Tragic and Meager
Till the 1800s, disabled people were actually treated as pitiful, tragic, and meager individuals. They were actually considered unfit for society since they were believed to contribute nothing to society. They were always treated and told to serve as ridiculed objects just for entertainment in the exhibitions and circuses.
Disabled people were actually considered as abnormal and assumed to be feeble-minded. There were many disabled people who were forced to experience sterilizations as well. The worst condition was people with disabilities were actually forced to get to institutions and in asylums. The majority of the disabled people spent their entire lives there itself away from families.
When some people requested for segregation and purification of these disabled people it was considered as a merciful action. People with disabilities always wanted to be invisible and hide from this society since they were biased and fearful.
World War I
All these biased treatments continued until World War I. At this point, veterans with disabilities requested rehabilitation from the US government for the exchange of their service for their nation. Later by the year1930s, the United States introduced a lot of new technological advancements and along with that government assistance towards contributions for disabled people. This helped disabled people in achieving self-sufficiency and self-reliance.
What Happened after These Advancements?
Even after all these initiations took towards self-reliance and independence, people with disabilities were not able to access public transportation. They had no access to bathrooms, telephones, and stores. There were many offices with stairs and worksites and these were all not reachable for people with disabilities. The worst thing they faced was high attitude employers. This was the biggest barrier in their journey. Hence even after all these advancements; there were many eligible and talented people with disabilities who were away from the best opportunities.
Finally, in 1970, activists of disability rights were able to lob the Congress and they decided to march on Washington. This movement was all about the inclusion of civil rights language for all the disabled people right into the 1972 Rehabilitation Act.
Later in the year 1973 the Rehabilitation Act was finally passed. By this, they achieved a major milestone and through this, it was guaranteed that the civil rights of disabled people were protected by law.