As some of yall know by now-I'm a wheeler! A member of the disabled community/CULTURE-not everybody with a disability sees it that way but I do..it's part of my identity and something I'm proud of...anyways...Christopher Reeves was a very influential person and his views were often taken to represent those of the population of people with disabilities. I admire his career and his passion for what HE worked so hard to obtain. I also see what great impact he had on so many lives..So--there are many positive things to be said about Reeves...
Many of you may not know that in the disabled community is divided on this issue. Most that I know though (and I) feel that it was saddening to see nearly ALL of Reeves focus be on WALKING. He was known to "chase cures" making a cure his ONLY focus. Not improving rights, education, career, or even equality in his own business of entertainment. It was his choice what to push for and how to apply the millions of dollars he generated with his influence. I, personally, wish he could have expanded it from the single minded goal of WALKING.
To lots of wheelers, walking is really not THAT important...I have never spent my life chasing a cure when I could just be living. It's depressing to think of all the change that could have been had he used his influence to fight for things to improve LIVING with a spinal cord injury. What if he could have researched treatment for the pressure sores (which effect MANY people with SCIs) that eventually led to infection and his death?
Reeves also chose not to cast an actress with a disability in his upcoming made for TV movie based on a true story about a girl that uses a wheelchair. Again, his personal choice, BUT as a person with a disability it would have been a very important statement for me to make to cast someone with a disability or at least try and exhaust every effort to expand the entertainment industry to include more diversity.
And last.....I have been bothered by many of Reeves statements that went out to the public like
"My children lost a father the day I was confined to a wheelchair."
Watching interviews with Reeves children, it's clear tehy are very thankful they do HAVE THEIR FATHER. I wish he would have clarified with several of his statements that it wasn't really that he could not either father or be a complete person without walking but just that he personally was struggling to put his identity back together as a person with a disability.
So.....I know it's pointless to say/think about what could have been...He is admirable and had a strong impact-much of it positve to many-but it's dangerous not to consider the other side of the coin. At least from my perspective and other people like me that are not hangin on edge waiting to walk--One of the reasons his message caught on so well is that he said what the AB (able bodied) world wants to hear-that we miss walking soo much, that we need their help, and that we'd give anything to get back "the life" of putting one foot in front of the other. (there's not much of ANYTHING I would give for it!)
So--that's my lil novel for the day!
Kara