*sighs*

[conuly]

So, somebody posted that annoying flashy image saying that "Marriage is not about Race, Religion, National Origin, Gender, Physical Disability, Et Cetera" on a couple of comms I'm in.

Wait... physical disability?

Which is pretty much what I said, prompting the reply that "well, people with mental disabilities have to be screened to make sure that they understand and consent to marriage".

Maybe I'm wrong here, but I thought that depression was considered a mental disability? And bipolar disorder? And our favorite syndrome, asperger's (let's not get into that debate again, I have a point to make)? And I suppose dyslexia could be considered a mental disability, being as how it's a disability of the mind (though I recognize that this isn't the normal term used), and ADD, and... well, other things. Heck, one could make the case that being in love is a mental disability.

But maybe I'm mistaken.

Comments

[leora.livejournal.com]

*sighs* There are and probably have always been many horrible things done along these lines. I'm not fond of the many forced sterilizations, coerced sterilizations, and people trying to convince others not to marry. I read no_pity, a community for people with any sort of disability or who deal with disability issues, and far too often I read stories about people who have to deal with the family of their lovers trying to convince their lovers to break up. Oh no, it'd ruin your life to be with the person you love, because that person has $insert_disability_here.

But really, these problems are cultural. They all stem from the culture having bad views on disability issues and a whole lot of ignorance. I think the only way to fix them is to change the cultural attitudes, so that a generation of doctors, priests, etc. can grow up with better views and it will flow into their work.