Have you ever seen a loved one or a friend judged or discriminated against because of either their physical or mental disability? People with disabilities have been and still are consistently discriminated against and we need to put a stop to it

People with disabilities are often regarded as not having feelings, which makes it easier to discriminate against them. Peter Greener has sclerosis and had constantly been bullied for it. Many people throw eggs at their house, throw stones at their windows, and he would receive name calling (Birrell). In what circumstance do they get to bully someone for something that they can't control? None. Do you know what it feels like to be bullied for something you can't control? I bet you don't. Disabled people have all the rights we have; they are human beings just like anyone else. Naturally, many people, especially young people, tend to avoid those who make us feel uncomfortable or guilty (Birrell). In 1970, 1 in every 5 kids with disabilities received a public education and many states had laws specifically excluding particular disability categories (I.e kids who are deaf, blind, with intellectual disabilities, or emotional disturbance)(Young). We have no reason to do this, discriminate, against anyone.

There are many polls and statistics on people with disabilities and how they receive judgment and sometimes abuse. Polls have found substantial increases in the number of the disabled people experiencing aggression and/or abuse (Birrell). Phillip Davis says “People with disabilities should be paid less than the minimum wage.” Just because someone may have a disability does not mean they should earn less than someone without one. They may have a harder work ethic than the man who earns more, and yet still get paid less. Many websites including www.tolerance.org/article/disability-awarness provide information about younger kids with disabilities. They say that students with disabilities who are part of inclusion programs will most likely feel left out, but if they are with other kids they generally feel better. This just goes to show that they have feeling like any other person on this earth. They feel better when they are with other people instead of being with other kids with disabilities. According to the New York Times Charter schools in most states continue to enroll proportionately fewer students with disabilities than traditional public schools. I don’t understand why they don’t enroll more, they may not learn the same way as anyone else, but they deserve a chance.

As a society we can make things happen, and make then happen fast if we all pitch in. If we could fix the problem against racism, we can fix it with disabilities. All it takes is the people who don't discriminate against the disabled to convince other people, and show them how wrong it actually is. Not all people will agree with putting a stop to the discrimination, and there will always be those people.

People have emotions and we should know that being excluded, judged against, and bullied hurts and no one likes the feeling. People with disabilities have feelings and we can’t forget that, they receive all sorts of harm that we can stop. They deserve to be treated like anyone else, they deserve to be treated equal. Disabled people can’t control what they have, but we can control discrimination against them.






Works Cited
Birrell, Ian. "The Demonisation of the Disabled Is a Chilling Sign of the times." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 03 Dec. 2011. Web. 1 Feb. 2013.

"Disability Awareness: We're In It Together." Teaching Tolerance. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.

"Disability Discrimination." Disability Discrimination. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.

"Disabled Should Work for Less than Minimum Wage, Tory MP Suggests." N.p., n.d. Web.

Levinson, Lorie. "Disability Awareness: We're In It Together." Teaching Tolerance. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2013.

Rich, Motoko. "The New York Times." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 June 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.

Young, Dr. Jonathan. "National Council on Disability." Briefing Paper, "Bullying and Students with Disabilities" :. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2013.