Disability and Disability Culture in America: No Pity by Joseph Shapiro

This week we examined “Disability and Disability Culture in America” through reading No Pity by Joseph Shapiro. Shapiro approaches the history of disability with the methods of a journalist and the book itself is older than some of the others we’ve read, but it still produced important new insights for me as a reader.

Shapiro examines the rise of the disability rights movement and its efforts to counter public perception that disability should be pitied during the second half of the twentieth century. He argues that during these decades disability advocates formed a diverse coalition supporting activist organizations and public protests, attracting broad support for their demands to respect their unique cultures and forge greater inclusion into society (for a copy of my notes, see here). As a journalist, Shapiro makes his arguments primarily through newspaper and magazine sources that capture the perspectives of political leaders as well as everyday Americans with disabilities.  Astute readers might note this as one major difference between the “scholarly” histories we’ve examined in past weeks; another difference is the relative lack of engagement with other historians, as the book does not spend much time grappling with historiographical questions. For our purposes that is not a problem, as Shapiro is still able to provide us a rich historical work.

Shapiro’s book is arranged thematically, but clear historical trends emerge across its chapters. Shapiro observes that during the mid-nineteenth century Americans increasingly sought to draw distinctions between the disabled and those presumed healthy, raising the profile of disabled Americans but often framing them as pitiable subjects. Advances in medical technology saved thousands of soldiers returning from the Civil War and World War I from dying, but also meant the population of disabled Americans grew dramatically.  In addition to war’s devastating effects, muckraking journalists and labor unions exposed horrific injuries American workers suffered in dangerous industrial jobs. While assisting these Americans was well intentioned, public discussion around their veterans and injured workers often framed them as victims with little left to offer society.  At the same time, American intellectuals embraced social Darwinist and eugenicist ideas that cast doubt on the desirability of assisting those born with disabilities. Finally, new theories on educating the disabled often proved detrimental to the communities they were allegedly assisting; despite the creation of American Sign Language in 1817, educators followed Alexander Graham Bell’s insistence that deaf students read lips to forcibly integrate them into the speaking world despite ASL serving as a far more effective method of communication.

In the twentieth century, disabled Americans fought back against the troubling legacy the previous generation left them. Following World War II, rehab workers increasingly believed physical and occupational therapy could be combined, spurring the creation of an independent living movement. During the postwar era, parents of disabled children began finding common cause with parents of children with other disabilities, and found common cause working for all disabled Americans rather than focusing on one specific disability.  Parents and family members of mentally handicapped children demanded better living conditions than the poorly run mental institutions of the era. Disabled Americans themselves also began forming organizations dedicated to fighting problematic perceptions and staging public protests, demanding equal rights including greater access to employment opportunities.

In the final decades of the twentieth century grassroots activists began to secure major political victories as Congress passed new legislation that reshaped disability culture in America. In 1973, a new Rehabilitation Act borrowed language directly from the Civil Rights Act and guaranteed the federal government would not discriminate against the handicapped. When the Carter administration wavered on implementing its provisions, disabled Americans protested and spurred greater public awareness of their cause. While the Rehabilitation Act made significant strides, activists worked throughout the 1980s on new legislation that would end the isolation of disabled Americans from wider society. They created a coalition that crossed party lines, since politicians often had first-hand experience with disabled relatives in their own lives; perhaps surprisingly, the initial drafts of what would become the Americans with Disabilities Act were actually crafted by conservative Republicans. The rehabilitation industry supported this proposed law, as it guaranteed rehabilitation funds could not be based on a patient’s employment prospects. Despite small business owners’ fears that new legislation would lead to new expenses there was far less opposition to the ADA than there was to civil rights legislation during the 1960s. Disabled activists countered their small number of opponents by noting that they did not want “handouts” and instead sought jobs to actually get out of the welfare system. President Bush signed the ADA into law in 1991 and it was rapidly implemented by 1992.

While the ADA was an important victory, Shapiro also observes that disability rights advocates still have many issues they hope to address. Many disability rights advocates cite the “right to die” movement as a symptom of society’s inability to find a place for disabled Americans that ultimately drives them into deep depression and pushes many to consider suicide. Parents of mentally handicapped children cite new studies showing children learned best when living and working with non-disabled students and push for education built around “normalization.” Within the disability rights movement itself, disagreements also remain, as many argue the goal should be total integration into American life, while others (such as deaf Americans) often feel they share a unique culture that should not be callously destroyed in the name of integration (as Progressive Americans such as Alexander Grahama Bell argued in the past).

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a candidate who mocked a disabled reporter, the Trump Administration has actively worked to undermine recent successes by the disability rights movement. Trump’s budget plan calls for substantial cuts to disability programs, specifically critical medical insurance that they are unable to secure through an employer because they are often unable to find work; Shapiro’s research reminds us that entering the workforce is actually a longstanding goal of the disability rights movement and that this insurance is merely an important stopgap on the road to greater equality. Perhaps most troublingly, the Trump Administration rescinded assistance for special education programs, actively undermining efforts to improve the lives of disabled children still in school. Ultimately, Shapiro’s book reminds us that disabled Americans seek federal assistance not as a handout but to guarantee their inclusion in society, securing full equality as Americans.