Greg.See-Kee@f631.n712.z3.fidonet.org (Greg See-Kee) (07/21/90)
Index Number: 9355
This is a DARING topic, with very serious political implications:
Government funding, the charity dollar, millions of ego-trippers,
billions of research & treatment dollars, ...
I know it is very controversial. Please contribute
to the discussion, if you can.
The major methods that we Disabled People are put into categories
of HOW DESERVING we are - is based upon the 12 principle below.
1) If MATERIAL REWARDS can be created for the non-disabled.
(established "good" causes) (WEALTH MODEL)
2) If NON-FINANCIAL REWARDS can be created for the
non-disabled. (pseudo-religious causes, FAME MODEL)
3) Whether a socially acceptable "LABEL" exists (LANGUAGE MODEL)
4) Known cause, but MIXED SYMPTOMS eg drug overdose (MEDICAL
MODEL)
5) If there is any KNOWN TREATMENT eg bone fractures (TECHNICIAN
MODEL)
6) Whether there is any tradition of ACCEPTIBLE TOLERANCE eg
retards (RELIGIOUS MODEL)
7) Size of obvious financial COST TO COMMUNITY eg aged-disabled
(BUREAUCRATS MODEL)
After the above seven ways of categorizing by an intelligent
SOCIAL creature, come the INDIVIDUALISTIC & psychological
categorizations.
8) If we incur EXPENSES onto anyone eg physical immobility
(WEALTH OF ISOLATED CONSUMER)
9) If we incur EMBARASSMENT onto anyone eg disfigurement
(FAME OF SOCIAL PERSON)
10) Known symptoms, but MULTIPLE CAUSES eg pain
(COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY)
11) Known symptoms, but UNKNOWN CAUSES eg madness in DSM III
(PRE-RELIGION eg astrology)
12) If there is any UNKNOWN CURE eg brain damage
(COGNITIVELY IMPOSSIBLE: "devils")
In devising the above scale, I've tried to rank categories in the
order of LEARNING EASE, from Easy to Hard. So the above are
ranked because they motivate, then reward the general public to
consider whether to take notice of a disabilty.
The principles of LEARNING EASE depend first on
1) Rewards;
2) Punishments;
3) Immediacy;
4) Concreteness;
5) Simple Cause-Effect logic.
When I finally confirm this (psychological) learning process,
I'll probably need to re-order all the sequences above.
The above 5 factors of Learning Ease should be considered in a
table or matrix, which is then compared to the 12 Sorting
Categories above.
There are several reasons why this "study" is important to me.
1) If I want to make the really big selfish dollar for myself, a
deeper understanding of my "environment of disability" will
steer me into whatever is the most selfishly rewarding aspect
for me.
2) If I want to avoid loss & pain, I'll know better which
"Causes" to avoid, since Lost Causes are going to be difficult
for all those associated with them.
3) It establishes the How & why of the environments of Racism,
Sexism, Disability-ism and other forms of categorizing
"worthiness" in human beings.
The above study is prompted by my early Social Welfare studies,
where "Good Deeds" were targetted ONLY to the "Deserving
Victims". In my own disability (quite severe brain damage),
Australia considers it to be "Less Deserving" than losing both
legs. That is: wheelchair users are "More Deserving" than crazy
people.
A small example of this principle: a victim of rape & torture is
not as deserving as wheelchair invalids. Since Women, as a whole
group, are generally the victims of Rape etc, then fewer
resources are devoted to treatment, research & prevention.
Now that I have this "model" of how a social grouping of homo
sapiens behaves, then I might be able to eventually return to my
earlier profession of "Social Engineering".
--
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