Applying Disability Theory

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The Influence of Non Fiction Literature

CPARC's mission of assisting its clients in living as "normal" of a life as possible fits very closely with Rosemarie Garland Thomson's take on Mary Douglas's theory of "Dirt." According to Douglas, integration is the best and only "potentially positive" method of dealing with the anomalous (Douglas qtd. in Garland Thomson 37). Through the vocational services and education, CPARC is incorporating its members into society as best it can. This allows those with disabilities to coexist with those without disabilities and lead the best life they can. The best application of this is educational programs CPARC runs in which children with and without mental disabilities go to school together. They play, interact, and learn with each other at the same time. According to volunteers and employees, this program works wonderfully and there is practically no harsh treatment or segregation of those with disabilities that is often found in society.

However, even though CPARC does try to integrate their members into society, some of Douglas' other theories of how people deal with "Dirt" are also applicable here, such as her fourth method of "segregation and elimination" (Douglas qtd. in Garland Thomson 36). For example, many of the clients have been ignored by society completely. Even though some of them have jobs, they are given positions that do not require social interaction. They are in the back of the business where customers can not see them to ensure that the customers will not feel uncomfortable. Also, the idea of the "Normative" is applicable during the service experience. Comparing our lives to theirs and even their rooms and clothing to reaffirm how "normal" we are is evidence on how deep cultural assumptions are ingrained into society.

The Influence of Fiction Literature

The role of religion seems to be important in the lives of some people with disabilities. This can be seen in the short story, "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Conner and the novel Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn. In the short story, Manley Pointer preys on his victims and earns their trust through the use of religion. He gains access into their houses by assuming the persona of a trustworthy and hardworking Christian. By doing so, he is allowed into their personal lives and space and so is then able to acquire their difference, such as a wooden leg or a glass eye. In Geek Love, Arty becomes the leader of a cult called Arturism. His followers ritualistically remove parts of their bodies in order to become different, or more like Arty. In both of these stories, religion is used as a way to gain the trust and hope of people with disabilities. Manley and Arty exploit the feelings of inadequacy and failure of their victims in society. This profit from taking advantage of people with mental and physical disabilities is similar to an experience with one of the clients from CPARC.

This one woman from the North St Apartments was enraptured by a man who self-proclaimed to be a preacher. He held seminars outlining the end of the world and how one could prepare himself. The woman strongly believed every word he said, even though it was obvious that he was a fanatic and that his views were extremist. Because he charged a significant amount of money for his pamphlets, he seemed to be benefitting from taking advantage of the woman's inability to fully comprehend the implications of his seminars or her feelings of anxiety about belonging to a group in society. Also, because people with disabilities sometimes do have difficulty with feeling as though they belong to a group, most often, they will turn to religion. However, since some "normal" people will use this as a way to profit, religion merely becomes another example of how "norms" dehumanize and segregate people with disabilities.