What I Hope We Can Really Take From The Paralympics.

DISCLAIMER: Not Proofed Yet; just wanted to get it out there. Expect rambling, typos and other offences.

It's fair to say that the Paralympics have been kind of a big deal to me. Time will tell, I guess, but right now it feels like it could be life-changing stuff.

I'm not exaggerating. My perspective on disability has been totally shifted by the events of the last ten days. I'm not alone, either. I'm glad to hear from so many non-disabled people that their attitudes are changing too, but for me, the most important thing is how the attitudes within the disabled community could change too. Right now, I just want the whole world to feel as inspired as I do. Forgive me, I'm still so excited by it all. Not everybody shares my enthusiasm, I know.

Not surprisingly, with the word 'disabled' being used so much on television, it's no surprise that some offence has been caused. A common idea is questioning the word itself.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy came under fire last night on twitter for voicing his view that the word 'disabled' seems like it might be redundant, a sympathy that Simon Pegg also shared and was subsequently attacked for. I see the issue here; it may seem insensitive, but I consider the other side of this. When Oscar Pistorius steps onto the track, we are seeing a man whom by any current definition is disabled. Yet, he's at the peak of his physical fitness, and one of the most celebrated athletes in the world. He displays seamingly superhuman capabilities; the word 'disabled' seems so ugly and inappropriate.

Sir Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee gave an impassioned but controversial argument for why the word desabled should be redundant. Backlash to this idea was strong; many disabled people saw Craven as a 'disability denier'. Cries of "Deny my disability, deny ME!" rang through twitter that evening; a sentiment I cannot identify with. I just don't want to see disability as an absolute ceiling to achievement any more. That's just me, and I'm probably more than a little quixotic. Whatever, I need the optimism right now.

I follow a lot of people who talk about disability on twitter, and I'm saddened by one aspect of the commentary. A lot of people are protesting that we "can't ALL be like that" i.e. "superhuman" athletes. I really feel this is missing the beauty of what the Paralympians have achieved. No, we can't all be athletes, and even fewer people will actually want to, but surely the thing to take from all this is about breaking down preconceptions? I've seen do things I couldn't imagine doing, with conditions similar (and in some cases more severe) than my own.

One worry I do have is that the government will use this as a kind of pep-talk for disabled people, that we should follow by example. That will of course be insincere spin. The government's perception of success for disabled people will surely be just to 'prove' that it's Back To Work initiative works. 'Be like a paralympian, go and prove you can work!" - you can almost gaurantee that this kind of patronizing spiel will come from a Tory very soon...