Elena Munk's Blog ASTU 100

In an interview Shawn Conner from The Vancouver Sun had with Jason DaSilva, a filmmaker and victim of multiple sclerosis, he discusses how people react differently to him because of his disability. In India people stare and question him, whereas in North America he claims there is “an invisibility factor” (DaSilva). He explains that this “invisibility factor” makes it difficult for a disabled person to connect with the rest of society because “people don’t really talk to other people with disabilities” (DaSilva). Delving into possible reasons behind this blatant separation, it can often be due to people feeling uncomfortable because they do not know how to react to disabilities. It can be difficult to decide on whether or not to address a disability or how to do it without being offensive. Others may be more fearful of disability and therefore choose to avoid disabled people altogether. Either way, these attitudes, while not necessarily meant maliciously, only contribute to the exclusion. To further develop DaSilva’s “invisibility factor”, it reflects the stigmatization of and assumptions made towards people who are disabled with becoming ‘invisible’ as an outcome (Dasilva).

How disability is portrayed in the rhetoric of horror in Couser’s Signifying Bodies can be linked to promoting the “invisibility factor” because disability is shown “to be shunned or avoided” (DaSilva, Couser 34). It perpetuates the act of aversion towards those who are disabled (Couser 34), creating the type of separation DaSilva experiences (DaSilva). As well, Couser displays the “invisibility factor” through his summary of Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer’s I Raise My Eyes to Say Yes, which explains her time in an institution, despite having no mental limitations and her eventual freedom (DaSilva, Couser 42-44). By this event, she is invisible in the way that assumptions about her disability are made without further investigation and despite communication efforts, she is not understood until later (Couser 42-44). While DaSilva is outright ignored, Sienkiewicz-Mercer is neglected, both experiences are examples of how people with disabilities are given less of a presence in society (DaSilva, Couser 42-44). In conclusion, to eradicate this “invisibility factor”, society has to follow “the rhetoric of emancipation” that Siekiewicz-Mercer uses in her story (DaSilva, Couser 44). It focuses on addressing and dispelling stereotypes and marginalization towards those who are disabled (Couser 44-45), as well, people must be open to understanding disabilities and not fearing them.

Works Cited

DaSilva, Jason. “Q&A: Jason DaSilva’s disploitative point of view” Interview by Shawn Conner. The Vancouver Sun. Sept.16 2015. Web.  http://www.vancouversun.com/health/jason+dasilva+disploitative+point+view/11369008/story.html

Couser, G.T. Signifying Bodies: Disability in Contemporary Life Writing. University

of Michigan Press. 2009. PDF. Pp. 31-48