To be a minority is to have a disorder
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I wanna disagree with this one too. People come in a wide variety of physical conditions and shapes and our physical conditions change widely through our lives too. I don't think it's fair to people who use wheelchairs or people who have other physical disabilities (including osteoporosis, hearing impairments and other disabilities we're all likely to experience as we age) to define their experience as unhealthy or worse than averagely abled people's life experience.
I don't think Milon was implying these things, I just want to make the point that physically differently abled people aren't abnormal.
No, this thread was about defining the implications of disorders, and whether they are synonymous with abnormality, and why
Order? Where? When?
Every human is minority. Majority never existed. Except with the help of abstract languages and symbols.
We could argue, for example, that there is no humanity. I'm something and you are something. We are similar, we can communicate, we can have kids and that defines us as species, but it's still an artificially created image.
Our genes come from the same initial gene pool, we are all relatives, and yet each set of genes had its own path.
We are just walking biomass with no identification and no clear separation. We could view each other as part of one organism, or not even recognize each other as the same species. There's no objectivity in such decisions.
Death can be seen as only transformation of energy, a stage of a super-life, combining all separate lives. Reincarnation is the observation of ancient people that genes produce recurring patterns in following generations; without knowing about genetics.
edit: What you can do is to gather enough support from the creatures around you, and together as a group to claim someone else is in minority and thus has disorder. You can do that successfully, but you'd have used no reason; only force. You'd "win" and your definition will stay - and that's what has happened most times in history. The wrong assumption here is to call a disorder, and treat like a disorder something, that maybe can't become more similar to the group you formed. If it can't, there's no point in forcing it or treating it. It would be like treating pandas to become human, because they are a minority and have this disorder of being pandas.
Every human is minority. Majority never existed. Except with the help of abstract languages and symbols.
We could argue, for example, that there is no humanity. I'm something and you are something. We are similar, we can communicate, we can have kids and that defines us as species, but it's still an artificially created image.
Our genes come from the same initial gene pool, we are all relatives, and yet each set of genes had its own path.
We are just walking biomass with no identification and no clear separation. We could view each other as part of one organism, or not even recognize each other as the same species. There's no objectivity in such decisions.
Death can be seen as only transformation of energy, a stage of a super-life, combining all separate lives. Reincarnation is the observation of ancient people that genes produce recurring patterns in following generations; without knowing about genetics.
edit: What you can do is to gather enough support from the creatures around you, and together as a group to claim someone else is in minority and thus has disorder. You can do that successfully, but you'd have used no reason; only force. You'd "win" and your definition will stay - and that's what has happened most times in history. The wrong assumption here is to call a disorder, and treat like a disorder something, that maybe can't become more similar to the group you formed. If it can't, there's no point in forcing it or treating it. It would be like treating pandas to become human, because they are a minority and have this disorder of being pandas.
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Much of this seems to me like word play and syntax.
The guy who can't walk, he's at a disadvantage to those who can walk, I wouldn't think it's wrong for him to obtain a wheelchair or walking aids to help himself achieve what he wishes.
Same for mental health. I'm ADD and as much as I hate to admit it it does make achieving what I want to harder than the average person, I don't feel slighted in the least by being diagnosed with it and given access to a means of helping myself.
We all use tools to improve our abilities in things, calculators, computers, knives all sorts. I suppose it's more the stigma around the tools you need to keep up that's more the issue.
Although you do run into disturbing hypothetical situations eg.
If [culturally disempowered group] changes say, their physical appearance to appear more like [culturally empowered group] they will be able to achieve there goals easier.
Maybe what I'm thinking is more ability, if you understand what I'm getting at and I haven't completely missed the point
The guy who can't walk, he's at a disadvantage to those who can walk, I wouldn't think it's wrong for him to obtain a wheelchair or walking aids to help himself achieve what he wishes.
Same for mental health. I'm ADD and as much as I hate to admit it it does make achieving what I want to harder than the average person, I don't feel slighted in the least by being diagnosed with it and given access to a means of helping myself.
We all use tools to improve our abilities in things, calculators, computers, knives all sorts. I suppose it's more the stigma around the tools you need to keep up that's more the issue.
Although you do run into disturbing hypothetical situations eg.
If [culturally disempowered group] changes say, their physical appearance to appear more like [culturally empowered group] they will be able to achieve there goals easier.
Maybe what I'm thinking is more ability, if you understand what I'm getting at and I haven't completely missed the point
Yeah I would agree that it is for the most part word play, but you can't deny if there is group that is considered different than the norm they are usually labeled as lesser or with some sort of disorder/disease. I think it's important to note in this culture that minorities are often dubbed with mistrust and the belief that they have some sort of disorder.
In fact, it's also important to note that the only reason disorders exist is that certain groups that were different from the norm were discovered and the only way to asses them back into the 'normal' world was to give them a disorder and treat them to function normally. Thus, in a way, minorities are as of now being treated like a disease and mainstream 'norms' are trying very hard to asses and converge them into the norm.