There have been some folks chiding me lately about political correctness! "Come on," they’ll say, "Those are just words! We don’t think about them. They’re slang, don’t be so picky!"

In some circumstances, I find it a bit hard to defend myself. The words I have written here in previous articles fall away from me, I can’t think of anything to say. So, imagine the feeling when I saw this letter, partially quoted below from the Letters section of the Portland Press Herald.

"Guideline urged for disability coverage
Twenty years ago, when I worked as an attorney-advocate at the Disability Law Project in Pittsburgh, I was aware of a media guideline for the proper language to be used when writing stories about persons with disabilities. I'm dismayed to see that the Press Herald lags behind the times. In "Chair-bound, but free to fly" (Aug. 31), your reporter uses the archaic term "handicapped" (think of the demeaning and degrading image of someone begging" … and I think about an article Norm Meldrum wrote right here. … "your description of Enock Glidden as "(wheel)chair-bound" may be seen as condescending. As Mr. Glidden so ably shows, no one is "bound" to a wheelchair."

This letter was written about a story that appeared in the paper about Enoch Glidden, a person in a wheelchair who was working toward his pilot’s license. I saw the story, I flinched when I read it, and I gritted my teeth. How many of us do this?

Many newspapers need to find the media guidelines for disability language. Not all of us can shrug off the slurs and toughen up to meet the challenges. Maybe more of us should take pen in hand!

I agree with the writer of this letter who concludes with, “I applaud the attempt to alter public perception of persons with disabilities as "helpless" through stories such as the one celebrating Mr. Glidden's accomplishments, but please enhance that perception by using language that shows them as the equals they are.
Tracy Quadro
North Yarmouth"

Thank you Tracy for taking the time to write to the Press Herald. And a special thanks for helping me feel less alone in making a dent in hurtful and ignorant language.

GUIDELINES FOR REPORTING AND WRITING ABOUT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Can be found at
http://www.communitygateway.org/faq/writing_guidelines.htm

The letter quoted above can be found in full at
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/viewpoints/
letters/twodaysago.shtml

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