I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much | Stella Young

Translator: Alberto Belmonte Parra Reviewer: oscar chillon

I grew up in a very small country town

Vaig crèixer en una petita població rural

in Victoria.

a Victoria.

I had a very normal, low-key kind of upbringing.

Vaig rebre una educació sencilla, res fora de lo normal.

I went to school, I hung out with my friends,

Anava a l'escola, sortia amb els meus amics,

I fought with my younger sisters.

em barallava amb les meves germanes més joves.

It was all very normal.

Una vida molt normal.

And when I was 15, a member of my local community

Quan tenia 15 anys, un membre de la meva comunitat local

approached my parents

va comunicar als meus pares

and wanted to nominate me

que volien nominar-me

for a community achievement award.

per un premi a un reconexiement a la comunitat.

And my parents said, "Hm, that's really nice,

Els meus pares li van contestar: "Hmm, és molt interessant,

but there's kind of one glaring problem with that.

pero hi veig un problema molt evident en tot això.

She hasn't actually achieved anything." (Laughter)

Ella no ha aconseguit res a reconèixer" (Rialles)

And they were right, you know.

I, de fet, tenien raó.

I went to school, I got good marks,

Vaig anar a l'escola, vaig obtenir bones notes,

I had a very low-key after school job

tenia una feina extraescolar bastant fàcil

in my mum's hairdressing salon,

en la perruqueria de la meva mare.

and I spent a lot of time watching

I dedicava molt temps mirant

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Dawson's Creek."

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" i "Dawson's Creek". (Rialles)

Yeah, I know. What a contradiction.

Sí, ja ho sé, quina contradicció! (Rialles)

But they were right, you know.

Pero tenien raó.

I wasn't doing anything that was out of the ordinary

No feia res fora del considerat normal

at all.

I wasn't doing anything that could be considered an achievement

No feia res que es poguès considerar un reconeixement,

if you took disability out of the equation.

sempre i quan, tregués la discapacitat fora de l'equació.

Years later, I was on my second teaching round

Anys més tard, quan estava en el segon torn de classes

in a Melbourne high school,

a l'institut de Melbourne,

and I was about 20 minutes into a year 11 legal studies class

portava uns 20 minuts al curs 11 d'estudis legislatius.

when this boy put up his hand and said,

quan un noi va aixecar la mà i em va preguntar:

"Hey miss, when are you going to start doing your speech?"

"Senyoreta, quan faràs el teu discurs?"

And I said, "What speech?"

I jo vaig respondre: "Quin discurs?"

You know, I'd been talking them

Ho podeu imaginar, vaig estar parlant-lis

about defamation law for a good 20 minutes.

sobre la llei de la difamació durant uns bons 20 minuts.

And he said, "You know, like,

I ell va dir: "Bueno, ja saps,

your motivational speaking.

algo així com la teva xerrada motivacional.

You know, when people in wheelchairs come to school,

Com ja sabeu, quan gent amb cadira de rodes arriba a l'escola,

they usually say, like, inspirational stuff?"

normalment parlen sobre, algo així com, merda inspiracional?

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

"It's usually in the big hall."

"Això normalment ho fan al saló d'actes"

And that's when it dawned on me:

Va ser en aquell instant quan em vaig adonar que,

This kid had only ever experienced disabled people

aquest noi nomès havia vist persones discapacitades

as objects of inspiration.

com objectes d'inspiració.

We are not, to this kid --

Doncs no ho som,

and it's not his fault, I mean,

i no es culpa seva, vull dir,

that's true for many of us.

es una realitat per a molts de nosaltres.

For lots of us, disabled people are not our teachers

Molts de nosaltres no veiem als discapacitats com

or our doctors or our manicurists.

els nostres professors, o doctors o els nostres estilistes.

We're not real people. We are there to inspire.

Nosaltres no som reals, estem allà per inspirar.

And in fact, I am sitting on this stage

De fet, estic asseguda en aquest escenari

looking like I do in this wheelchair,

de la forma em veieu, en aquesta cadira de rodes,

and you are probably kind of expecting me

i vosaltres, probablement, esteu esperant que us inspiri, oi?

to inspire you. Right? (Laughter)

(Rialles)

Yeah.

Ho veieu!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid

Bé, senyors i senyores, em temo

I'm going to disappoint you dramatically.

que us decebrè dràsticament.

I am not here to inspire you.

No estic aquí per inspirar-vos.

I am here to tell you that we have been lied to

Estic aquí per explicar-vos que ens han mentit

about disability.

respecte la discapacitat.

Yeah, we've been sold the lie

Sí, ens han venut la mentida

that disability is a Bad Thing, capital B, capital T.

que la discapacitat es una Cosa Dolenta, amb C majúscula i D majúscula.

It's a bad thing, and to live with a disability

"Es una cosa dolenta, i viure amb una discapacitat

makes you exceptional.

et fa excepcional."

It's not a bad thing, and it doesn't

No es una cosa dolenta,

make you exceptional.

ni et fa excepcional.

And in the past few years, we've been able

En els últims anys, em sigut capaços

to propagate this lie even further

d'extendre aquesta mentida encara més enllà,

via social media.

a través de les reds socials.

You may have seen images like this one:

Probablemente heu vist imatges com aquesta:

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude."

"La única discapacitat en la vida es una mala actitud"

Or this one: "Your excuse is invalid." Indeed.

O aquesta altre: "La teva excusa no es vàlida". En efecte.

Or this one: "Before you quit, try!"

O aquesta: "Abans d'abandonar, proba-ho!"

These are just a couple of examples,

Aquests són un parell d' exemples,

but there are a lot of these images out there.

pero hi han moltes imatges com aquestes donant voltes.

You know, you might have seen the one,

Es veritat, segurament haureu vist aquella

the little girl with no hands

de la noia petita sense mans

drawing a picture with a pencil held in her mouth.

dibuixant amb un llapís a la boca.

You might have seen a child running

Probablement heu vist un nen córrer

on carbon fiber prosthetic legs.

amb cames artificals de fibra de carboni.

And these images,

I d'aquestes imatges,

there are lots of them out there,

n'hi han moltes voltant pel mòn.

they are what we call inspiration porn.

Nosaltres en diem "porno inspiracional"

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

And I use the term porn deliberately,

Utilitzo el terme "porno" de forma deliberada,

because they objectify one group of people

ja que tracten com objectes un grup de persones

for the benefit of another group of people.

per tal de beneficiar un altre grup de persones.

So in this case, we're objectifying disabled people

Per tant, en aquest cas, estem tractant com objectes la gent discapacitada

for the benefit of nondisabled people.

per beneficiar a la gent no discapacitada.

The purpose of these images

El propòsit d'aquestes imatges

is to inspire you, to motivate you,

es inspirar-te, motivar-te,

so that we can look at them

de manera que podem mirar-les

and think, "Well, however bad my life is,

i pensar: "En fi, per més que sigui dolenta la meva vida,

it could be worse.

sempre podria ser pitjor,

I could be that person."

podria ser aquesta persona..."

But what if you are that person?

Pero, què pasa si ets aquesta persona?

I've lost count of the number of times that I've

He perdut el compte de les vegades que he sigut

been approached by strangers

aturada per desconeguts

wanting to tell me that they think I'm brave

que volien fer-me saber que era valenta

or inspirational,

o una font d'inspiració per ells.

and this was long before my work

I això va ser molt abans de que la meva feina

had any kind of public profile.

tingues algun tipus de perfil públic.

They were just kind of congratulating me

Em felicitaven nomès pel fet

for managing to get up in the morning

de poder llevarme pel matí

and remember my own name. (Laughter)

i recordar el meu propi nom (Rialles)

And it is objectifying.

I Això es tractar com un objecte.

These images, those images

Aquestes imatges, aquelles imatges

objectify disabled people

tracten com objectes a la gent discapacitada

for the benefit of nondisabled people.

per tal de beneficiar la gent sense discapacitats.

They are there so that you can look at them

Estan allà per tal que les puguis observar

and think that things aren't so bad for you,

i pensar que no es tant dolent per a tu,

to put your worries into perspective.

i posar les teves preocupacions en perspectiva.

And life as a disabled person

Viure com una persona discapacitada

is actually somewhat difficult.

es, de fet, una mica complicat.

We do overcome some things.

Superem algunes traves,

But the things that we're overcoming

pero aquestes traves que estem superant,

are not the things that you think they are.

no son les traves que vosaltres creieu.

They are not things to do with our bodies.

No son impediments físics.

I use the term "disabled people" quite deliberately,

Utilitzo el terme "persones discapacitades" de forma bastant deliberada,

because I subscribe to what's called the social model of disability,

perque em cenyeixo al model social de la discapactiat,

which tells us that we are more disabled

el qual ens fa ser encara més discapactitats

by the society that we live in

per la societat amb la qual vivim,

than by our bodies and our diagnoses.

que pels nostres cossos o diagnòstics.

So I have lived in this body a long time.

Per tant, he estat vivint en aquest cos molt temps,

I'm quite fond of it.

li tinc bastant apreci,

It does the things that I need it to do,

fa les coses que necesito fer,

and I've learned to use it to the best of its capacity

i he après a utilitzar-ho el millor que em permet.

just as you have,

exactament com vosaltres heu fet.

and that's the thing about those kids in those pictures as well.

I aquest es també el problema amb aquells nens a les imatges

They're not doing anything out of the ordinary.

No estan fent res extraordinari

They are just using their bodies

Simplement utilitzen els seus cossos

to the best of their capacity.

el millor de la seva capacitat.

So is it really fair to objectify them

Per tant, es realment just tractar com a un objecte

in the way that we do,

de la forma que ho fem,

to share those images?

per tal de compartir aquelles imatges?

People, when they say, "You're an inspiration,"

Quan la gent diu: "Ets una inspiració."

they mean it as a compliment.

Ho fan com un compliment

And I know why it happens.

I sé perquè ho fan,

It's because of the lie, it's because we've been sold

ho fan per culpa de la "mentida", perque ens han venut

this lie that disability makes you exceptional.

aquesta mentida de que la discapacitat et fa excepcional.

And it honestly doesn't.

I, honestament, no ho fa...

And I know what you're thinking.

Sé que esteu pensant,

You know, I'm up here bagging out inspiration,

Estic aquí a dalt, ficant-me amb la inspiració,

and you're thinking, "Jeez, Stella,

i vosaltres estareu pensant: "Jeez, Stella...

aren't you inspired sometimes by some things?"

has estat mai inspirada per algunes coses?

And the thing is, I am.

I la questió es que sí.

I learn from other disabled people all the time.

Aprenc d'altres persones discapacitades tot el temps.

I'm learning not that I am luckier than them, though.

Estic aprenent, no que sóc més afortunada que ells,

I am learning that it's a genius idea

estic aprenent que es una idea genial

to use a pair of barbecue tongs

utilitzar un parell de pinces per la barbacoa,

to pick up things that you dropped. (Laughter)

per agafar les coses que se't cauen. (Rialles)

I'm learning that nifty trick where you can charge

Estic aprenent aquest magnífic invent on pots carregar

your mobile phone battery from your chair battery.

la bateria del teu mòbil a través de la bateria de la cadira.

Genius.

Genialitat.

We are learning from each others' strength and endurance,

Aprenem els uns dels altres, de la nostre força i resistencia,

not against our bodies and our diagnoses,

no dels nostres cossos i diagnòstics,

but against a world that exceptionalizes

tampoc d'un mòn que ens excepcionalitza

and objectifies us.

i ens tracta com objectes.

I really think that this lie that we've been sold

Realment crec que aquesta mentida que ens han venut

about disability is the greatest injustice.

sobre la discapacitat es la major injustícia.

It makes life hard for us.

Ens complica la vida...

And that quote, "The only disability in life

I aquesta cita: "La única discapacitat a la vida

is a bad attitude,"

es una mala actitud."

the reason that that's bullshit

La raó per la qual es una merda de cita,

is because it's just not true,

es perque no es veritat.

because of the social model of disability.

Per culpa del model social de la discapacitat.

No amount of smiling at a flight of stairs

Per molt que somriguis davant d'unes escales

has ever made it turn into a ramp.

això mai les ha fet tornar-se una rampa.

Never. (Laughter) (Applause)

Mai (Rialles) (Aplaudiments)

Smiling at a television screen

Somriure davant d'un televisor

isn't going to make closed captions appear

no farà que apareguin subtítols

for people who are deaf.

per a la gent sorda.

No amount of standing in the middle of a bookshop

Per molt que et quedis de peu en mig d'una llibrería

and radiating a positive attitude

irradiant actitut positiva,

is going to turn all those books into braille.

això no farà que tots aquells llibres es tornin en braille.

It's just not going to happen.

Això no pasarà.

I really want to live in a world

Realment vull viure en un món

where disability is not the exception, but the norm.

on la discapacitat no es una excepció, sinò el normal.

I want to live in a world where a 15-year-old girl

Vull viure en un món on una noia de 15 anys

sitting in her bedroom

estirada al seu llit

watching "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

mirant "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

isn't referred to as achieving anything

no sigui assenyalada per aconseguir res

because she's doing it sitting down.

perque únicament està estirada.

I want to live in a world

Vull viure en un món

where we don't have such low expectations

on no tinguem tan poques expectatives

of disabled people

sobre la gent discapacitada,

that we are congratulated for getting out of bed

a la qual ens feliciten pel fet de sortir del llit,

and remembering our own names in the morning.

i recordar els nostres noms pel matí.

I want to live in a world where we value genuine achievement

Vull viure en un món on valorem els mèrits reals

for disabled people,

de la gent discapacitada.

and I want to live in a world

I vull viure en un món

where a kid in year 11 in a Melbourne high school

on un noi en al curs 11 a l'institut de Melbourne

is not one bit surprised

no estigui sorprès

that his new teacher is a wheelchair user.

de que la seva professora va en cadira de rodes.

Disability doesn't make you exceptional,

La discapacitat no et fa excepcional,

but questioning what you think you know about it does.

pero questionar-te el que penses que saps sobre discapacitat, ho fa.

Thank you.

Moltes gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)