How I fail at being disabled | Susan Robinson

81,067 views ・ 2017-08-03

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:14
I'd like to introduce you to my mom.
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(Laughter)
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I'm guessing that's not what you expected,
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and it's not what I expected either,
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and thank goodness I realized that an Asian man was not my mom
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before I hugged him,
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because that would have been so awkward.
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Recognizing people isn't one of my strengths
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due to a genetic visual impairment that has no correction or cure.
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As a result, I am legally blind,
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though I prefer "partially sighted" because it's more optimistic.
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(Laughter)
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And I'm entitled to the label "disabled."
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I hate the word disabled when it's used to describe people.
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It detonates a mindset of less than
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that utterly disregards capacity,
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ability, potential,
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instead prioritizing brokenness
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and lack.
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The perspective can be overt.
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What can't he do for himself that I'm going to have to do for him?
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She'll probably need some accommodation
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that no other employee at this business needs.
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Sometimes, the hidden bias
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is so sweetly conveyed.
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"Wow, Susan,
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look at everything you've done in your career and your life.
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How did you do all of that and be visually impaired?"
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(Laughter)
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I fail at being disabled.
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(Laughter)
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So in the spirit of incentivizing the rampant failure
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of people all over the world
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and enticing the so-called normal to just give it a rest already,
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here are five tips
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to fail at being disabled.
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Tip one:
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know your superpowers.
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The best team I ever led in my career
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was based on superpowers,
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and we even gave ourselves fancy-pantsy titles
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like "the Pillar of Masterly Acumen."
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"The Biscuit Butterer."
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(Laughter)
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"The Voice of Reason."
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Because we relied on our strengths,
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our best strengths,
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we achieved tremendous outcomes.
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The trait that prevents me from recognizing my mom
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allows me to smoothly adapt,
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to quickly absorb and accurately process an exhausting volume of cues,
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tease out what's important,
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determine multiple processes or potentials for any situation that I'm in,
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and then select the one that makes the most sense,
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all in a matter of seconds.
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I see what other people do not.
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Some people think that's a superpower,
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but my real superpowers
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are ricocheting off of glass walls --
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(Laughter)
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and letting my friends walk around with kale in their teeth.
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(Laughter)
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It's true. Don't have lunch with me,
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or dinner.
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Tip two: be supremely skilled,
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supremely skilled at getting it wrong.
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It is important to be as equally confident in your superpowers
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as you are in you FUBARs.
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That's "effed up beyond all recognition"
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for you millennials.
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(Laughter)
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Here's a good example.
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It is not a great idea to say,
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"Don't worry, everything in here is too small for me to see"
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when you accidentally walk into the men's room --
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(Laughter)
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at one of the world's largest sporting arenas --
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(Laughter)
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or anywhere.
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I really wish that one wasn't true.
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I'm serious. It is better to just walk out and let them think you're drunk.
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(Laughter)
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Tip three: know that everyone is disabled in some way,
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like when you have a cold and you can't smell
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and you realize that the milk that you splashed in your coffee was sour
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only after you've tasted it.
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Very recently, a woman walked up to me frantic.
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She could not find the bakery she was looking for.
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As I motioned in the direction I thought she should go,
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saying, "There are no stores on this side of the street
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so your best bet is to cross --"
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"Oh my goodness," she interrupted.
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"There it is.
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All I needed was another set of eyes."
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(Laughter)
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I just let her have it.
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I would have said that, you know,
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being logical and paying attention
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and staying calm would have done the trick,
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but who am I?
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Tip four: point out the disability in others.
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This one is best reserved -- very important note --
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this one is best reserved for people you know well,
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because random strangers typically don't appreciate
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teachable moments.
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05:52
A few years ago, my parents and I went to see the Rockettes,
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Radio City's high-kicking dancers.
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I leaned over to my dad.
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06:02
"The two Rockettes on the left aren't kicking in a straight line."
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"Yes, they are."
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06:09
"No, they're not."
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06:11
"Yes, they are, and how do you know?
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You can't see."
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But I know what a straight line looks like.
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I had snapped a picture during our back and forth
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and presented him the evidence that proved I was right.
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He looked at the picture.
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I leaned in further.
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"Who's disabled now?"
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Tip five: pursue audacious goals.
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Flip expectation upside down
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and shove limitation off a cliff to meet its demise.
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There is a college football linebacker
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who blitzes, tackles, recovers fumbles
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while having one hand.
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There is a teacher who successfully transfers knowledge
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and inspires countless students
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while living with Down syndrome.
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And for me,
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on my long list,
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to cycle from Kathmandu, Nepal, to Darjeeling, India
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on the backseat of a bicycle built for two.
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It will be an exciting 620-mile adventure,
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and I'm sure I will have the blurry photos to show for it.
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07:22
(Laughter)
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07:23
Oh, before we go on, I forgot to introduce you to my mom.
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I need to do that.
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And here she is,
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as she would appear to me
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if I were looking through a crowd of people looking for her.
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Or is that an Asian man?
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Thank you.
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07:41
(Applause)
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