“Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, Welcome to the greatest show on earth!”
by Molly Strauss, contributing reporter
Have you ever been to a party, in a room full of thousands of people, and yet you still manage to feel all alone? Have you ever been judged for something you have no control over? Have you ever felt like a burden to someone? If so, imagine feeling that way 24/7. That room full of a thousand people, has now turned into the human population. That judgement, has now been spread like wildfire. No one treats you the same anymore. Just close your eyes and imagine it. That’s what society makes it feel like for people with disabilities. Now, I know it’s not fair for us normal people to feel guilt for this, because, after all, why should we feel sorry for people who can’t benefit our country? So, to avoid the guilt, we should eliminate the problem all together. Let’s take all disabled people, and put them into a freak show! It’s the perfect place for them to get the attention they want and need from the average person, they can feel like they have a purpose in the world, because they’d be giving us entertainment, they would automatically make friends, because they wouldn’t judge each other and make fun of/mock each other, and they could make a few bucks, something they usually couldn’t do if they were out in the “real world”.
The freak shows would ultimately turn into a reservation for disabled people. Sort of like the reservations set up for Native American people. Except, with a big stage and a large cash flow. The handicapped would live together in close quarters, so they would inevitably all become friends with each other, which is something that is hard for disabled people to do. According to Helen Okobokekeimei, a women diagnosed with a Nonverbal Learning Disorder says, “The disorder does not mean I am not verbal. It means I have problems understanding cues in social settings.” This concept would obviously help with that issue. What’s the good in depriving someone from making friends? It’s not like anyone spoke to them before. People are too scared that they’re going to say the wrong thing to the disabled person, so they just avoid them all together. By putting them in a freak show, not only are we benefitting the incapacitated, by finally giving them a place they could make friends, and feel comfortable. We are also, saving the average person from the anxieties of actually having to talk to a disabled person because when a normal person is watching the disabled person perform on stage at the freakshow, they don’t have to say anything! All they have to do is cheer them on and make them feel good about themselves. It’s a win-win situation.
Let us not forget about the economy. As the years go on, the unemployment rate increases. Right now, in America, there is about a 5% unemployment rate. Sounds small, I know. However, you would be wrong if you thought that was a small amount. according to The United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, That 5% is equivalent to 7.9 million people, With that said, by putting people who on average wouldn’t have a job, into a safe place where they could make a stable salary, not only are we helping them live without having to collecting Federal grants for the disabled from the government, we are also making them feel like they “can be a real person” since they could buy things for themselves now. Also, since the government won’t have to provide those grants anymore, we can have more money to spend on ourselves! Three cheers for lower tax and unemployment rates! The tables have turned my freinds. Now, they are helping us instead of the other way around.
Putting disabled people into a freak show might limit people’s negative outlook on them. This is thoroughly stated by Carol Eustice, an Arthritis & Joint Conditions Expert. She writes, “Pessimistic people focus on the negative aspects of having a disability instead of trying to build up, encourage, and praise the accomplishments of people with disabilities. Pessimistic or negative people don’t want to learn about the realities of living with disability. They have preconceived ideas and often treat physically disabled people as if they are faking it or are lazy. Even worse, negative people sometimes treat physically disabled people as if they have no abilities at all.” By putting the less fortunate in the freak show, we can finally show people that when you have a disability, you’re not useless.
If you’ve ever had any human interaction, you’d understand that when you’re labeled, whether it be for your personality, or looks, it basically defines you. The way people with disabilities are labeled will affect how they are seen by others, and how they perceive themselves. When disabled people join a freak show, not only will people realize that disabled people aren’t useless, the handicapped individual will feel like they have a purpose in society because they are being accepted by the people in their community. It is their time to shine! They can finally be praised for the abnormalities they were born with! No longer will these poor innocent people be chastised for being lazy! How can you possibly be lazy if you’re performing on stage? I’d like to see half of the obese people in America try and do what they can do on that stage.
If they want to roll through fire with their wheelchair, or paint a picture without having the sense of sight, so be it. It’s time they get the recognition they deserve. By the end of the show, I want these guys to feel like they belong. It would be the perfect opportunity to commend them.
Nobody wants to feel like they don’t belong. So, why do we constantly make people who are differently abled feel like that all of the time? The perfect solution to this problem, would be to make them all join a Freak Show. It would make them feel like they have a purpose in our society, it would lower our taxes, and unemployment rate. It would save us from having to feel awkward when we’re forced to talk to them, and it would act as a prime opportunity for them to make friends; something they generally don’t have a lot of. Our job as humans is to “love thy neighbors as thyself”. With this idea, we are giving the handicapped the same love and opportunity we give to ourselves, and other normal people like us. What could possibly be the issue with this?