Recently, as part of my esports side-gig initiative, we had to share something about ourselves. I found that fascinating and enticing, mainly because it gave me an opportunity to learn about others on the team as well as a chance to show something of myself. I’ve mostly been very secretive about my life not giving away much in terms of what I want others at esports.gg to know about me.
And I wrote a lengthy post - one about my life and how I’ve come into esports. I also wrote about my multiple businesses and what I am doing to earn money. It was very informative and frankly, a deep insight into my life. But that being said, I do realize that people seemed to have seen the image I put of myself as a handicap. And everyone just heart-emojid me. No talk about anything else I wrote.
And that’s when I realized how looking at a handicap blinds people. It blinds them to anything else about me. The oblivion is especially visible when people come up to you and talk about your handicap. Being a handicap suddenly means that people stop seeing you for who you are.
And that is why I felt particularly empowered at Hyderabad. The Hyderabad LAN was my first solo trip where I wore full pants - Jeans. And the first impression many people had was the same as they would treat many others. However, that also meant that they would be wanting to treat me the same way as they would others - without any prejudice and without any complaints.
Looking back, I think sharing that pic was a mistake - which is why I removed it. I don't want my sense of self to be repurposed by the handicap. I know people think well, but the prejudice shows and it's not a good feeling.
I’ll also be writing another post about esports journalism and why I’m not particularly enamored by it. I’m mostly in it because I have been in it since the start and I see things to completion, but it’s actually costing me money.
Have you noticed how Handicap references are that of courage and bravery?
As I was searching for a featured image for this post on (I believe) Shuttershock, I saw a bunch of photos. All the photos showed handicapped athletes or handicapped people doing athletic stuff.
I realized that most of the references to handicapped people was mostly around their ability to do extra-ordinary things. The ability to do what sometimes, even normal people don't is what makes referring to a handicapped person exciting for normal folks.
And I understand that the lack of awareness is what causes this, people mean well. In most of the cases, they are just trying to make things easier or better for you. However, for most people this turns out not in the way they want to portray it as.
Schools and colleges should really impart education. I think that's more important than history or science.
Recently I read an article that said nearly 1 billion people are disabled in the world. That's a massive number. Considering how much attention several others are getting handicapped people should also receive the same amount of attention
What does attention mean?
* Accessibility
* Education on how to talk to people (or rather how not to)
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