No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement
Reviews (65)
This was a good read up till chapter 5 when the author began ...
This was a good read up till chapter 5 when the author began writing about inclusion and how it should be mandatory in all facets in such a away that people with disabilities should not have their own groups, like Special Olympics. He wrote that people with disabilities wanting to compete in sports should participate in sports with non disabled peers. This is a great idea, but people in wheelchairs cannot possibly compete on an equal level with runners that do not use wheelchairs. I really liked his experience and thoughts until he tore down Special Olympics and the groups created to equalize opportunities for people with exceptionalitirs and disabilities.
Essential Disability History
It's great to see so many reviews for this book from students who were assigned it for college and other curricula. Such books should be required reading for any course covering the spectrum of civil rights. Yes, it's outdated by now, but still one of the most comprehensive studies of the decades before the passage of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). My own focus involved research on real-time events in the disability movement, and how I could weave actual events into the life of a disabled main character in my novels, 'Every Time I Think of you' and, more extensively, its sequel 'Message of Love,' which includes a realistic (I hope) depiction of a protest in 1980s Philadelphia. 'No Pity' proved essential for my research as well as expanding my understanding of the struggle of millions of people.
No Less Worthy a Life
No pity is an intriguing read. This book is geared to show non-disabled people, that people with disabilities are more than just disabled. A disability does not have to be an identity. The metaphors that Shapiro uses are hilarious. The author uses humor in his examples well; he had me laughing before I finished the introduction. The book gives a light hearted feel to a civil rights hot topic. He gave real life examples of disability discrimination and ignorance. Shapiro gives examples that illustrate the lack of understanding that non-disabled people have towards people with disabilities. The book gives a history of people with disabilities battling for their rights. It also explains who is covered by the disabilities act. You might be surprised to learn who is covered by the act. Not all disabilities are visible, and this book gives examples of such. There is a strong message conveyed in this book, and that is, people with disabilities are trying to break stereotypes and fears that society has toward them. This read was informative, witty , shocking, and statistical. At every seam of this book the cry for equality oozes. This book screams for justice and hopes for acceptance, understanding and integration. People with disabilities just want to be apart of society. They just want people to understand that they can live a life just as meaningful and worthy as the next guy.
Great information
I had to use this for a class, and it had interesting facts in it. It was nice to read and very informative for someone new coming into the special education field.
A must-read for everybody
As a deaf person and an educator, I find myself very involved whether I like it or not in being an activist. I was taking a law class on disability law, and the second footnote in the required text was on this book. That intrigued me, and when I read the reviews about the book, I was even more intrigued. This book is a must-read for anyone who might or does work with the disabled. We no longer want the pity, the institutions, and the exclusion from society. We want to be viewed as normal except with one part or a few parts that may not function as some would consider normal. We want an equal education, equal opportunity to jobs, equal opportunities to participate in society. And everyone will be the better for it. Mr Shapiro as a non-disabled person, wrote a book that was compassionate but strived hard to see things from our point of view. This ability probably stands him in good stead as a journalist. He even taught me things I didn't know about other disabilities. Educators, lawyers, politicians, parents, social workers, and health care professionals need to get off their duff and read this book. They can no longer turn a blind eye or claim ignorance as an excuse to not allowing those of us with differences our rights under the law.
Eye Opening!
No Pity by Shapiro is a great read that taught me a lot about the hardships people with disabilities have to endure in their everyday lives. One of the big lessons I learned after reading this book is that disability does not discriminate, and can happen to anyone. I was originally assigned this text book as an elective course I took on issues/topics in disabilities, but found myself enjoying it more than I had previously enjoyed any other college textbook.
Paradigm shifting book
Yes, it's really old (published in 1994). And yes, some of the facts are out of date. (I can only attest to the autism section on that part, given that autism is the disorder I know most about, but that part was really factually out of date...our knowledge of autism has hugely changed since 1994.) That said, what I read this book for wasn't to learn facts so much as to gain a different perspective and a sense of history with regards to the disability rights movement. And WOW did this book deliver. Highly recommended.
Great read!
I loved the read. Shapiro influences readers to become more informed about individuals with disabilities. Very enlightening
Cure for Ignorance About Developmental Disabilities' History
It embraced all the intricate on the historical ignorance on people's and organizations' approach to developmental disabilities. It exposed the treatments persons with developmental disabilities were subjected. It gave the step by step stuggles, reactions, success and laws that came about as a result of the fight persons with developmental disabilities fought to this date. If you need to be an activist, advocate, or educator, for persons with and without developmental disabilities, this book, No Pity: People with Disabilities... is a must read book. Eat it, chew it thoroughly you will not regret it. I am glad my instructor recommended it for my class ( Developmental Disabilities Institute at Wayne State University).
Eye Opening
This is a feel good book that also reminds us of our terrible past. The treatment of people with disabilities over the history of the United States is at times appalling and at others inspiring. Be prepared to be shocked at the length of time and drastic conditions Americans have endured simply because they were different. This is indeed a book about civil rights.
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