Friday, May 18, 2012

Life Beyond A Face

On my Twitter account a few days ago I wrote a Tweet declaring that I thought my Facebook friends’ sister was pretty. I’ve never met this girl just seen pictures of this girl and know a few superficial details about her—like that she’s looking for a job in the racing industry.

 The exact tweet read something like “SN’s sister J--- is really pretty. So shameful.” Where most people would probably see no harm in complementing someone’s looks, I do see a problem in it.

As a young man born with Cerebral Palsy, who uses a wheelchair and a walker on a daily basis, one would think that I would have a greater appreciation that there’s more to people than physical beauty. Therefore, there was something shameful for me in admitting that at the end of the day, I’m no more evolved than any able-bodied twenty something.

The realization was quite jarring for me. It is small consolation that I didn’t say anything like “Please have my babies,” or “Baby Got Back”! I’m not sure if I like myself when my opinion of someone is based solely on their looks.

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