The Need for Our Kindness Among the Cruelty

Finding our moral integrity when it comes to Inclusivity

I said I wanted to write about light things. Sorry, but I’m enraged about something. I want to get this said.

Compassion and human decency don’t cost a thing, and yet, we live in a society of rampant savagery. People on the margins are being targeted or wholly excluded. It’s become the norm.

The thing that triggered my ire was targeting a person with an invisible disability. Over 42 million Americans have a severe disability, 96% of them are unseen. (Forbes) Many people with invisible disabilities tell no one for fear of stigmatization. The person I’m writing about didn’t have a choice of disclosure, it was public.

This past week there was a debate in Pennsylvania for the senate. It was between Fetterman and Oz. Fetterman needs to use closed captioning to understand questions. He had a stroke in May 2022. His doctors say he’s recovering well. He still has some difficulty speaking, garbling words on occasion.

When the media realized he needed closed captioning, they started the frenzy. Speculation on his fitness to be a candidate. Was he competent? His opponent Oz started the firestorm as a political ploy. Fetterman had to defend himself before he even started to debate.

“ Fetterman, who spoke haltingly and repeated phrases at times, addressed his health issues in his opening statement, calling it the elephant in the room.

“I had a stroke. [Oz] never let me forget that. And I might miss some words during this debate, mush two words together, but it knocked me down but I’m going to keep coming back up,” Fetterman said.” (Reuters)

Today RNC chair McDaniel mocks Fetterman and Biden’s speech issues.

“Well, maybe they can get a full sentence out,” McDaniel said on the “Hugh Hewitt Show,” in response to news that the two would campaign in Pennsylvania alongside Vice President Harris. (The Hill)

The truth is Fetterman is being stigmatized. Branded and labeled as defective. Reinforcing the fears of many people with disabilities, seen and invisible. His critics defend their behavior no matter how odious. Gang mentality always thinks they’re…