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Empathy Reifies Disability Stigmas

I think we need to start think­ing crit­i­cal­ly about things that we per­ceive as whole­some. Empathy has become a big busi­ness, and we ought to be able to exam­ine it. Everyone’s always try­ing to diag­nose dis­abled peo­ple. But I’m gonna have a lit­tle bit of fun. And I’m actu­al­ly gonna diag­nose all of you. 

John Waters RISD 2015 Commencement Keynote Address

But how can you be so dis­ci­plined?” friends always ask when I tell them my job is to get up every day at 6 AM Monday to Friday and think up insane stuff. Easy. If I did­n’t work this hard for myself, I’d have to go work for some­body else. Plus, I can go to my office one room away from my bed­room in my own house dressed in my under­pants if I want to.