296 RüdigerKunow
(Ex periencingWar:StoriesfromtheVeteransHistoryProjectn. pag.)—
encouraged to join the military—exactly the opposite from what Tomas
Younghadhopedtoachievebytellinghisdisabilitystory.Spinksmight
bewhatsomepeoplecalla"supercrip"(Berger29,33).Thetermitself
(moresothanwhatitsignifies)ishighlycontentious.
From a cultural critical point of view one might ask furthermore
whether life narratives along these lines will not foster unrealistic
expectations or produce unreasonable expectations and demands
concerning what PWDs can achieve, what they should be able to
achieve, if they tried hard enough (Berger 29-30). This is certainly true
in the military context where the word "hero," even though somewhat
overusedinpost9/11contexts,coversembodiednon-normativityofthe
most prestigious kind. The concept negotiates a fine, perhaps a
dangerously fine line between pride and pity. When not pitied, persons
with disabilities are then sometimes seen as larger-than-life, to be
outrageously admired for their unexpected abilities. Disability activists
areconcernedthatmediastoriesaboutStevieWonder,StevenHawking,
and, most prominently President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, discussed
above, might privilege a stereotypical image of PWDs which occludes
theeverydayhardshipsuniquetothedisabilityexperienceinfavorofan
inspirational model which makes costly social reforms and entitlement
programs(bothtargetsofthepoliticalRight)superfluous.
The idea of a "supercrip" who leaves behind what dis-ables him or
her may possibly stem from the popular belief that there is something
redemptive about life with a disability, that there exists what might
awkwardlybecalledasavinggrace.Inthisperspective,disabilityis(re-)
constructedbyshiftingthelocaleofcalamity:impairmentinonebodily
functionisseenasbeingcompensatedforbysuperiorabilitiesinanother
area (for example, that blind people can hear better or paraplegics have
superior minds).^128 While answering to this popular myth, the
"supercrip" concept also performs harmful social and cultural work by
(^128) This was the working premise of the TV series Ironside(1967-1975)
featuring a detective who was shot by a criminal and is bound to a wheelchair.
Starring in the role of the paraplegic sleuth was non-disabledRaymond Burr of
Perry Mason fame. The NBC network has recently but unsuccessfully re-
vitalizedtheformat,againcastinganon-disabledactor(BlairUnderwood)inthe
leadrole(Obensonn.pag).