Maybe enigma, defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “a person or thing that is mysterious”. They define stigma as “a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality or person”. Ouch. A mark of disgrace?
There are other definitions and concepts and types and subtypes and lions and tigers and bears, Oh My! I don’t want to get that deep into it. I think the “mark of disgrace” assigned to “a person or thing that is mysterious” is enough for a blog post.
Stigma – stigma is not discrimination. Someone can experience discrimination because of stigma but stigma is a belief. It’s a belief that another person or group of people have less value, is/are subhuman, violent, dangerous, incompetent, incapable and should be feared (this is why enigma is relevant).
It is much more than person to person interaction. It is a false belief that shapes the way a person perceives another person or group of people. Personal beliefs become a collective belief that dictates perception and policies.
If special education is underfunded – it could be due to stigma. If the justice system is harsh or unbending to people with disabilities – it could be due to stigma. If a victim of sexual assault is not taken seriously – it could be due to stigma. People suffer for it.
If someone in a position of power is operating from a belief that is based in fear, stereotypes and ignorance, their votes, policies, and decisions will be shaped by that belief. If People with disabilities are collectively believed to be subhuman, incapable, violent or scary, what value is placed on their lives?
If there aren’t policies to protect people with disabilities, and there isn’t anyone to advocate for them besides their families, they are at the mercy of a collective belief system. Historically, this has not been a merciful belief system.
What does this have to do with enigma? It’s the mystery. People are afraid of things that they don’t understand or are unfamiliar with with. When a typical person sees a person who appears or behaves even the slightest bit different than they do, the typical response is fear.
Anyone who has a kid (or kids) who doesn’t look or act the way a stranger thinks they should, knows how painful it is when our kids are stigmatized. Anyone with a disability knows how painful it is when they are victims of stigma. This isn’t someone saying something mean or giving you a dirty look because your kid is banging his head on the shopping cart.
This is restraints, including chemical restraints (overuse of medication), seclusion, abuse, suspension, expulsion, neglect and other things that harm our children. I almost forgot bullying. I remembered when I started thinking about what stigma is like for adults. It includes most of the above and not getting jobs, fearing or losing custody of your kids, being bullied by adults, exclusion and relational aggression.
This is also leaving kids and teachers in self-contained classrooms to die while the rest of the students are being evacuated to safety. This is stigma in action. The thought is that the kids with disabilities might interfere with the non-disabled students, (the valuable ones) getting to safety.
Stigma is the enigma.