People are often scared or apprehensive towards things that are unlike themselves. They feel unfamiliar and tense towards things that are different. But why do we feel the need to think this way? The difference between going around in a wheelchair or going around your own too feet should be the same as whether you have blond hair or black hair. Sometimes we judge too much based on physical differences and we neglect to acknowledge or even think that on the inside we all are people with the same capacity to think and to love. A disability is simply different, and different doesn't imply lesser.
Also, Mairs argues that in media, people are portrayed to be defined by their disability. For example, a common news title would state "Woman succeeds and becomes a billionaire despite suffering from disability". Is a disability really such a liability that it makes a person so much weaker and lesser? The use of the word despite really implies that a disability is a weakness that must be overcome and eradicated. In today's society, we have such a hidden fear of disabilities. We tend to avoid the topic of disabilities as if it were a blemish on the perfect image that society desires, or a weak link in a chain link fence. As Mairs declares, a disability should be considered normal and accepted. A disability doesn't mean anything except that it's a difference, just as race or eye color is.
