WE CAN'T HIDE, AND WHY WOULD WE WANT TO?

So this musing of mine comes from something I read from one of my friends on Facebook the other week.  My friend is a Moebius mom.  Her wonderful daughter, who is ten years old now, has Moebius Syndrome.  And the mom was proudly telling us how her little girl was going to stand up and make a presentation on Moebius to her class.  Mom was proud.

As she should be.  And then Mom mentioned something else.  She said that some of her friends have been questioning why they were doing this.  Why was her little girl talking to her class about Moebius?  "Why draw attention to it?", they wondered.

Well, to my friend's credit, she would have none of this; and it didn't even appear to bother her too much.  Some people just don't understand.  But you know, reading what some of her friends thought kind of stuck with me.  And maybe others think like they do; maybe others who know nothing about Moebius wonder the same thing.  Yes, "why draw attention to it?"  Well, if there are people who wonder about that, let me explain why:

1] Whoa, people--it almost sounds like, when you wonder why we might draw attention to something, that maybe you think Moebius Syndrome is something to hide, is something to be ashamed of.  Guess what--it isn't.  It's simply a physical difference.  Everybody has some kind of physical difference--something unique--about them, and there's nothing wrong with that and nothing to hide.  Instead of hiding, we need to build awareness and educate people about how ALL should be accepted, whatever their difference, whatever their disability.

2] And anyway, Moebius Syndrome is there.  People can see it.  You can't hide it, nor should you want to.  Why pretend it isn't there?  By doing so you can create an elephant in the room, and there's no point to it.  People are going to wonder.  So educate them.

3] And only by doing so--only by making people realize that physical differences are nothing to be ashamed of, that there's nothing to hide, that being different doesn't automatically mean one must have an intellectual disability (and some people have that assumption and have that prejudice--don't think they don't) can we raise that awareness I mentioned earlier, can we get people to accept everyone else and build a true diversity society.  We've got to show people that diversity is not only about race, ethnicity, and class; it's also about physical differences too.

So hooray for everyone in the Moebius community who seizes the chance to educate others.  And don't let people tell you that hiding under a bushel is the way to go.  Instead, let it shine...right? :+)