Is DU ableist?

[lightningandsnow]

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ableism :

"Ableism (from able and ism) is a neologism of American coinage, since about 1981. It is used to describe discrimination against people with disabilities in favor of people who are not disabled.

An ableist society is said to be one that treats non-disabled individuals as the standard of ‘normal living’, which results in public and private places and services, education, and social work that are built to serve 'standard' people, thereby inherently excluding those with various disabilities.

The presumption that everyone is non-disabled is said to be effectively discriminatory in itself, creating environments that are inaccessible to disabled people. Advocates of the term argue that ableism is analogous to racism and sexism in that it is a system by which mainstream society denigrates, devalues, and thus oppresses those with disabilities, while privileging those without disabilities.

In extreme cases, morality, worth and intelligence may even be equated to being able-bodied or able-minded, while disability is conflated with immorality, stupidity, and worthlessness, and disabled lives may be devalued to the point that many in the society believe that one is better off dead than living with disability."

I love this place, but I do see a lot of ableism around here. People use terms like "psychological disorder" as perjoratives. People refer to autistic folks as sick or damaged. Assuming nobody with a disability posts on DU is ableist as well. Some people are very good about disabilities around here, but I do see a lot of ableism and I think it needs to stop.

This thread is not meant to call anybody out. I think that by recognizing our prejudices, we can work to eliminate, or at least greatly reduce them.