Commentary
Let's Hope Paterson Doesn't Tarnish Us All
By Kathi Wolfe
“On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog,”
one pooch says to
another mutt in a well-known New Yorker cartoon.
Whether we, who are visually impaired, like it or not,
nearly everyone in or outside the blogosphere, knows that David A. Paterson,
governor of New York, is legally blind. That fact has become ubiquitous on the
cultural radar screen, from “Saturday Night Live" skits to opinion pieces
applauding his becoming the nation's second blind governor on March 17 th ,
2008. (In 1975, Bob C. Riley, who was blind, became acting governor of Arkansas
for 11 days.)
If anyone missed it, Paterson's excuse for allegedly
accepting, but not paying for, World Series tickets from the Yankees in 2009
brought his vision impairment into the public eye. “This isn't a
joke,” host Peter Sagal said on the NPR show “Wait Wait...Don't Tell
Me!” According to Sagal, Paterson said it didn't matter if he'd accepted
the tickets since, because he's blind, he couldn't have enjoyed the game
anyway.
When Paterson was sworn in as governor, I wrote a
celebratory opinion piece. I didn't endorse his political party. (As a writer,
I shy away from political endorsements.). I rejoiced that someone who was blind
had become governor, not just of any state, but of New York, one of our most
populous states.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly one in five
Americans has a disability. It's about time, I thought, that someone like me
had obtained a high-level elective office. By breaking this barrier, Paterson
had shown children with disabilities that if they had what it takes to thrive
in politics, they, too, could become governor (or another position of political
power).
Soon after my piece appeared, the "yuck factor" struck.
Days after being sworn in, Paterson apologized for his marital affairs and
cocaine use. "Great!" I thought. "Now kids who are blind will grow up knowing
that they, too, can cheat on their spouses and indulge in illegal drugs."
Since then, Paterson's "ick" quotient has grown by leaps
and bounds. Almost daily, it seems, new allegations are made, charging Paterson
with unethical, if not, illegal behavior. As this paper goes to press,
investigations are taking place to determine everything from whether Paterson
wrongfully intervened in a domestic abuse case involving one of his top aides
to whether he illegally accepted free World Series tickets.
Then, there's the increasing perception that Paterson is
incompetent. To be fair, since the governor took office, the economy has gone
through its worst crisis since the Great Depression. Even FDR (now proudly
“out” in his wheelchair), might have had a tough time governing in
these unspeakably hard economic times. But even allowing for the country's
rough fiscal luck, Paterson has appeared to be bumbling and ineffectual -- from
his handling of New York's budget morass to his missteps in appointing a
senator to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.
Now, when I think of Paterson, one word comes to mind:
cringe-worthy. As a human being, I know that not all politicians are
incompetent, unethical or sleazy. Many are hard-working, honest, competent
public servants. But Paterson and his ilk give these folks a bad name. When
reading about the allegations surrounding the governor, many will think
“Mr. Jerk Goes to Jail” instead of “Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington.”
As someone who is legally blind, I've thought a lot about
Paterson. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act and somewhat better
media coverage, public attitudes toward folks with disabilities are improving.
More of us are out and about and mingling with the public. But even with this
progress, our unemployment rate is 70 percent, and our general visibility is
low. I can't help but wonder: Why does one of the few well-known people in
public life who is blind have to be Paterson? Isn't someone under a cloud of
ethics investigations and negative perceptions bad for the image of those of us
who have disabilities? But then, mulling over Paterson and public perceptions
of people with disabilities again, I ask myself this: Is the governor's image
that horrible for us?
To sort this out, I called Robert J. Thompson, professor
of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. “It's a
complicated question -- a public figure who's legally blind is out in the
culture," Thompson said. "How one takes this is varied across the board. Some
find it inspiring. Others participate in jokes poked at him.”
It comes down to the question that members of every group
from African Americans to Jews to women have asked themselves over the years,
Thompson said: Is this media portrayal or cultural perception “good for
the 'fill-in-the-blank' group?”
The fact that Paterson obtained a position of power is in
some ways good news for blind people, Thompson said, adding, “He's
different than Mr. Magoo.” But the fact that he holds a high-level
political office is also bad news for people who are blind, Thompson said.
“Comedy pokes fun of people in positions of power. His governing is
plagued by serious questions. His doesn't make the list of the most successful
administrations of all time.”
It's tempting for some commentators to metaphorically
compare Paterson's legal blindness to the governor's perceived "ethical
blindness,” Thompson said. “The optimist tries to make this argument.
Other than musicians, there aren't many visible well-known blind people in the
culture.
“Paterson is out there. We see him failing -- facing
huge administrative challenges. In an odd way, it's a normalization of
sight-impaired people in political power: They can be as incompetent as anyone
else.”
Thompson's take is echoed by George Covington, a legally
blind writer who worked in the first Bush administration. “If people can't
accept the fact that people with disabilities (PWDs) can lie, cheat and steal,
or be fools, fakes and frauds, then they can't accept the fact that people with
disabilities are human beings,” Covington said.
Paterson has proved that governors who are blind can be as
sleazy as sighted governors “such as his predecessor and the governor of
South Carolina (Mark Sanford), both of whom had 20/20 vision, except when it
came to common sense,” Covington added.
If nothing else, Paterson's image moves public perception
out of the realm of “icky, inspirational” images of blindness, said
Thompson, who alluded to feature stories depicting Scott MacIntyre, a recent
“American Idol” contestant who was blind, as “inspiring.”
On the other hand, the problem for those of us who are
blind or have disabilities is that so few of us are visible, Thompson said.
“There aren't many, other than musicians, legally blind celebs or public
officials. It's not fair, but Paterson carries the burden of
representation.”
It's worrisome, because there are so few images of or
characters with disabilities in popular culture, Thompson said. “It's like
in the 1950s when there were only two shows on TV (‘Amos and Andy' and
‘Beulah') featuring African Americans. Nobody worries that ‘The
Simpsons' will stereotype middle-aged, overweight European men, because there
are so many shows featuring middle-aged, overweight European males.”
Fortunately, there are a few, visible, non-sleazy people
with disabilities in public life. I spoke with one of them: Kristen Cox. Cox,
who is blind, is executive director of the Utah Department of Workforce
Service. Before that, she was the Maryland secretary of disabilities. In 2006,
she was Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich's running mate in the gubernatorial election.
As is the case with Paterson, I'm not assessing Cox based
on her political party affiliation. But I'll say this: There's no yuck factor
associated with her. “There's always the risk that people will extrapolate
behavior of one blind person on a whole population,” she said. “But I
give the public some credit.”
Most people are sophisticated enough to distinguish
between someone who's blind and someone who's unethical, Cox said. “They
won't see blindness and unethical behavior as cause and effect. I give the
public the benefit of the doubt. It's a better place to start your game
from.”
Despite my cynical view of human nature, I think Cox is
right. Maybe because of my cynicism, like Thompson and Covington, I'm glad that
people with disabilities can be sinners as well as “inspirational”
saints.
My stepmother's view of Paterson is typical of that of
many people I've spoken with. “I don't respect him anymore,” she told
me. "Who cares that he's blind? He's probably criminal!”
Maybe we who have disabilities don't have to worry about
Paterson negatively informing public perceptions of us. Having said this, we
can only hope that more qualified, electable people with disabilities (with no
yuck factor) will enter politics ASAP.
Kathi Wolfe is a Washington, D.C.-area writer and poet
. Her chapbook, “Helen Keller Takes the Stage: The Helen Keller
Poems,” is published by Pudding House. |
