The Fluctuation of Human Perception of the Physically and Mentally Disabled

Human perception of the mentally and physically disabled have fluctuated over time. The earliest recollection of disabilities dates back to the Egyptian Papyrus Thebes in 1552 B.C (Harbour). People thought these impairments meant that they were closer to the gods. Blind people were thought to know what the gods requested, epileptics were thought to be able to reach them, and people with mental disabilities, such as schizophrenia, were thought to be prophets (Harbour Malik). As time went on these opinions began to evolve and the term "disabled" was given a negative connotation, especially during the period of the Great Depression.

During this time the disabled were looked down upon and seen as a burden to society because they were dependent on the care of others. They were socially isolated and segregated because of these differences (Murray). Many people were put into asylums that keep them from interacting with humans and potentially worsened their conditions. They were abused, experimented and sometimes murdered in some cases. Today this harsh discrimination and brutal treatment no longer exists to the extent that it use to be. There is research and medicine to better the conditions possessed by the impaired, along with accessibility, and special education.

The opinions, treatments, and discrimination towards the disabled during the Great Depression greatly differs to now. By examining the events that took place in the novel Of Mice and Men, the prejudice opinions and procedures that took place during the Great Depression in America and Germany, and the disability movements that evolved over time, this shift becomes clear.

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By the early 1900's mental and physical disabilities had caught the public's attention as the "Most significant large scale social problem of the time". Opinions towards the disabled were often hostile during this time, and many people had misconceptions of the disabled. John Steinbeck portrays these opinions during the Great Depression in his novel Of Mice And Men.

Steinbeck's main character Lennie Smalls, a mentally disabled migrant worker with impulses he can't control and strength that he is still unsure of how to handle, is taken care of by George Milton, another migrant ranch hand (Harris). Lennie exemplifies an exception of institutionalization for the mentally disabled. Throughout the novel Lennie is misunderstood as a human being and is looked down upon for being "stupid". Characters in the novel such as, Curley and Curley's wife behaved towards Lenny in an inappropriate manner considering his mental state. At one point in the novel, Lennie is distracted with the memory of owning his own ranch with George, until Curley lashes out at him. Lennie is unsure of how to react in this situation and doesn't fight back until George tells him to hit Curley.

As a result Curley ends up with a broken hand and is humiliated because he was beaten up by a "slow witted punk". Today no person would lash out towards someone with disabilities because the social standards of treatment towards handicapped people have been improved. It would be extremely frowned upon and considered especially heinous. Curley's wife also approaches Lennie in an inappropriate manner. After Lennie accidentally kills the puppy, Curley's wife takes advantage of this situation and pressures Lennie into talking with her. Her body language and tone of voice comes off flirtatious as she deceives him into speaking with her. She consoles Lennie about the pup and allows him to touch her soft hair. After a couple of strokes Curley's wife asks Lennie to stop, but because Lennie doesn't know any better he wouldn't stop grasping it.

Curley's wife began to scream profanity for him to let go but Lennie feared that George wouldn't let him "feed the rabbits" if he found out he spoke to her. In the end, Lennie attempted to stop the wife's screaming by shaking her, and accidentally shook her to death (Steinbeck). Steinbeck uses this situation to exemplify the lack of understanding and knowledge towards the disabled during the 1930's. People were unaware of how they should handle certain situations with the mentally disabled, and were unsure how to interact with them.

As a result of theses issues, people use to lash out and make the situation worse. In the 21st century these problems have been resolved through different programs such as special education. This program allowed for children to be in class with kids of handicapped. This gives kids an opportunity to learn how to interact with people of impairments, and how to communicate with them. They learn how to interact in appropriate manners, and to develop a tolerance and respect for their disability.

During the Great Depression there were many fallacies about the mentally and physically handicapped. As our country began to become more urbanized, the enthusiasm to find a cure for disabilities waned. It became harder for the disabled to adapt to the industrial workforce. Programs were later established to further service those who were handicapped. People were educated on skills that did not attain to their "normalcy". Although, as we began to enter the Great Depression, and the economy began to collapse, these programs were held responsible for some of the poverty and crime that occurred throughout this time period (Harbour).

People of disability were falsely accused for these economic hardships and were discriminated against throughout this decade. They were seen as a burden on society and "useless" for social improvement. There was a keen focus to eliminate the chance of having more handicapped individuals. Disability policies were put in place when the United States came across the term "eugenic". Eugenics is the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. This lead to sterilization laws in which it restricted people with disabilities from marrying and producing offspring (Murray).

In 29 states across the U.S during the 1930's, 30,000 people were sterilized unknowingly or against there will. The United States was not the only country influenced by the idea of "eugenics"; Shortly after 1933, Natiz Germany carried out forced sterilization and murder against the physically and mentally disabled in the "T-4, Euthanasia” program (Handicapped).

In October of 1939. Adolf Hitler launched the beginning of the T-4 program, otherwise known as the "Euthanasia" program - the elimination of who the Nazi considered incurably party ill, or "unworthy of life". Their goal was to weed out these genetic defects from the total German gene pool in order to create a "master race". The disabled were looked at "useless", and a threat to the Aryan genetic purity. Nazi's targeted physicians to help pick patients for the T-4 program and to carry out the operations. They would send out questionnaires to hospitals and institutions to find out about the state of health each patient was in. They would review the surveys and mark each paper with either a +, meaning death, or a - meaning life. Doctors and staff in these hospitals and institutions were encouraged to medically ignore patients if they received a + on their survey.

Hence patients would die of starvation and disease, or they would be sent to Euthanasia killing centers in Germany where they would be killed in gas chambers (Murder). Disabled infants and children were also killed by injection of a deadly dose of drugs, and in other cases victims were burned in crematories. Lethal injections were also common among such cases (Handicapped) (Murder).This is quite similar to an event that occurred in Elie Wiesel's novel Night. At one point while they were in Auschwitz, they went through a process called selection. The prisoners would strip their clothing completely and before the SS doctors.

The doctors would examine whether or not their bodies were physically impaired and useless, or strong and useful. If they were considered weak and frail, they would be sent to "another camp", which really would be a German Killing center (Wiesel). Not only were handicapped people murdered, but Hitler's Germany carried out an estimated 400,000 forced sterilizations between the disabled and their relatives, about 13 times more sterilizations than in the U.S. Their method of sterilization was usually a vasectomy for males or litigation of ovarian tubes for women.

Thousands of people died as a result of these operations (Handicapped). Public protests occurred between 1940 and 1941 to stop these programs but Hitler continued the murder in secret throughout the war. By 1945, 250,000 handicapped persons were murdered.

Although the discrimination against the disabled and their families during the Great Depression was sickening, hostile, and cruel, circumstances started to improve after the years following World War II. Two movements really helped influence these better circumstances; The parents movement, and the Civil Rights Movement. Entering the 1950's children of handicap were living longer because of advances in the medical field. Because of their increased life p, parents sought to rid of institutionalization, keep their children, and get them education. Organizations such as the Association for Retarded Children and the National Foundation for Cerebral Palsy joined together to try and accomplish these goals. As were started to enter the 70's, three important disability policies derived.

The first movement was Program Accessibility (1973): The Rehabilitation Act was an important first step in the disability rights movement. It specifically prohibits programs receiving federal funds from discriminating against the handicapped. The next movement that made a huge impact on disability independence was Independent Living. The government advocated for independent living centers to better everyday conditions for the impaired. An example was in 1972 when the Center for Independent Living was established in Berkeley California, and influenced a shift in self-sufficient living amoung the disabled.

The third movement was the The Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This act was passed in 1975 and allowed children with disabilities to have a public school education in an "integrated or least restrictive environment" (Murray). As time went on the disabled's conditions began to improve even more.

In June of 1990, “The most sweeping disability rights legislation occurred in history": The signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This allowed no discrimination against the disabled in employment, government services, public accessibility, and telecommunications. This was a sweet victory for the Disability Rights Movement (Murray). Beginning in the early 1930's, the mentally and physically disabled were treated with prejudice, disrespect, cruelty, and barbarity. They were discriminated against, tortured, and murdered in inhuman manners. As time went on these circumstances evolved and the mentally and physically disabled's conditions improved immensely.

Today the handicapped are respected, cared for, and are considered valuable members of society. The shift in the disabled during the Great Depression to today was an integral issue that needed to be addressed. By looking back at the events that took place in the novel Of Mice and Men, the prejudice opinions and procedures that took place during the Great Depression in America and Germany, and the disability movements that evolved over time, this shift in physical and mental disabilities becomes clear.

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