Slaves to Normalcy

Locations

78219
United States
29° 26' 56.0904" N, 98° 23' 27.6468" W
78219
United States
29° 26' 56.0904" N, 98° 23' 27.6468" W

I have trouble with the idea of finding a cure for autism.

And it’s not the idea of the cure, but this status quo schism.

You see, just because someone is different doesn’t make them ill

And having a body that functions differently should not be shown ill will.

 

And this is the problem with us as a people; we do this to a lot of things.

These differences we don’t understand, we label a disease.

We cannot say we’re finding cures when they are not sick.

And we can’t keep giving this label to the deaf, handicapped, and autistic.

 

And this all ties into one abominable idea…that there exists such a thing as normal.

But it’s time this utopian idea is labeled intangible.

We mock ourselves with this words very existence

Because deep down we know it’s impossible, and this tempts our nature to conquer it.

 

But we are all human and flawed and so none of us are the same.

Yet our conceited selves continue to strive for normalcy and it’s driving us insane.

Imagine if as a culture we abandoned the idea of this word,

And maybe in its prohibition healing would come to our hurts.

 

Because it’s due to this word that autistic people are labeled sick,

And it’s due to this word that girls starve themselves to look just like a stick.

And don’t you dare have the audacity to tell me being skinny and pretty aren’t tied into the idea of normalcy.

Because if that wasn’t true or nation’s youth would have better self esteem.

 

Now to girls who are skinny and pretty, all the power to you.

But you wretched magazine companies, you can’t keep doing what you do.

Because no matter what mom, dad, or boyfriend says

Only skinny girls on covers block their ears to what’s said.

 

And it’s not just our girls who are suffering, but our boys too.

And not to be a chronological snob, but times have changed and parents can no longer say they know exactly what it’s like to walk in their child’s shoes.

Their feelings of not being good enough are a growing epidemic;

Yet it’s these same feelings we dump on the deaf, handicapped, and autistic.

 

Imagine a deaf boy ordering something from a man in a vendor.

And the man with his back to the boy doesn’t know he can’t hear the words, “Coke or Dr. Pepper?”

And so the man repeats himself several times before turning ‘round in a boiling a rage,

Then he yells to the boy, “Are you deaf? Can’t you hear what I say?”

 

The boy then begins to sign in ASL before pulling out his phone to type “It’s true.

Sir, I am deaf, and I can’t hear like you.”

And oh the shame the man felt for the words he just said.

But it was not for the words that he felt his regret.

 

If the boy had not been deaf, he would have felt no remorse.

But this shock of reality knocked him off his high horse.

And oh such a deplorable culture we must live in to use “Are you deaf?” as an insult.

We’ve made a mockery of someone else’s circumstances, and this is the result.

 

 

We view such people with pity and label them rejects,

But with us “normal people” chasing after silly things like fashion trends

Who are we to judge them as if we were perfect?

We’re only perpetuating the cycle of not feeling good enough as we push away those outcasts who could have been our friends.

 

Take a girl who is in a wheelchair for instance.

We view her inability to use part of her body as if she were broken.

Whether she was born that way or part of a freak accident,

Who are we to judge her as an outsider looking in?

 

And yet we do this all in the name of being normal,

We look at people’s appearance and start giving out labels.

So here we stand in the nation of the free

Where we preach about expressing and embracing yourself, which is only a cliché of hypocrisy.

 

Because how dare young girls actually feel confident about their appearance

And stop wearing make-up as they show off their faces instead of a decorated pretense.

And you better not tell the boys that they don’t need to wear Nike or Jordan’s to make them jump higher or fit the mold.

Because it’s not like it really comes down to training and natural talent…this is how the package of normalcy is sold.

 

And how dare anyone who is struggling with a handicap have the right to complain every once in a while?

It’s not like it’s the equivalent of a complaint from a single mother with financial issues who wears a fake smile.

And if you can’t hear the sarcasm and hypocrisy dripping from those lines,

I’m sad to inform you that “being normal” has slowly made you blind.

 

And now I say to heck with normalcy

And its brand that requires me be like you and you be like me.

And the only way to free ourselves from this silly status quo

Is to quit selling ourselves to this brand name and free our tired souls.

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