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From: Lou Heite
Date: 02 Oct 2006
Time: 18:19:49 -0500
Remote Name: 24.237.249.158
No, quite the opposite. The gut reaction of one who identifies with the "oppressor" group is, "I ain't one of _them!_" even if s/he knows (or believes inside) that he or she really is a "them." The gut reaction of someone who wants to prove the "disability" label wrong is "I might be one of _them,_ but I am just as good as as the majority." That latter attitude can be very empowering, but even the need for some people to adopt that attitude says volumes about the presence of prejudice and possible oppression on the part of the majority. I'd suggest that the state of being a covert stutterer results from over–identification with the non-stuttering majority and a rather unquestioning acceptance of their norms. You can spot this overidentification in almost any situation in which a person does something to "pass" as something he or she is not and that is generally perceived as "better" or at least "normal by the majority. This may be another race, gender preference, richer than they really are, whatever. So, in short, in the case of over-identification, you find denial of a knowable fact of one's existence in order to be accepted by a norm-setting majority, while in the case of denial of disability, you find acknowledgement of the condition but minimization of its effects. Lou Heite