This page last updated: Wed,, Jan, 26, 2005, 9:06:18 AM EST

January 26, 2005
 
COMMENTARY: Christopher Worth: Artist, Catholic, Teacher; 'But Don't Call Me Disabled!'
 
by Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer
 
Huntington (HNN) — While listening to an inspirational speaker, I discovered a new perspective on the politically correct "disabled."
 
Stepping into a session on "faith and disabilities," I heard a 27-year-old artist, Christopher Worth, speak about cerebral palsy. Worth has had it since birth. His family had little money, so they could not afford a wheel chair.
 
Worth recounted how he had lots of well intentioned individuals speak to him about faith and healing. He attended service after service expecting to leave walking. It didn't happen. When he asked, 'how come,' Christians told him that he either had weak faith or unforgiven sin. Eventually, he lost any faith whatsoever.
 
His mother took him shopping sometimes. He remembers the odd looks from others. Often, a woman would reach into their wallet and place a bill in his palm. At first, he liked the spending money, then, he became insulted.
 
The confident man told us that those pushing money in his hand were simply trying to dodge their own feelings about someone handicapped. Eventually, he refused those pity donations that to paraphrase his words were simply ways for the giver to shrug off any responsibilities toward giving compassion to a fellow human being.
 
Chris Worth has graduated from Marshall. The university is handicap accessible, for the most part, unless an elevator breaks down. Or all elevators go on the blitz. Worth told of crawling up and down the stairs to his art classes on the 7th floor.
 
That certainly renders most excuses for failing to attend class invalid!
 
What sticks in Worth's mind, though, is the label — be it handicapped, crippled or disabled. He spoke of how that classification often first defines him. He doesn't like that.
 
Actually, society and those of us who have not been so labeled both go to extremes to prevent application of anything synonymous with frailty. So, in sixty seconds how many euphemisms can you spit out for human vulnerability? One that's a little trite is an Achilles heel. How about under the weather, eccentric, hurt, injured, less than 100 percent, shall I go on?
 
Bottom line: None of us is perfect! Thus, we all have strengths and weaknesses (the latter of which may be perceived as a "handicap"). Worth wants to view a world where artistic talent, verbal tenaciousness, and humble spirit prevail over the "first glance" rendering that he or she is "disabled" for in truth, we ALL have one or more "ailments" which under chronic conditions might "earn" a disability label.
 
(Chris Worth, who spoke at a recent PROWL meeting, has a bachelor's from MU, paintings hung at the Calamity Café, and substitute teaches at St. Joseph High School, where he occasionally has to crawl down stairs to reach a restroom!)
 
The writer, Tony Rutherford, can be reached by email at .
 
As a precaution against “spam” and viruses this e-mail address has been presented with a JavaScript. If you do not see this e-mail address, please check your security settings or upgrade your Web browser, links are available on the HNN Links page. Alternately by changing the appropriate portions you may manually enter the following address:

trutherford[at]huntingtonnews[dot]net