Make Them Go Away

by Rose Mariana Robb

There's a book on the shelf in the Access UVic office that has Clint Eastwood's face on the cover. It's the one that most visitors pick up. Sometimes it even draws people through the door. What a face the man has. The expression is not full force Dirty Harry, not exactly "Go ahead, punk, make my day." He's got that merciless thing going, but it's not like he's coming after anybody. It's more a weary "you don't matter plus you make me slightly ill" look. The book is Mary Johnson's Make them go away; Clint Eastwood, Christopher Reed and the case against disability rights.

The preferred stories about disability are cheerful little fables about overcoming adversity. But I think, at least to begin with, we have to be willing to confront the disability story as a dark little morality tale. And maybe not so little, at that.

Johnson's book rests on the premise that disability isn't a cozy inspirational story about exceptional individuals who serve as an inspiration for all. It's more about how basically good people do things that are wrong, or refuse to do things that are right and people with disabilities lose opportunities as a consequence.

If they haven't experienced it themselves, or gone through it with someone close to them, I think most people have a hard time believing there is such a thing as discrimination against people with disabilities. Sure, there are difficulties but the problem can't be prejudice or discrimination. Yet disabled people frequently identify the attitudes and actions of others as the major barrier they face in life.


Clint Eastwood apparently resented the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a piece of civil rights legislation that aimed to end discrimination against people with disabilities in the United States. The ADA is widely perceived to have fallen short of its goals in large part because its rights based philosophical underpinnings never permeated mainstream thinking.

Clint owned a resort hotel in Carmel that had been sued under the ADA for access violations. He wasn't so much against ramps as against having to put ramps in.
He led a noisy campaign to change the law but like everyone who opposes disability rights he stressed that he was "not against disabled people".

Resistance to disabled people is often highly emotional, but always couched in the language of common sense, even when the actions taken and the attitudes displayed are clearly aggressive. Of course nobody thinks they are prejudiced. Most don't really believe anybody is prejudiced towards disabled people.

And maybe they aren't, as long as the disabled person is tackling a
personal challenge with inspiring courage, a brave smile and a grateful heart.

However, when disabled people stand up for their rights, and demand more respect for their needs, they sometimes meet up with Dirty Harry. His message is unmistakeable. It is: "Make them go away."

Rose Mariana Robb is the Director of Access UVic. Access UVic's Disability Advocacy Centre is at B102 on the main floor of the SUB. They can be reached at 472-4389.