Episode 196: Far From First

Are we ready to have a disabled person in a position of power? Trick question! We already have.

Transcript

Laura 0:00

Okay, class, time for a history lesson.

Male VO 0:05

This is Bad Attitudes.

Laura 0:21

Hello, friends and strangers. Welcome to another episode of Bad Attitudes, an uninspiring podcast about disability. I'm your host, Laura.

Laura 0:32

This week's supporter shout out goes to Michael Murphy. Thank you for your continuing support.

Laura 0:38

If you'd like to hear your name on a future episode, consider becoming a member on Ko-Fi. Visit KO-Fi.com slash BadAttitudes Pod for more information.

Laura 0:51

You can also support the pod by visiting our merch store at badattitudeshop.etsy.com where you'll find podcast merch and satisfyingly sarcastic designs, especially for the disabled and chronically ill communities.

Laura 1:07

For questions, comments, or ideas, visit the website at badattitudespod.com, email badattitudespod at gmail.com, or reach out on social media. Follow at Bad Attitudes Pod on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Blue Sky.

Laura 1:27

As always, I want to remind you that disability is not a monolith. My experience as a disabled person is going to be different from the experiences of other disabled people. I am one voice for the disabled community, but I am not the only voice.

Laura 1:43

For the most part, I hate that Facebook started showing you basically everything in your feed. It used to be posts from people you knew or followed, or from groups you are a part of. Now I have to sift through a slush pile of random posts from people I've never heard of to reach a singular post from a name I recognize. And you can't even do anything to prevent some of these posts coming up. You can sometimes limit ads, but for the most part, the best you get is snooze so and so for 30 days. I want to snooze them forever.

Laura 2:18

Alas.

Laura 2:20

But sometimes something comes across your feed that has a tiny spark of gold. We wouldn't have half of these episodes without social media. In this case, the post in question was dealing with the possibility that Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona might run for president in 2028, and that if he were to win, his wife, Gabby Giffords, would be the first disabled first lady. And further, it would be the first time we had a disabled person in a position of power to influence policy.

Laura 2:52

I'm no historical scholar, but even I know that's just wrong.

Laura 2:56

Let's start with the one everyone knows about, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR contracted polio at the age of 39, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down and reliant on a wheelchair. It is common knowledge that FDR put a lot of effort into hiding his disability from the American public, including never being seen in public using his wheelchair.

Laura 3:19

Historians speculate that some of our earliest presidents, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, had learning disabilities. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Woodrow Wilson are also said to have had learning disabilities. James Madison had periods of incapacity, the descriptions of which are consistent with today's understanding of epilepsy. I guess that's why Hamilton wrote the other 51.

Laura 3:45

Abraham Lincoln lived with severe depression. It has also been speculated that Lincoln may have had Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting the connective tissues. People with MFS tend to be tall and slender, with long arms, legs, fingers, and toes. At a slim 6'4 inches, that seems to describe our 16th president.

Laura 4:08

Although it was not publicly known until after his death, John F. Kennedy was diagnosed with Addison's disease in 1947 at the age of 30. Addison's is a rare long-term endocrine disorder, resulting in the inadequate production of cortisol and aldosterone to steroid hormones. It was also revealed that Kennedy had hypothyroidism. The presence of two endocrine disorders has led to speculation that Kennedy suffered from autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2. Additionally, Kennedy also suffered from chronic back pain, for which he underwent surgery and was heavily medicated throughout his presidency.

Laura 4:50

In 2002, historian Robert Dalek gave a presentation about President Kennedy's health. Based on x-rays and medical records, Dalek revealed that during his presidency, JFK dealt with high fevers, stomach, colon, and prostate issues, high cholesterol, and adrenal issues.

Laura 5:10

Ronald Reagan was the first president to wear hearing aids while in office. He began losing his hearing after a pistol was fired close to his right ear on a film set during his acting career. The second president to wear hearing aids in office was President Bill Clinton.

Laura 5:25

Surely you remember how much was made of Joe Biden's speech emediment. Biden's stutter was a target for many of the opposition and was often mentioned negatively by members of his own party.

Laura 5:36

In an interview, Senator Mark Kelly was asked directly if he thought America was ready for a disabled first lady. He responded, Hey, in my opinion, we have a disabled president right now. His wife, Gabby Giffords, suffered a brain injury after surviving an assassination attempt in 2011 where she was shot in the head.

Laura 5:57

Now, my knee-jerk reaction to Kelly's statement is we don't claim him. And while we definitely don't claim him, and if you mentioned it to any dyed in the wool MAGAt that their megalomaniacal messiah is anything other than wholly and absolutely hale, they would be outraged. You have to acknowledge that something is going on there. We don't have a diagnosis, but something ain't right.

Laura 6:21

Asking if the country is ready for a disabled first lady when we have empirical evidence of multiple disabled presidents is asinine, and frankly, bad journalism. Technically speaking, First Lady is a powerless position. They have no direct influence on policy or legislation. I mean, sure, they can influence their spouses, but they are not directly involved in the business of government. Even if Gabby Giffords were to be the first disabled First Lady, spoilers, would that really mean anything?

Laura 6:54

First Lady Ida McKinley, wife of President William McKinley, suffered from epilepsy and used a cane or wheelchair within the White House. As far as I can find, McKinley is the only First Lady who was openly disabled during her husband's time in office, but openly maybe a misnomer. The administration definitely tried to downplay her symptoms.

Laura 7:15

I think it's likely that other first ladies had a disability of some kind, whether that be learning disability, chronic illness, or something else. They just weren't public-facing about it. However, several first ladies, including Rosalyn Carter and Betty Ford, advocated for the disabled community during their tenure.

Laura 7:33

There is an entire section on Wikipedia entitled American Politicians with Disabilities, which lists over 200 entries, including Senator Tammy Duckworth and Governor Greg Abbott. So it is plainly wrong to say that the disabled community has never been represented by a person in power. Disabled people have had held power in American government. They just haven't done much with it.

Laura 7:58

Right now, of course, it's difficult to expand disability rights when the current administration is so determined to tear rights away from the disabled community. Still, getting politicians to move on a platform of disability rights is a challenge. Despite the fact that disability is the largest minority group, not just in the US, but around the world, politicians are slow to take up any legislation or policies that directly positively impact the disabled community. I think that the last significant legislation that expanded the rights of the disabled community was the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in 1990. To be fair, I could be wrong. Legislation in the intervening years that affects the disabled community could have been passed, and I'm just unaware of it. But for sure, the ADA is the last time a piece of large legislation affecting the disabled community was passed, and with such public awareness.

Laura 9:02

Clearly, the issue is not whether we have disabled people in positions of power. The issue, in my opinion, is the societal attitude towards people with disabilities. Do you remember, I guess it was last year, when that picture of Trump using a walker made the rounds? A lot of people declared it was AI, and whether it was or not doesn't really matter. As soon as it surfaced, people jumped on a moment of physical weakness and declared him unfit for office. And for sure, Donald Trump is unfit for office. He's incompetent, corrupt, a convicted felon, a rapist, and a pedophile. His unfitness has nothing to do with a possible need for mobility aid.

Laura 9:43

Greg Abbott is unfit for office, not because he uses a wheelchair, but because he is morally bankrupt. But when people criticize him, they go for the low hanging fruit, his disability.

Laura 9:57

Are there some disabilities that would make someone unfit to serve in a political office? Absolutely. But those people would likely never make it to this arena in the first place. Still, the overriding opinion is that any disability makes one unfit, regardless of evidence to the contrary. Is it any wonder that, historically, presidents who did have disabilities were more likely to keep that hidden? FDR put himself through excruciating pain in order to be avoid being seen using a wheelchair. The extent of Kennedy's health issues were not known until well after his death. Even Ida McKinley, who was not actually in office, kept the extent of her disability hidden from the public.

Laura 10:43

The question is not, is America ready for a disabled first lady? The question should be, is America ready to accept that it has already had disabled people in power, but that the collective opinion of disability kept them from being fully open about their situations.

Laura 11:00

Thanks for listening, and I'll talk to you in the next one.