Elphaba and I

“Are people born wicked, or is wickedness thrust upon them?”

Many events have changed my life for the better on this disability awareness journey.  One of them was seeing the hit Broadway musical, Wicked.  I had always felt a bit of sadness for Elmira Gultch.  In Dorothy’s dream, the lonesome woman is the Wicked Witch of the West, angry after losing her sister, those ruby slippers, and that little dog, too.  In the musical, she is renamed Elphaba.  This young woman is feared and unpopular because of her disability – being born verdigris.  Elphie, who advocates for the disenfranchized and learns to cast spells, journeys to Oz to meet the all-powerful Wizard.  She is certain he can “de-greenify” her so she will be judged by her leadership skills, not her outward appearance.  Then, one day, after Elphie and the Wizard partner together, and she is matched with him in reknown, she is certain there will be a day ”that’s all  to do with me!”.  When that day happens, she will never be brought down by discrimination and fear ever again.  No, a simple bucket of water thrown on her by a young Kansas farm girl did the trick. I found myself crying by the end, because I understood her struggle so intimately. 

“Are people born disabled, or does society make them so?”

 

Leave a comment   |  tags: Discrimination, Disability, Leadership, Inclusion, Wicked, Attitudinal barriers, Diversity, Witch of the West, Advocacy, Appearance, Societal constructs | posted in Uncategorized