We are getting to know more things about David. He is obviously skilled and knowledgable in the game of basketball . Sean threw the ball soft and slow just as Mrs Burke had spoken loud and slow to David. It seems everyone instincevly displays pity towards David.
Is it ok for Sean, Mrs Burke, Mr McCulley, or anyone to feel sorry for and act accordingly for someone who is handicapped?
Things to consider in your response ; how would you act , what are the cultural expectations, conscious and unconscious bias, create a hypothetical situation and evaluate.
Make your response and respond with 2 other posts.
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ReplyDeleteare Equal and Fair the same thing?
DeleteNo , but the come under the same branch of words. Being fair doesnt mean to be equal and being equal doesnt mean to be fair. If you treat everybody equally but somebody deserves more, it means you arent being fair, you just care about equality.
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DeleteI think that it is completely okay for Sean, Mrs.Burke, Mr Culley or any other person to feel sorry and act accordingly to anyone who is handicapped because i am sure you would have done the same thing and i'm sure i would have done the same thing
ReplyDeleteWhen you see a person in a wheelchair, the first thing that comes to your mind is that they are already suffering a lot of pain since they have a lot of downsides in their life due to their wheelchair. When you see somebody in a wheelchair you think that they are getting bullied because they are different and weaker than others and you understand that their physical condition is bad meaning their body may feel alot of pain and they may not b able to do many activities witch most kids can do and you automatically think that they are going to be that one person who will be left out in misery. '
We are the readers and in our point of view we think that mr culley and mrs burke are evil and cruel because they are nice to David who is actually very tough and powerful. The reason we think this is because we know that David is not weak and is enjoying life and having fun himself. we also know that David is not as nice as people expect him to be. The only reason people feel bad for him is if they don't know that he is actually very cruel, otherwise they would not be so nice to him since they know that he is no in that much misery and is not getting bullied.
I get what your saying but do you think that the power that David has comes from his wheelchair like you said that everyone might feel sorry so does that give him an advantage???
DeleteThere are many advantages with everyone feeling sorry for him because everyone will usually believe that David was innocent because if you look at the facts then you will realize that people feel sorry for David and they expect him to be getting hit and being yelled at because he is not like all the others and if David does hit somebody people may think that David could not have attacked him because they may think that David would be weaker than somebody who is not in a wheelchair even if the person in the wheelchair was the attacker they wouldn't believe that.
DeleteAlso if a person in the wheelchair is late for class the teacher would believe the person if they said that they couldn't come to class on time because they were having a hard time getting to class and the teacher would start to feel sorry and let the student go just like David did in the book.
Yes it is ok for Sean, Mrs Burke, and Mr McCulley to feel sorry for and act accordingly for someone who is handicapped. I would stronlgy say this beciase if wee think about it, theey all acted the same way that one of us would act if we spotted a person with a disability. For example, Mr McCulley spotted David on the floor WITHOUT the wheelccahir and assumed he started this fight, but once he saw David slowly starting towards his wheechair he felt sorry for him and right away thought that he couldnt have began the fight. Mrs Buke was doing the same thing, shewas talking loudly and slowly to David as if he was stupid and couldnt understand him as she must of thought that he is mentally disabled as well. If we look at it, Sean did the same thing. He lobbed the ball to David because he underestimated him, Sran thought that he is in a wheelchair so he mustnt know how to play sports and know anything about hem, so he wshould go easy on him. All thises characters in the book didnt say it directly, but their actions showed a lot about thier character and what they thought about David.
ReplyDeleteMrs Burke, Mr McCulley and Sean were consciously biased, and i would say this because they were aware of knowing that David was handicapped and they were being biased. They were judging and drawing their own inferences. They were unconscious in the sense that they didnt know that David wasnt mentally disabled. That is just what we would all assume is we saw a handicapped person. So fro example we somebody handicapped on a wheechair and they dropped something lets say and are unable to pick it up. It isnt our legal duty to help them out but would we? Would we just walk past them and let them struggle? No would be my answer, but i wouldnt talk normally though to be honest, i would talk slowly so they understand what Im saying. What would you do?
detailed and honest response
DeleteI think its fine that everyone is giving pity to David because he is in a wheel chair its just that Mr. McCully didn't even care about what happened BECAUSE David is in a wheel chair if he yelled at Sean but later gave him a chance because with what he did was unfair and someone in his position shouldn't have done that.
ReplyDeleteThat's true but how would you act when you see someone handicapped
DeleteIf you were in the same position as Mr. McCulley what would you have done?
DeleteI would have done the same thing partly I would have calmed down after abit then hear both side of the story..... I think :3
Deleteif we actually think about it, would we actually take our time to think? We wouldnt, we would jump to our own conclusions. we would automatically think that David couldnt hae started the fight because he is handicapped, and very rarely we see a handicapped person get into a fight, and never have we thought it could have been the disabled person who started it.
DeleteI think its ok for Sean, Mrs. Burke, Mr. McCulley or anyone to feel sorry for and act accordingly for someone who is handicapped because they might think they need help, or are struggling with something, because if I see someone who is handicapped, I would ask them if they need help or if I could do anything for them if I do see them struggling but in David’s case, he is just kind of taking advantage of everyone like Mrs. Burke and Mr. McCulley by acting all innocent and nice in front of them, but if I was Mrs. Burke or Mr. McCulley, I would do that same thing as them like feel sorry for David because he is in a wheelchair, and it’s hard for him to do some things that others can do. And just like Mr. McCulley, I would not blame David for the fight with Sean because he is in a wheelchair, and of course everyone probably thinks that someone in a wheelchair cannot or wouldn’t want to get in a fight with anyone. So I think there’s nothing wrong with someone feeling sorry for people who are handicapped because they probably didn’t deserve it, or have had a better life if they weren’t handicapped.
ReplyDeletei think they should have not fell sorry for david cause he is just in a wheel chair it deos not mean you can fell sorry for him
Deletehave you ever encountered this in real life?
DeleteHamza, But if you were to see a kid at our school in wheel chair you would feel sorry as well, if you saw a homeless man on the streets you would feel sorry for him. Why Can't you feel sorry for David?
Delete@hamza We know that David is in a wheelchair and he does attack people but you have to also remember that he does these things for a reason. For example in chapter 1 he only hit Sean because Sean fisted up and showed his will to fight.
Delete@Hamzaali -But they dont know that David was the one who started the fight or he isnt the way he acts in front of them and if you were Mr. McCulley or Mrs. Burke, you would do the same as them because when you see someone in a wheelchair you feel sorry for them because they dont get to live the way you do!
Delete@MrCheney- No i have not encountered this in real life, but as i said i would feel sorry for someone who is handicaped because they dont get to live the same way as others, they cant do somethings that we can.
in my opinion i think that it is ok but u should not even feel so sorry that the handy cap of disable person feels bad about him or her self like in this case people act like david is dum aswell but really his legs are broken
ReplyDeleteIts ok to act sorry or feel sorry for some one who is handicap because you as person know that they have a disadvantage at life unlike you. So yes its ok that they feel sorry but they shouldn't cause you can see that David dose not care about it at all Sean should know that by now cause he has seen that David doesn't care and that he is living his life like nothing happened at all like when they where playing basket ball he was taking shots and and giving Sean tips on how to play his spot a bit better and on another note they aren't really acting sorry they are treating him like he is not only handicap but that he has problems with his responsive system.In the end they are treating him like he is stupid and that he cant do anything with out help from others. So they aren't really acting sorry
ReplyDeleteYes they are acting sorry for David. They showed pity for him. It's in our human nature that we feel sorry for a disabled person. Not only disabled, but if someone is poor, blinded, deaf etc we automatically feel sorry for them. When Mr McCulley saw that David was disabled he was shocked and asked him if he needed help and showed pity. You can't just look at someone and assume they are stupid.
Deletebut isent that what mrs.burke did to david she, jumped to conclusions without knowing that only his legs are injured not his brain. i agree on your comment but that last part has me thinking verma.
Deletei know what you are saying, but what i meant was that your not SUPPOSED to look at some one and assume they are dumb. Mrs Burke did assume that David was stupid, thats why she was talking slowly and loudly to him, but she must have felt sorry for him as well.
Deleteoh i get what your trying to say. i honestly thought you forgot about how ms.bruke talked to david.
Deletedon't we all make assumptions and judge people on a daily and hourly basis?
DeleteYes we do make assumptions on a daily base but we should take the time and asses the situation before we say or do anything. Mrs burk dint bother to asses the situation and only thought that since his legs aren't working then the rest of his motor skills don't work. What im trying to say is that we should take the time to asses and evaluate before we do or say anything.
Deleteyes, we are always judging people. At school, when we walk the sidewalks etc. For example when I cross the street on a dialy basis, there is this one lady i always spot and sometimes i see her smoking or drinking or just sitting on the edge of the side walk. honestly i always assumed that she was homeless and might have had come mental disability, but i talked to my friends mom one day, and she knew her entire story, and told be that she isnt disabled, and she does have a home and a family and everything, she's just a drug addict and doesny consider her family 'family". So here is an example of judging people on an everyday basis.
Deleteyes i know that we are always judging people but what im saying is that we need to look beyond what we see right in front of our eyes we need to look in between they lines
DeleteIn my opinion, it is in our nature, (most peoples anyways) to help those in which we think need help, or to be extra careful and kind to them if not help them with whatever they were doing. this should came natural to all peoples mostly because, in your sub-conscience you feel bad for the person ( wither old, or disabled) and think you should do something to help the person. now to answer the question, i do believe that it is ok and not ok at the same time, it is ok, because most people just can't help but to act the way Sean, McCully and Burke did, because you think it is actually right it is not right however because sometime, the person may take offence of this for thinking that they are not capable of doing the thing themselves
ReplyDeletethink about this what if you were confined in a wheel chair, having difficulty doing whatever you are doing and some one comes up and helps you, your sub conscience says hank you while you are think to yourself " i can do this myself and i don't need a runt like you to help me, scram" but you have to be polite anyways
to be continued... ^_^
Even if it is human nature to act that way, it doesn't mean people like Ms Burke can judge someone just because of their conditions.When Ms Burke saw David the first time, she was talk to him like he has trouble understanding English. if David's physical conditions were good, but his mental conditions weren't would she have recognized that he has mental disabilities as soon as she saw him, no right. so judging people without even knowing their problems, would just make the person with disabilities feel more worse about themselves.
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Deleteyes, everybody was judging David. When Mrs Burke was talking slowly and loudly to David she was judging him and underestimating him of his capabilities. Its the same idea to judge in a negative way and to underestimate.
DeleteYes I agree with those points 100% but the way they where talking to him was not need he did not show anything to make you think that he has problems responding to questions asked. Not once did she let him speak to see or even know if he has any mental health issues.
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DeleteThis is all in our human nature to pity disabled people. That is the problem here, we shouldnt under estimate others or judge them just because of what we see. Yes we can feel sorry for them as we all do, but talking to them in a special way is not the right thing to do even though we all do it.
Delete@tommy she assumed just like we all would. if you see someone who's in a wheelchair yes you would feel sorry but it would make you think whether or not they have a disease or disability. mrs. burke had spoken to him like he was stupid, yes, but how would you have spoken to david?
Deletedo we not judge people all the time? Consider the most trivial of situations like picking groups...
Deletei think that its okay to feel sorry for David's disability, but they don't have to make it a big deal, like ms Bruke when she was talking to David like he was stupid and can't understand what she is saying. if David did really had a mental disability, but he wasn't on a wheelchair, she would have figured about his conditions much later. Ms Bruke was judging David just because he was in a wheelchair. Also when Mr Mcculley saw David on the ground, he started yelling at him, but as soon as he got on his wheelchair, his expressions changed, Why?
ReplyDeleteBecause Mr Mcculley felt sorry for him and acted over protective. obviously Mr Mcculley would get mad at Sean for bully a kid in wheelchair. Also when Sean saw David the first time, he curled up his fists, ready to fight, because he felt over confident that noway a kid in wheelchair can beat him, or even when Sean got surprised when David new so much about basketball, He was probably thinking how does a kid in a wheelchair so much about basketball. Now how does David feel about this? he might have enjoyed when he beat up Sean and didn't get in trouble, but what about when Ms Bruke was acting like David had mental disabilities. David wouldn't like to be treated different from everyone else.
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ReplyDeleteI think theres nothing wrong with Sean ,Mrs.Burke, Mr.McCulley or anyone else to feel sorry for a handicapped person because they don't have an advantage as most of us do. They have lost a part of their body and their lifes do change they have to live with it for the rest of thier life. I guess in the real world it does happen and I can prove it, a little while ago we all were talking about Terry Fox and he was kind of handicapped and what about his friend Rick who want ago with him, he was sorry for him and afraid about any pain coming to him.the people who saw him were probably also sorry for him because he was diffrent and never could be like a normal and i guess thats how David gets treated.
ReplyDeleteNow that there are many responses and ideas from the previous blogs and tweets, I do not think it is bad for everyone else to feel bad for David and start acting in a different way instead of how they treat the other students. As said before, treating a handicapped person is like treating him as if he were not normal, not in the bad way but in a pity showing kind of way. For example mr. McCulley, when he saw Sean and david on the floor but then david going to sit on the wheelchair he automatically felt bad for him and was completely convinced that it was Sean's fault. Why? Because he is handicapped. He is incapacitated to do many things so of course he is the innocent child. Another example is mrs. Burke. As soon as she saw david in the wheelchair she automatically felt sorry and then spoke to him in a loud but slow tone. I know I would've done the same thing assuming it was Sean who started the fight and/ or speaking to david the same way just because david is handicapped and that's normal because when you're in the spot, and you see someone with a disability, you don't stop and think ok he may feel bad about me talking this way. No. You think oh my god I feel so bad for him, I wonder what happened, I don't want to seem like I don't care, I should help him. And also you think can he understand me, I don't want to confuse him, but everything happens too fast so you don't realize the right thing you should do.. And I bet that's what happened with the teachers. Now I think that the only way for it to be bad is if the person knew they understood But still chose to speak that way.
ReplyDeleteWell for Sean and the others there is nothing wrong with them pitying David it’s just a natural instinct for a lot of people. Even I would have pitied David if it was my first time seeing him in a wheelchair. But over time it wouldn't be such a big deal to me. Two things could happen we become friends and just get used to it or not be his friend and just ignore him completely. Just like how YOU walk past a homeless person and pretend he is not there. But deep inside you know he is there, but you don't want to help even if you feel pity. All of this is based on personality now that I think about it. Some people are heartless but other like Sean are kind hearted even if he has the title of being a delinquent. I assume mr.Mccully is also kind hearted but he was mean to Sean because his past. So there’s nothing much you can do its always going to happen it’s just in their blood. Honestly there is nothing wrong with pitying David it’s as I said the first time it’s a person’s natural instinct.
ReplyDeleteYa there's nothing wrong with feeling sorry for David but only if its accordingly. Basically they are treating him like he is stupid and that he has no comprehension of how to listen and understand what people are saying. So ya in the end you can feel sorry but if he doesn't feel sorry in the end you shouldn't ether.
Deletei think that its ok for Sean, Mr. McCulley, Mrs. Burke or anyone to feel sorry for someone that is handicapped because its natural, they feel sorry that the person cant stand like them so they think that the handicapped person needs extra attention, care or help. if i saw someone in a wheelchair i would feel bad for them my self thinking about what might have happen to him/her just like Mrs.Burke and Mr.McCulley felt when they first saw David. when Sean first threw the basketball to David slowly thinking that if he hit hard it would hurt him, it showed that he felt pity for David. So i think that there is nothing wrong with feeling sorry for someone handicapped.
ReplyDeleteis it being natural to think this way the same thing as it being ok?
DeleteI think it is okay for anyone to feel sorry and act towards pity as it is a natural instinct. Seeing someone in a wheelchair makes you feel sorry, you wanna do something about it make things better. Similar to how today we may see someone with a broken arm or leg. We immediately wanna help that very person in whatever way we can. Wether it is by trying to sound polite and nice or just giving a helping hand we all try. But there is something missing isn't there?
ReplyDeleteBeing extra nice to someone with a handicap is instinct, it's human nature. But sometimes people don't get the picture. Take Mrs.Burke for example ,she treated David like he was extremely dumb. Why? She didn't understand David's situation, she jumped to conclusions without understanding what the big deal. Now is this all her fault? No! David's the new kid remember.. She wasn't all to blame. But things like this is what makes the handicapped,disabled, diseased etc. person feel WAAYY worse. So what I'm trying to say is that it is completely okay to try being nice or helpful but you got to understand the whole thing. You don't just assume that someone is dumb or it just make you and the person look stupid.
You also need to understand what the handicap, diseased, homeless etc. person's position. David was obviously self depended, he did not rely on anyone nor require that much help ( he gets angry if someone touches his chair and is able t beat down a eight grader). Now not everyone is self depended and strong like David and that is for you to understand and learn. If you choose to help, you got to think from the person's shoes, feel what they feel. And most of the time they might need your help.
It's not a bad thing to lend a helping hand nor is it bad to be nice go for that extra mile, try feeling pity. In the end all your doing is trying to make things better for the person. Not everyone is blessed with the things we have today, so it's okay to be extra nice try helping whatever way you can because people around the world are deeply misfortunate.
David however is the type of handicapped kid that in someone ways be treated with extra care. Why? Because he abuses this kindness due to his handicap. He has a very strong and reasonable excuse and is able to be spared without second thoughts. So people like don't deserve the extra care and kindness. So before you comment notice my 3rd paragraph as it mentions to understand the person, well adding a point I would say to fully analyse the person, never underestimate anyone as well get to know someone fully.
Delete"David however is the type of kid that in someways should not be treated with extra care" Typo, sorry..
DeleteYou are saying that we should understand the person and shouldnt assume that the person who is handicapped is dumb. So your idea is correct, but Mrs Burke didnt take the time to understand Davids position. So are you saying it is ok or not ok to feel sorry for David?
Deletebut the bad thing is we cant always be guessing what the handicapped or disabled person wants. like sean, he thought that david needed help so he started pulling the wheelchair where david just got completely mad. so how will we know what they need or want from us? and yeah we can analyze them but that could take time. more time than you even have
DeleteI guess you could say it`s mixed meaning in some cases it is acceptable to feel sorry whereas in some cases it is not. This question isn`t just directed to David it`s directed to handicapped people. So everyone is different not everyone is wholesome nor is everyone cold blooded. Like I said get to know the person before reaching for the extra mile. It might take time, more time than you ever have but if your not willing to get know the person due to time then your not fit to help or feel sorry.
DeleteAre you trying to make things better for them...or trying to make yourself feel good about you? whats the real motivation?
Deletei agree. but lets think about what sean was punished to do. he now has to host david around the school until david can manage on his own. sean didnt even know himself how to help after david knew his way around the school. he doesnt want to be his friend as yet all he wants is to show david around and just stay out of trouble. so in a case like this yeah it wasnt seans fault and all he was trying to do is help. but he doesnt want to get to know him as yet so he doesnt want to analyze, i dont even think that passed through his mind. so if you dont want to analyze the person, or dont have the time or maybe theyre a stranger, whatever the case is as natisha said, you could just ask them what they need and thats how you will know if they wont get mad or what they want you to do.
DeleteMaking thing better for them doesn't it make yourself feel good. I mean doing a kind act makes you feel good in the inside, so I guess you could say the real motivation does not matter as whatever action you choose to do it will result in the opposite. Does it not.
DeleteI think it is ok for anyone to feel sorry for and act accordingly for someone who is handicapped.
ReplyDeleteI think this because they have been through a lot more than you have been through and when you look at them or hear their story you automatically feel sorry for them. They may not like when people feel sorry for them but people do and i think that is ok.
If i saw anyone who was handicapped I would feel sorry for them because I realize that their life might be harder than mine and it might be difficult for them.
I think it is ok for Sean, Mrs.Burke and Mr.McCulley to feel sorry for David but they don't have to act like he is a little child and like he doesn't understand what they are saying.
When Sean threw the basketball at David softly I think Sean knew why he did that. He thought that since David was in a wheel chair he would get hurt if he threw the ball too hard. And in the end David caught the ball with no trouble when Sean threw it hard. I think this was wrong because you are treating someone differently just because they look weak when you don't actually know them. Same with Mrs.Burke and Mr.McCulley.
davanie well if your alright with someone pitying david why are you going against sean throwing the ball lightly. i get what your trying to say but doing all that they are doing is to show pity is it not?
DeleteThey are showing pity towards David but they don't have to act like he is weak or dumb because he is not. Because after Sean did that David proved that he is not weak.
DeleteA reason she may be against it is because since David was described as built up Sean obviously took notice of that. But yet he still threw the ball lightly. Why would he do that? Sean already knows David's strength since he was David's punching bag. That is Sean's fault.
Deletebut they never knew that david is a strong guy not only that but they did all of this off of instinct, just like how grabbed davids chair when he was showing david around.
Deleteand the only one that knew david was strong is sean
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ReplyDeleteYes it is acceptable for anyone to feel sorry for one who is in a wheelchair because it is natural. Anyone and everyone would. It is okay because everyone would have the same reaction. So yes, it is okay for Sean, Mrs. Burke, and Mr. McCulley to feel sorry or pity towards David because we all would. In the beginning of the book Mr. McCulley’s first instinct was to give David a punishment but the moment he saw David drag himself toward the wheelchair he went to help him, because it’s natural instinct. To feeling sorry is not a bad thing, but imagine if you were in a public place and saw someone in a wheelchair or someone who was homeless. You would feel bad right? I know I would. By giving the handicap person a little extra care is nothing bad because we all do it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's okay to feel sorry for a person with a disability but not to act sorry. When you think about it the person probably wants to be normal or at least be treated normal. So acting sorry, being nice and treating them differently is not what they want. You can still help them out with little things but just don't treat them different from others, even if you are being nice.
ReplyDeletein my opinion its okay for Mr.McCully and Mrs.Burke to feel sorry for David. hes in a wheelchair which makes its harder to for fill his passion of playing basketball. its makes it harder to do what other students can do. i think its wasn't okay to treat David like if hes dumb. where Mrs.Bukre and Sean was treating him. talking to him slow and loud thinking that hes dumb. passing the ball slow and gently thinking its hard to catch a ball. its okay to feel sorry for a person to be handicap not to the point where they treat him like a small kid and not like a regular 13 year old kid.
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