My professional perspective is law, and in this post I will be describing some of the characteristics of a document one my find in this field. These characteristics are just things I have personally noticed in my research. To start off with, law documents are generally very impersonal and objective. Subjectivity and opinions can be substantiated by evidence, so they are not included. There is no first or second person language, to aid in portraying a sense of professionalism.

            These documents are always backed up by factual knowledge, using either laws or previously made legislation, or maybe even statistics. There is no feeling involved. Personal accounts may be included to prove a point, but it’s never from the perspective of the writer. The type of vocabulary that occurs within varies depending on how it has been used and its intended audience. For example, if it was meant to be used in a court setting, and scrutinized by other people of the legal profession you can expect legal jargon that will fly right over the head of someone such as myself.

            Lastly, legal discourse is used to present an argument, and persuade its audience to agree with them or disagree with something else, giving all the more reason to stick with objective terminology and language. Opinions mean absolutely nothing in court, so any sort of subjectivity is left at the door. 

The cultural representation of disability that I chose is Lenny from John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men.  Lenny is a large man that seems to have some sort of intellectual disability. He’s slow to think, and doesn’t really have a “filter” for his actions or words, which tend to get him and his best friend George into trouble. He is characterized by many of the stereotypes ingrained within our culture regarding those with disabilities. He is pitiable, laughable, burdensome, and unable to participate in day-to-day activities.          

            His presence is also used to support the other protagonist’s development and characterization, which is probably the most prevalent stereotype of all. The obstacles that Lenny must overcome with George seem to change George’s character. On top of this he provides the most important sources of conflict in the book that drive the plot. Comedic relief is also provided by Lenny’s innocence.

            I’d also like to bring up a stereotype that can be applied to Lenny that I have also observed recently in other facets of our culture. It has to do with the word “retarded” that I wrote about earlier in my blog posts. It’s very offensive, and I had no idea how it originated. I then realized that it could be applied in Steinbeck’s own, Of Mice and Men. It is the unsavory idea of “retard strength”. Essentially, it’s the idea that a person with an intellectual disability can have superhuman strength. Almost always I’ve heard it referenced directly in a comedic manner, but then I realized that Lenny is a prime example of this, because what he lacks in brains he more than makes up for in brawn. In the novel his disability is assumed rather than directly referred to, but it still has an effect on how people view people with intellectual disabilities. 

"Disability, Disabilities, Convention, UN, Rights, Accessibility." UN News Center. UN,   
          n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

            Since I am addressing disability and the law on an international scale, I thought that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities would be a good place to start. It’s a U.N. document that closely resembles the ADA in order to get the rest of the world on par with the United States’ level of accommodation towards those with disabilities. There is a lot to it, and consequently many avenues that I can take in my research, so my options are pretty flexible as of right now. 

I will now be undertaking a research project that investigates a professional perspective of my interest and how it relates to disability. If you haven’t read my “Introduction to the World”, please do so, as it will help make more since of the professional perspective that I chose, and what I intend to research.

            International law is my personal interest, and I chose it to be my perspective. I struggled with the idea of relating it to disability, but then I thought of my brother, who is adopted from Russia, and has a disability. There was definitely a legal process that allowed my parents to adopt him, but will there be enough there to write about? Is the topic “beefy” enough, as I like to say? I’m not quite sure yet, but I am making progress, especially considered Putin’s recent ban on the American adoption of Russian children.

            One thing I also find interesting that I have found so far is the discrimination and unrest regarding the topic of disabled parents adopting. Where do we draw the line at which a disability makes somebody unfit to be a parent? I will definitely explore this route.