Why the fuck isn't ths a mental illness?
I will always remember my old friend Steven Okon. He attended one of the top schools in the UK. It was very posh but he wasn't. He was from a broken home. I met him next in a children's home.
What was his impairment? Being born poor. At the age of 10 he excelled so much he broke through the barriers to get a fully assisted place at the top 5 school we both went to. He wasn't filling any tick box. He was talented in ways which I will never be almost 25 year on. He was poor though.
He didn't fit in. He was cool but alone and, perhaps, aloof. He distanced himself from all but a few people and eventually left this top private school in the first year. I met him again when my impairments were signficiant such that my family decided to throw me out. I met him in a children's home and he was in a system which didn't help him out of the trap of disability. He was a looked after child and his life was less ordinary when it needn't have been.
I hate arguing about his value for society but his value was mountains of cash. I would argue the loss to the individual is far greater. He deserved the fullest life opportunities just like any damn soul.
Argh. I get so damn tired or arguing the same shit. Born equal, die equal. What happens in between better be the same.
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