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BOUTONNIERES

John R. Woodward, M.S.W.
John is a clnical social worker and freelance writer
in Tallahassee, FL. He works for Community Dialysis Centers
of America, Inc.

FROM
The Ragged Edge:
The Disability Experience from the Pages
of The Disability Rag
Edited by Barrett Shaw

The only image of persons with disabilities to come out of the 1992 Republican convention coverage was one of the most regressive features to appear on the national airwaves all year.

The feature, which aired on CNN Headline News several times the night after the Republican convention had adjourned, explored the "human interest" in the sheltered workshop at Homewood Flossmoore High School outside Chicago where the students made boutonnieres worn by Republican convention delegates.

"Far away from the spotlight in Houston, at this suburban Chicago high school, 16-year-old Inan Shalati is one of the faces behind the boutonnieres," Margaret Lowrey of CNN intoned. On screen, Shalati – described as "blind, with cerebral palsy" – struggled with labored speech as she explained that she could put boutonnieres together: "People are amazed and that, because we don’t see the flowers, and they think, how can you put them together?"

Rather than allowing Shalati to finish explaining how she manipulates the components of the boutonnieres, Lowrey broke in to declare her "a triumph of the spirit over bodily bonds," along with four of her friends in the workshop, each of whom also participated in making these "amazing" boutonnieres. "They are special," said Lowrey, "overcoming physical and learning disabilities to make the patriotic ornament, and show that, they, too, have something to contribute." Does any of this sound familiar?

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