Discussion Week 2 - Friday the 14th and Sunday the 16th of April

When we look at then political correctness of the modern era, people with mental illness/disability are meant to be looked at as normal people. As if there is not only not something "wrong" with them, but not even something different about them.

We're told that the word "retard" is derogatory, and that those who have disabilities should be seen in the same way as any other non-disabled person.

Should we really be trying to accept people who are mentally ill/disabled as regular people in society?

These people require extra help in most aspects of life that most regular people don't require and as such are most definitely different, should we be making a point of the of the fact that they are different so they can get better care or better understanding from people in society?

(An example of this is recently the Sesame Street kid's TV show is going to add a new muppet that is autistic, though the creator of the muppet has stated that she doesn't want people to think of the muppet as 'the autistic muppet' but of just another regular member of the cast. http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39324183)