Today is their International Day of Acceptance.
The group was founded by siblings Stevie and Annie Hopkins, two young adults with spinal muscular atrophy.
Their message: "tell the world you embrace who you are; a person with social rights, who has an opinion, who has interests, who has goals, who loves life, and who will not be without a voice in society. You are not living disabled, you are living."
Read Annie Hopkins' powerful story here. Annie grew up facing discrimination. She had a ton of spunk. "In college, she wanted to join a sorority, so she forced more than 40 houses on campus to build ramps so she could participate in rush week," according to the 3E Love website.
Annie created a wheelchair heart symbol to unify people of all abilities and spark conversation that would change attitudes. She and her brother Stevie started a company to spread the message. Unexpectedly, Annie died in 2009 due to a complication from a simple medical procedure. Stevie took the company forward.
To me, acceptance means respect for a person's intrinsic self-worth, their value as a human being, regardless of anything they do.
What does acceptance mean to you?
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2 comments:
Louise, I completely agree with your definition of acceptance! That's why I have trouble with 'my son/daughter has worth because he/she makes me a better person' - like you, I think if a person sits in the middle of a forest with no one around, they still have the same worth as when they are 'doing' or with others.
Hi Donna -- Yes! I don't see human value as "earned."
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