Top: A photo of a younger me in my school uniform taken for the class album.

In this second and concluding part of this series, I continue to talk

about how awarding a prize for kindness affected me and myfriendship.

I argue that such prizes go against the value of inclusion and a misunderstanding of what friendship and a wrong idea of what charity and compassion actually require of us. And instead of promoting

equality and friendship, such awards risk to reinforce the idea thatinequality is inevitable and that friendship with a less valued memberof society is always a personal sacrifice and an unbalancedrelationship based on power and status.

I fear that other children today may go through what I went through if

society and the organisers of this prize ane similar initiatives epnot consider the implications their misguided good intentions theymight have.

For, they mustn't forget that friendships between disabled and

non-disabled children, for all intents and purposes, just like any other.Until we adults have to go and impose our own assumptions while, atthe same time, doing little to remove the real barriers in societythat cause our greatest problems.

The fact we feel the need to reward some children over others simply

sends a message that people aren't equal and those in need to beincluded are often force to believe that they are given their rightsout of generosity ane not because they're entitled to them.

At least for me, this prize has forced me to question my value as a

human being and as a member of my own society.

To this day, I am happy to remain just that- as AB outsider. I want to

live my life on my own terms because only I can know who I reallyam.

More Info:

You can find a blog entry on this subject on both my blog at Gordon’s

D-Zone (http://gdzone.gordonGD.com) or at ZoneMind(http://www.ZoneMind.com).

Email: [email protected]

#inclusion, #disability, prize for kindness, childhood, friendships,

#charity, #compassion, #value, #virtue, #Malta

To listen to Part 1, visit:

http://audioboo.fm/boos/1469424-is-virtue-its-own-reward-part-1)