With the overload of breaking news about New York’s new governor, David Paterson, the media placed initial emphasis on Paterson’s race, and only later started to explore the fact that he is the state’s first legally blind governor.
One radio station I listened to reported that he is the first disabled governor. Not so. Franklin Roosevelt, who had polio, led the state from 1928 to 1932.
Once the media started to develop the disability story, the old stereotypes came into play: His “rise to governor has served as a great source of inspiration to blind Americans,” The Associated Press reported. The headline on that story: “Paterson’s Ascension Inspires Disabled.” “Inspiring” is one of those clichés that the media use to describe just about all people with disabilities. But in Paterson’s case, the “inspiration” tag faded away when he and his wife admitted to extramarital affairs.
In a political profile, the New York Post hinted at how Paterson views his own disability. According to the Post, Paterson told The New York Times in 2006 that “he disparaged efforts to make him a ‘disability’ case. ‘Every single white political consultant that I ever worked with likes to promote my disabilities. And I suspect it’s to mitigate race — to give me, in their eyes, an honorary white status.'”
Let’s take heed of his words, and avoid labeling him either black or disabled. Just governor will do.
