Getting props from peeps who recognize a brother
By Woody Lassitor
Popping wheelies, hopping down a short set of stairs and sliding around corners on slick floors at high speeds (fast for a wheelchair) make heads turn, but I’m used to it. I ignore the attention. The wheelies and curb jumping serve a purpose. Not to mention, moves like power sliding on slick floors and barreling down hillsides make me feel all fuzzy inside.
When I’m out and about, I do my thing, wheel how I need to wheel to get where I want to go, and play down any acknowledgement of my skills. That’s right, I got skills.
Every once in a while, someone will mention how impressed they are or say they have never seen a person use a wheelchair like that. I smile and tell them to get out more.
Most of the appropriate comments, short nods or ‘right ons,’ go unnoticed, at least by me. But several months ago, a woman I have been spending quite a bit of time with observed that most of the “props” I get come from black people.
She didn’t tell me, really. We had been talking to some friends and she said something about a host’s compliment at a restaurant after I popped a wheelie and hopped down two steps. I waved it off, but my friend said, “Woody always gets props from black guys.”
As down as I am with counter cultures, I seldom use the word props. I had an idea of what it meant, but I looked up the word to know for sure. Props is slang for “proper respects,” as it turns out.
Props, or proper respects, should not be confused with asinine remarks or blowhard congratulations. Remarks like, “Oh, that’s so wonderful that you can get around like that,” or, “I just can’t believe how good you are with that thing,” do not qualify as props. Neither does the statement, “You better slow down or you’re gonna get a ticket.”
People drop props when they can empathize, when his or her own life experiences have been reflected in the person acknowledged.
Respect? Wow, this was the first time people, nondisabled people, had shown me respect for my skills as a cripple. Maybe my friend had hit on something, eh? Is there a connection between the respect given and the person who gives it?
?
In the months that followed, I began to take notice of the people who commented on my skills. Not the people, really, but the (sub)culture or heritage of the individuals.
I wouldn’t say that my little half-brained experiment represents an accurate cross-section of the population, but what I found suggests that props were indeed given by black males, as well as people from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. That is, other than Anglos.
Why is that? Maybe most Anglos haven’t ever experienced discrimination, so he or she lack the ability to recognize the value of skills or abilities possessed by people who do deal with discrimination. Either that or they are afraid to acknowledge it. Perhaps, on a subconscious level, the fear is that acknowledgement would expose the role he or she has played in the oppression of people with disabilities.
That’s some heavy shit, but it makes sense.
Today, when somebody gives me props, I don’t dismiss the person as a kiss-ass, I recognize a brother or sister. The similarities in the struggles we fight creates the opportunity for solidarity. Besides, we’re fighting against the same Man.
