Millions across the globe watched Oscar Pistorius, nicknamed "Blade Runner," a double amputee from South Africa, compete in the London Olympics. He used carbon-fiber blades to run his sprints.
The World Health Organization estimates the number of those with disabilities to be 1 billion worldwide. Among workers with disabilities, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that last year only 17 percent who wanted to be employed had a job. Hawaii is in line with the rest of the country.
"There is a widespread social flaw in the attitude toward people with disabilities in the workplace," said Steven Brown, associate professor of disability studies at the University of Hawaii. "It is a form of discrimination that is comparable to the belief that people cannot be productive because of the color of their skin or the language they speak."
Brown described how he was passed over as a candidate to write a history of a large company because he uses crutches and "they had decided — after verbally hiring me before actually meeting me — that someone who used crutches would not have the stamina to write a book."
He also pointed out that if you can’t work, you can’t pay taxes. People with disabilities need to draw resources from the tax base but, like anyone, have no way to contribute to it if they cannot find work. They receive Social Security disability insurance and government-sponsored health insurance and vocational rehabilitation, but they encounter obstructions when they look to give back. We can scarcely afford to squander human capital in the form of willing workers.
Oddly, Hawaii is a unique model of social equanimity in other ways. It is one of the most multicultural, multilingual, accepting communities in the world.
"Barack Obama: The Making of the Man," by David Maraniss, states that much of Obama’s current inspiration stems from his early years in Hawaii, which is full of hapa children. To a certain point Hawaii accepts everyone, but we can dig still deeper for those with disabilities.
The unemployment rate among individuals with disabilities is an enormous waste of human and economic resources, and that must change. Let Oscar Pistorius be an inspiration to the disabled and tickle the imagination of employers so they might better use the untapped potential within our own community.
———
Ira Zunin, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., is medical director of Manakai o Malama Integrative Healthcare Group and Rehabilitation Center and CEO of Global Advisory Services Inc. Please submit your questions to info@manakaiomalama.com.
