There’s no excuse for the way people treat those who are different. For too long, I have seen and heard stories of how people have been taken advantage of because of a disability.

There are many people in the world that face prejudice and discrimination every day. Unfortunately, the news is more focused on other issues that, in my opinion, are not anywhere near as important as this.

In some circumstances, students are bullied because of the way they might think or look. It’s completely despicable.

Sometimes a special needs student might make a comment or ask a genuine question, just to get laughed at or ostracized. Are people really oblivious to the fact that these students have feelings, too?

How do you think that makes them feel? Do people realize what that does to someone’s self-esteem? Most people think it’s okay to mess with certain groups because they think those people don’t understand what’s happening. Imagine how it would feel to hear one of your peers say, “It’s fine, he isn’t all there.” Even if your mind worked a little differently, that would have to be one of the worst things to ever hear someone say.

The worst part is that some people are taking advantage of a person that didn’t choose to have disabilities, so why make their lives even harder than they already are? A great portion of those with mental disabilities can’t even express themselves to others or explain the kinds of things they have to put up with.

In cases of both mental and physical disabilities, some people may have a hard time getting a job or supporting themselves. Sometimes these people get bullied until they either get fired or just quit. It really isn’t fair to them at all.

In other circumstances, a person with a disability is just looking for acceptance from others. They might do whatever someone commands just in hopes of making a new friend.

Once everyone starts to realize that many people with disabilities will never live a normal life, we will be able to get rid of this discrimination.

We as a country decided, a long time ago, that it was wrong to discriminate based on race and gender. People don’t control how they are born. How is it any less inappropriate to judge someone because of the way their brain works? Unfortunately, in some circumstances, people are born with disabilities because of choices their parents made. Those parents don’t take care of themselves and sadly the mothers might pay no consideration to the fact that there is a life inside of them. They don’t choose to be like that; it’s how they’re born.

It just sucks that people have to go through their lives thinking they are, in some way, lesser than everyone else. Because they’re not. Granted there are many people with disabilities that live normal and happy lives, but a lot of the time there is always some sort of prejudice that people make completely ignoring the content of that person’s character.

The main point I want to make is that we should be standing up for these people, just like we have for any other discriminated group in the past. We need change.