With summers getting hotter, students in the US are gearing up for the prom season. Like every year, students are busy hunting for different ideas to ask out their sweethearts for the colourful prom nights. With promposal videos flooding the internet, promposals have become the new hot cake in the US. Amidst these videos, there are some that have garnered more attention due to their unique idea. Well, these are not the mundane romantic kind of but have a touch of humanity that is making everyone go awww.. with appreciation.
Well, these promposals are for those differentially challenged friends, who for years have lived in the darkness of criticism and neglect. For the first time, the American kids have chosen their disabled friends as their prom sweethearts. You can see many such promposal videos thronging the internet.
It was a dream come true for Ben Davis when his friend and senior Kieu-Vi Nguyen asked him out for the prom night. Davis, who is suffering from a rare disease called pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN), met Nguyen during his freshman orientation that was organised a few weeks prior to commencing of their school year. Since then, both are good friends and when the prom night neared, Nguyen was not sure of attending it. But, when she did make her mind, she could find no one suitable than her special mate Davis to accompany her. Hence, on one Friday, she asked Davis out in the cutest promposal way at a pep rally held at Everett High School. Davis was welcomed with a box bearing pictures of blue sky and clouds and having a message written on it: 'I'll ask you to prom when pigs fly.'
When the students cut open the box, three pink balloons having pigs ears and faces sketched on, popped out and were flying. Davis was in tears when this happened as the crowd cheered for him. Now, this was a happy go moment and not a getting famous stunt.
Thus, in a country where criticism of the disabled was considered to be normal, the young American’s asking out their disable special friends has indeed dawned a new era in the US. But, while on one hand this idea has been appreciated, it has also attracted criticism especially from some differently challenged.
One such Michael Mort, who is suffering from ‘Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy’, has expressed his distress on this promposal idea through his blog. His article "Pity and the Prom" is a response to these inspirational promposals.
With an example of the above meme that has been shared over 50,000 times on Facebook, Michael said, "Personally, I felt the post was extremely degrading to disabled people and overall very exploitative. I feel frustrated when I see this type of thing; it's a reminder of how poorly our society still perceives disability and disabled people."
Further talking about what is the actual expectation of those specially challenged, "We do not exist solely to inspire and spending time with us doesn't make you a hero. Generally, disabled people want to be included and accepted not made a spectacle of. I would never want to be spoken of with that level of pity and condescension," he further added.
Another blogger's comment also shows his dislike on the issue; "If a news source had hinted that my date was engaged in some kind of bizarre community service, basically insinuating that I was the most 'undateable' creature on the planet, I likely would have taken the (very mature) path of locking myself in my bedroom and crying until graduation."
Well Michael, if that was true, then will you call Lillie’s and Trevor’s friendship also a publicity affair? Firstly, to inform you guys, Lillie has been friends with Trevor for five years now. Also, she knows how much Trevor enjoys dancing and hence decided to take him to the prom night. For her promposal, she made a cute poster for him that said, "I like coffee, I like tea, and will you go to prom with me?" Her video might have got more than 4 million likes on Facebook, but why don’t the criticizers miss the friendship behind it rather than the mere likes and applauds Lillie has got?
Well, I just want to tell Michael and his differently challenged mates that we really appreciate your comments and expectations from the society, but don’t you think these promposal ideas, to some extent, did help in including the disabled and challenged in the crowd of those normal? I don’t deny your pain too, as you felt that your fellow guys were somewhere used as a tool, wherein their normal mates were praised for showing such a kindness. But, if you see from another angle, they did make an effort to appreciate and befriend your special friends. The way might still be questionable by many as there might be some who did it just for mere publicity. But don’t you think, there might me many like Lillie and Nguyen whose intention, I feel, was not to hurt the sentiments of the disabled community, but to include you guys in their normal squad.
Without denying the loopholes, I still feel, the promposals for the disabled is not a mere ‘getting famous’ stunt, but there is hope that the world, especially the youngsters are not bullying but accepting their specially challenged pals.
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