Service Learning - Tolerance and Acceptance

It's always interesting to hear the word "tolerance and acceptance" because who does the "tolerating" and the "accepting" of others? To say that you "tolerate" someone has a negative connotation. And who are we to "accept" someone else? Words I prefer to use instead, although still problematic, would be "inclusion". It inherently makes us think of the word "exclusion" and therefore, to look at who is included and excluded from whatever we are talking about.

Ever since starting service learning here, I've been thinking a lot about the different attitudes the U.S. and Vietnam have towards disabled folks. Service learning is the first time that I've ever worked with disabled children and so it was definitely eye opening. The way I see it, in the U.S., we have so many laws to make sure we accomodate and prevent discrimination against disabled folks (although it still exists). For example, we make sure that many of our buildings can accomodate disabled people. We have scholarships, opportunities for education (although not always a lot), and many organizations to help disabled folks. In a way, it says a lot about our attitudes toward disabled people in the U.S. While still really messed up, there are at least some laws to protect disabled people.

I wonder if there are any similarities or differences when it comes to Vietnam and its treatment of disabled folks. For example, when Anh Thai said that, traditionally, disabled people are seen as the manifestation of bad people in another live, or as a bad spirit reincarnated, I wonder how that changes people's attitudes. I know that theres a bunch of organizations helping disabled folks but how are they generally treated? Are they seen as capable of still gaining a higher education? A job? It seems like in Thanh Xuan, some of them are pursuing a higher education while some are stuck doing the same chores everyday. I wonder if they have plans of moving on and finding a job later. The only kids we see are the ones that stay here. What about those in the past? Did they eventually leave and find a job? I don't really know. There's definitely no "success stories" written on the bulletin boards. No follow-ups. Nothing. Or at least I can tell. It would be really interesting to see if they have any reports on the students after they left Thanh Xuan Peace Village.