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TWR Bonus | The Disability Question · The Whitfield Report

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  Now broadcasting from the next-gen conservative studio in
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  Sunny South Florida, bringing you the latest in politics
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  current events and pop culture. This is he's the Whitfield
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  Report with Sam Whitfield. Hello, everyone and welcome to
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  the show. I hope you're all doing well
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  wherever you are in the past, present future.
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  Our and I know I will kind of scruffy today.
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  I've got the Andrew Breitbart, unkempt beard going.
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  But anyway, I hope this video /, podcast finds you well.
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  Well, and today, I want to address Saying that I haven't
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  really discussed too much in the past on the show.
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  That is my disability and cerebral palsy.
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  And really, I actually have gotten this question a lot more
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  reasonably, which is why I don't address it more on the show and
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  Why don't bring it up more? I've appeared recently on a
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  number of podcasts and I've been a guest on a few podcast panels
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  and there have been a few instances where people have
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  talked about people with disabilities or, you know, some
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  Trend with, you know, people with disabilities has shown up
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  in the news and the The ableism has come up a lot recently as
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  well and I haven't rejected that I am someone with a disability.
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  I have cerebral palsy you know? And I can talk a bit about these
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  subjects and I have recently, I don't bring it up a lot and
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  people ask me why I don't bring it up.
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  Allah Sam. You know, you have super palsy.
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  Why don't you You talked about it a lot.
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  And the answer is ladies and gentlemen, honestly, I don't
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  want it to, you know, be the thing that defines the and I
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  don't feel that it is honestly, yes, I do have cerebral palsy
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  and yes, it does affect my life in a, you know, in a significant
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  way physically. But in all honesty, I've never
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  really felt the need up until recently.
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  To really discuss it on the show.
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  You know, because in the grand scheme of things, yes, it does
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  affect me physically but it doesn't Define who I am as a
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  person. I feel And nor should it?
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  And I have discussed a little bit more in-depth as to what
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  happened to me why I have cerebral palsy.
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  I discussed that kind of in my origin story podcast reflecting
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  on 25 years. I did on my 25th birthday two
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  years ago and if you're on YouTube, I will link that video.
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  In kind with that, you know, on screen and if you're listening
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  to this on Spotify, I willing the episode in the description
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  for you guys as well. And I so I discuss kind of how I
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  got super palsy a lot more in that episode.
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  So I don't want to rehash that whole thing in particular, but
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  needless to say, Yes, I do have certain palsy.
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  Yes it does affect my life. But I've never really discussed
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  it because I don't feel it. Really defines who I am.
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  When I started podcasting, I started podcasting because I was
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  into politics and history. When I was in high school, I was
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  a nerd that way and I'm a nerd and other aspects as well as
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  many of you guys know I'm into comic books and, you know kind
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  of different subcultures, rock and roll all that sort of stuff
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  as well, but when I started podcasting, One of my initial
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  goals was to eventually become a radio guy become a talk radio
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  host. Many of you guys know that Rush
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  Limbaugh was one of my early influencers and I wanted to be
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  on the radio and host a radio show and I talked a little bit
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  about that. you know, and the origin story and you know,
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  podcasting was a medium that really suited me because I
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  could, you know, go I could basically set up a microphone
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  and talking to it, I didn't have to, you know, type anything out
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  since typing is a little bit difficult for me, you know, to
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  do physically. You know I was able to get
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  creative and kind of develop a radio Persona around that and
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  that was back in 2008 since then there had there's been dictation
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  software you know as been developed that has gone really
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  good. In fact, now everyone has
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  dictation Bolton to their phones, you know, they're their
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  tablets Laptops, whatever have you.
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  And that is mainly how I, you know, type things on the
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  computer. I can type a little bit on the
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  keyboard, but like if I need to actually, like, write something
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  like a paper for, you know, college or, you know, a rapport,
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  what have you a blog post? I mostly dictate things but
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  early on you, I found podcasting to be a me.
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  And kind of in kind of an entry way into radio.
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  And then, as I explained, you know, in past episodes.
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  The ironic thing was around the time.
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  I turned eight, you know, I started the podcast when I was
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  14. You know, which I know is a very
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  young age to get into politics and whatnot but hey, you know, I
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  like like I said, I was kind of working know that way, you know?
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  So I started that potty. I started my first initial
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  podcast in 2008. By the time I turned like 17 18,
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  it was ironic was Talk radio started dying as a medium and
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  podcasting and kind of become the thin, the thin.
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  And I've gotten to the point where, you know, talk radio,
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  like they weren't really hiring people.
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  They weren't bringing on talent. In fact, I was advised by
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  someone in Talk Radio in Denver, which is where I learned early
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  from. I remember what he said, Are you
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  basically he literally told me. Yeah you know kid stick with
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  podcasting you're going to do a lot better with that so I did
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  and I you know kind of changed the format rebranded my show
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  from the field analysis to the filter Port, you know, which is
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  a current, you know, Incarnation and I've been doing the show
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  ever since this way. But you know, I never felt the
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  need to bring my disability for a long time when it was audio
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  only for the first five years or so, of the show, no one knew
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  that I even had a disability just because I never brought it
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  up and it wasn't that big of a deal.
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  And also admittedly part of the reason why I didn't want to
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  bring it up back. Then was also Because I was a
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  minor and you know, there are some weirdoes out there on the
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  internet and I didn't want any of them to know that I was
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  physically. You know you know Von wall that
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  way. So you know it was a safety you
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  know concern too. I suppose in some ways it still
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  is but you know I'm a I'm a I'm an adult now and you know things
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  are different, right? Mainly I just never felt the
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  need to make a big deal out of the fact.
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  I had a disability and I know I've said that a few times, but
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  that's really the overall point, the reason why I've discussed
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  it. More in recent years is You
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  know, when I was younger, I didn't really know how to even
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  discuss. You know, being disabled with my
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  friends, you know people who knew me in my everyday life, you
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  know, I will be completely honest and tell you that, you
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  know, my teenage years in hindsight they didn't suck per
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  se. Or I should say they didn't suck
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  any. They didn't suck any.
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  Worse than being the average teenager, you know, sucked.
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  I went through all the ups and downs of puberty.
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  You know, the everyone goes through, you know, trying to
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  find out who I Who I Was, You Know, Drama junior, high high
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  school shit. All that sort of stuff, more or
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  less I had Normal adolescence for the most part but I will say
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  that having a disability and having Cerebral Palsy it it
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  didn't complicate things too much but it complicated things
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  just enough you know to wear like I really didn't want to
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  talk about it that much when I was you know a teenager and I
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  didn't really know how to talk about it that much. and, you
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  know, it's I was never ashamed of the fact I had cerebral
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  palsy. It was just, you know, things
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  were changing and you know, it's hard enough for a teenager to
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  really kind of express some things when they're going
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  through all the normal stuff that teenagers go through and
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  then you know add-on having a disability of any kind to that
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  and it you know it just gets complicated teenagers aren't
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  always the best at understanding things and I will admit, you
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  know, I really didn't start dating, you know, really until
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  my senior of high school just because girls felt awkward about
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  dating a guy in a wheelchair. And, you know, I felt awkward
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  donating some of them and, you know, I can't really I can't
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  really blame them in hindsight. you know, and I think now as
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  I've got older and, you know, They've gone on there as well.
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  It's not such a thing. It's not to be such a big deal.
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  You know, one of the good things is overall, I think there is a
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  lot of people realize that other than me having a disability and
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  being in a wheelchair. I'm pretty much a normal guy and
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  normal person, so to speak, you know, I have interests, my life
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  is steady. I'm just like everyone else.
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  Going through, the day-to-day stuff, everyone else does except
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  The fact that I'm in a wheelchair, right?
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  The way I view myself, is rather than Seeing myself as a guy who
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  was in a wheelchair. I kind of Define myself as a guy
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  who, you know, I consider myself a You know, a semi-professional
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  content creator. I do this for clear to somewhat
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  you know some so I'm a content creator.
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  I have all these interest in Hobbies.
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  I have a personal life, you know, I have friends both online
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  and in my personal life you know and then I just happen to have
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  Cerebral palsy right? It's not the defining you know,
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  element of who I am. But it is a fact lightly.
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  And by Leila, I mean, within the past few years there has been a
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  huge Push by the, you know, critical theory.
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  People as Matt from foul ball, production Productions likes to
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  call them. There's been a huge Push by the
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  critical theory people to make disabled people into a Something
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  class just like they do with you know, racial minorities.
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  Just like they do with women just like they do with, you
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  know, gay people they've attempted to make disabled
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  people into a victim class and they've been doing this for a
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  while, but I've noticed with, in the past, you know, two to three
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  years, they really kind of step it up a bit, you know, they have
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  Disability awareness curriculum now and universities which I
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  think can be helpful but some of it from what I've seen does get
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  a little you know a bit like critical race theory in a bit,
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  social justice e for my taste. so, again I don't want to
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  really, you know, make my identity into hey I'm a you
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  know, I'm a disabled guy that's never been what I'm about, but I
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  do kind of feel like as a guy who has disabilities that I can
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  kind of, you know, step in and kind of analyze from this, you
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  know, critical theory stuff about disabilities and the way
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  in and give my opinion some of the stuff now granted when it
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  comes to things like you know, Down syndrome and autism and
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  things that have more, you know, I guess, cognitive.
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  You know, disability really related things.
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  I can't speak to that because my disability you know, is mostly
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  purely physical. So I can't speak on that.
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  But I will say this, when it comes to people that have
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  developmental disabilities, I don't talk to them slow.
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  I don't really, I don't really treat them any differently per
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  se that I would someone who is able bodied or how I would want,
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  you know, someone to treat me. I talked to them, normally you
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  know, if they're being jovial and friendly, You know, I'm Joe
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  villain friendly with them and if they're, if they're, if
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  they're being assholes, all we know call called out for it,
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  right? I just try and treat everyone
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  equally as much as I can. You know, and granted, there are
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  certain exceptions, you know, two things like, you know,
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  trolls and whatnot that will bring up my disability.
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  That's the other thing. Draws people, who are against
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  me, people like to kind of like, to attempt Boy me somewhat, they
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  always, you know, bring my disability because they know
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  it's a low-hanging fruit thing. And they think bothers me, and
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  they think they can bully me and upset, me, and go under my skin.
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  And really all it does is be like, wow, you're right, you're
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  right, you know, you're You're going that low year.
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  You're attempting. Middle School, elementary.
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  School bully tactics? Yeah, I know.
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  I listen. I know I'm in a fucking
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  wheelchair. You know, do that?
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  That's that's not an insult. You know.
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  Oh wow. You're going to do an impression
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  of what you think someone with cerebral palsy sounds like your
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  acts. Like you're going to be doing,
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  you know this this shit to try and you know, impersonate me so
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  to speak. I guess what I can, you know, I
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  can mock you too. So, you know, I don't I don't
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  take shit from anyone. should back if they give it to me and
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  You know, I just try to be jovial and I tried to be nice to
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  everyone but you know, I don't take shit from people either.
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  So you know, I guess that's just kind of my take on, you know,
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  being someone with a disability and Yeah, I might dive into some
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  of the critical disability Theory stuff.
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  I know, Matt suggested, I do that so I might dissect that at
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  some point I have to be honest I haven't all look too much into
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  it so part of me is curious as to what that stuff is all about.
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  But then like I said I consider myself A normal guy and so
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  reading a lot of that stuff is cringy enough and so I'll tell
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  you what will make me you know even more disabled as if I have
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  to read that garbage some of it. So you know I am considering
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  kind of deconstructing. Some of that critical theory
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  stuff. I don't know if I'm going to do
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  it though and I don't know how often Going to do it just
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  because I feel like it would be real like Fringe.
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  But anyway. Yeah, so I wanted to make this
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  video just because I have received a lot of new
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  subscribers which I'm very thankful for and I have, you
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  know, received some more questions about my disability.
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  So I just figured I would kind make this video to address some
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  of the things that people have asked.
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  And People have brought up to me.
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  So again, I want to thank about who continues to subscribe to
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  both my YouTube channel and my podcast, especially there was,
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  are you who have subscribed on Spotify lately and the video
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  podcast up there, you guys are awesome and I really want to
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  just thank everyone. You know, for supporting me and
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  kind of in the podcasting Community for just being super,
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  super supportive. You guys are awesome and I
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  really appreciate it. I hope you guys are doing well,
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  wherever you are in the past, present future.
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  Our and I will see you on the next episode.
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  Thanks for listening to the Whitfield report on.
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  The NGC Network. Please visit Sam's website at
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  www.ge.com, Whitfield.com and supports am on patreon and
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  patreon.com slash Whitfield report.
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  Until next time, God bless God. Save this great nation and God
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  Freedom Legacy in that order.