Society cannot continue to disable themselves through their need to categorize people or make assumptions as to another individual's abilities.
Interpretation
Judging others by categories limits their potential and individuality.
Evelyn Glennie's quote emphasizes the detrimental effects of categorizing individuals and making assumptions about their abilities. It suggests that society's tendency to label people can prevent them from realizing their full potential, as these labels often overshadow their unique talents and contributions. By urging society to move beyond these constraints, the quote advocates for a more inclusive perspective that values individual capabilities over preconceived notions.
In practice
During a workshop on diversity, this quote can be used to address the importance of inclusivity.
I just assumed the world was full of solo percussionists. I couldn't find sticks or music or anything where I was, but that was expected because there was nothing there anyway. And I think that was possibly the greatest asset for me, just not knowing.
If we see someone in a wheelchair, we assume they cannot walk. It may be that they can walk three, four, five steps. That, to them, means they can walk.
Who is to decide which is the grimmer sight: withered hearts, or empty skulls?
When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you'd been the only man in the world.
The essence of a person is not the clothing she wears or the things he does. People who love them do not stop loving them when they change clothing or do other things. Your essence is not even your history, culture, race, or what you think and do. It is your soul.
We prefer self-government with danger to servitude in tranquility.
Independence can be trusted nowhere but with the people in mass. They are inherently independent of all but moral law.
No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. More significantly can one say that no one will ever look at the earth in the same way. Man had to free himself from earth to perceive both its diminutive place in a solar system and its inestimable value as a life -fostering planet. As earthmen, we may have taken another step into adulthood. We can see our planet earth with detachment, with tenderness, with some shame and pity, but at last also with love.
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