Every Body Has the Power To Change

July 06, 2016

Josh Sundquist

Paralympic ski racer and Cancer Survivor

So Mark Wahlberg posted my before-and-after photos.

I’m really proud of the pics but I have a mixed relationship with this meme. I didn’t write that caption (“Excuses: Let’s hear yours again”). I’m not sure who did write it—I think maybe an anonymous 9GAG user a few years back.

I actually happen to believe there are many totally legitimate reasons (“excuses”) why a person might be unable to reach peak physical condition, like illness, injury, lack of access to quality nutrition, etc

Whenever this meme is shared by a popular account like Mark’s, there is a backlash of angry comments from people who are dealing with one of those types of limitations, or who think the photos are fake, or who view the tone of the meme as exploitative of or fetishistic toward disability (aka “disability porn”)

But I realized I’ve never offered a competing version for which I wrote a caption I like better. Therefore I present an alternative in hopes that its message is more thought-provoking than it is anger-provoking. If you ever want to share the photos, I’d be grateful if you considered sharing this new version:

Source: Josh Sundquist 

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