Russian Disabled

I recently posted something on Facebook about working with the disabled and had a "friend" (who has now unfriended me) complain that I didn't know what I was talking about, etc. It was with regards to my experiences with the disabled in Russia and also with how I personally saw Russians(both inside Russia and around the world) treat and view the disabled. When I was living in Russia the last time I spent a month doing "practical language skills" where everyday I would go, with my Russian teacher, to a different location and find out more about it. In that month I went to: the City Hall, a Wedding Palace, a woman's shelter, an institute for the disabled, a police station, a radio station, a Russian Orthodox Church and also to the disabled ward of a hospital (among other places.) I got to both use my Russian skills as well as learn about different aspects of Russian life. That experience, along with living and visiting Russia several times as well as working with Russians at an overnight summer camp for the mentally and physically disabled for four summers gave me a pretty good insight into how the majority of people I met and dealt with think about the disabled. With that said I stand behind my earlier post about the disabled in Russia and how badly they are generally treated (even though I was asked to take it down.) I have met many Russians (both inside Russia and around the world) and while not all of them feel this open distain for the disabled the majority I have personally talked to or dealt with still harbor the old world beliefs that being disabled is a punishment and to associate with them would bring only hardships on themselves. I met many foreign counselors - mostly from Eastern Europe and Central Asia - at my time working four summers at a camp for the disabled and talked with several throughout the years on how they could never tell their friends or family about their work as it is "disgustful" and the only reason they were doing it was to get a visa to come to the US and make money. Some people don't like to be "called-out" on what they said, did or believe and so make a big fuss to try and cover it up or push focus away, but the truth is the truth no matter how you spin it. Just for the record I would gladly work with the disabled in any place that treats them as human beings rather than as a disease on their society to be pushed under the rug. Like, I said I worked for 4 summers and also for nearly 10 years with the disabled The truth comes down to this:the majority of people around the world (use their religion, their beliefs, their superstitions, etc) to go after a group to make them feel better about themselves and their circumstances. In this case, hiding the disabled - even the soldiers that were wounded fighting for their country - is a way to hide the reality from people and make a Potemkin Village so everyone feels that their life is a bunch of lemon drops and moon beams. In my experience I have found many disabled people to be more funny, more trusting, more friendly, more intelligent and more understanding than "normal" people and we could all learn from their examples.