How The Internet Leveled The Playing Field For The Disabled
Rick London
I am officially disabled and have been for several years now. I don't like the word disabled very much. Mine was labeled an "emotional disability" aka depression. Whatever they wanted to call it, I was not going to lay down and die. That was for sure.
I worked in many jobs and occupations in my adult life and never really was very focused until I reached my mid-forties. But by that time I was so burned out by the hard knocks of the jobs I had taken, I didn't have a clue if I would ever reach any of my dreams or goals. I was told I had depression. I was even treated for it. It didn't help. My last job was in 1999 in sales. That pink slip helped put me on disability. With that disability, came the label "disabled". I knew it would be an uphill battle and I was willing to fight it.
I started studying depression on the Internet because I was home a lot. It did not take me long to discover a disease called "TRD" or labeled by the psychiatric community, "treatment resistant depression". I was one of the few lucky ones who received the only treatment for it, a vagus nerve implant. You see, TRD is actually not a mental illness, in and of itself, but a faulty vagus nerve, of which I had, will mimic the signs of depression, lethargy, etc. After I received the treatment, my life took dramatic changes. One obstacle, a majori coronary just before Christmas in 2001 shook the ground from under me. But I recovered rapidly by changing my eating habits and exercising regularly.
Though I am still labeled "disabled" by many, I have found that the Internet has leveled the playing field. I say that a bit facetiously and with a bit of sarcasm, because, during my "depressed state", I was keenly aware of the discrimination targeted my way, though those who were being discriminating were not aware of my awareness. I guess they thought people with depression or any disability don't have awareness or intelligence. We do.
So I thought it was the end of the world when my work days in corporate America came to an end. How would I ever survive on disability? I did. One learns to adjust. But there are some painful growth moments in that adjustment. But it was all worth it.
The Internet is now my work tool. My commute to 'work" is now about 25 feet and in my jogging suit. I started Londons Times Cartoons with no capital, no angels, and no venture capitalists. I had no money, and in less than nine yeares it has evolved into the busiest cartoon site on the Internet (and still is). The Alexa rankings astound me every time I look at them. Nutri-Slim and Ebay have bought full-page ads on my site. Ihave had 9 million visitors within the past two years. That may not sound like much but for a cartoon site it is. Most cartoons on the Internet last from 3-6 months and the others are gone within a year. I get calls from webmasters I've never met asking me to do their SEO.
These past 16 months, I've launched two cartoon Superstores and six niche funny gift shops. Sales remain brisk. I have affiliates through my manufacturer 3drose, many of them on Amazon and they sell plenty as well. I create all sorts of products with my cartoons on them; greeting cards, t-shirts, hoodies, key chains, coffee mugs, beer steins, wall and desk clock, baseball caps, and, you name it, we make it. All this is due to research on the Internet and making phone calls. Oddly enough, a disabled person, and that person is me, can write a lucid, professional email, talk on the phone professionally, create a social network and blog professionally, and write articles, hopefully professionally. The old boy network, who was once so involved in keeping a stigma attached to depression and/or disability is out of the picture now. I have no excuses anymore not to succeed. I now have the choice to pick and choose with whom I deal, and I choose to deal with intelligent fair-minded people who want everyone to have a fair chance to succeed. They are usually more educated than me and that is okay. From them, I learn the most.
When I create a new cartoon product, I generally create at least ten new jobs from artistry, to manufacturing, to drop-shipping, to heat press digital reproduction, to courier, etc. And I do it all from my home.
Disabled people, I was told, were not necessarily as inteligent as the norm. That's okay, I just finished three years at a top-notch accredited business college online, at age 52. I am 53 now and will complete my coursework next year and if all goes well, my masters. I will use the Internet once again. Why waste time with people who are more concerned with "labeling" me so as to put parameters on my limitations, than those who know me just as a person and helping me succeed. I am not saying a depressed or disabled person should hide behind his or her computer all day, I spend a great amount of time my day being and working with people, handing out business cards, going on talk shows, and doing as much as I can in the public. I teach free Internet workshops to the elderly, many of them shut-ins.
In December 2008, I have launched 4 new online niches shops that my cartoon products; Justfunnymousepads, Justfunnycoffeemugs, and Justfunnygreetingcards, not to mention two weeks ago when I created the first cartoon maternity shop mirthgirthbirth.com which also sells infant wear and tees for kids, and of course my anchor site which is completely free, Londons Times Cartoons londonstimes.us , now ten years old.
Labeling is a bad thing. Have you ever noticed that a person with a mental illness or physical disability is the only person labeled by his illness or disease? If a person has MS, we don't say "She is MS!", or if a person has diabetes, I've yet to hear, "There goes Mr. High Blood Sugar!". But if a person has depression, it never fails, "He/she's depressed" or "has depression" or "mental illness". That usually puts an end to the conversation as the stigma remains and many don't want to know much more. That is unacceptable.
Some very accomplished people both living and dead have had depression or other disabilities. If interested, view some of the famous people with depression websites such as http://www.geocities.com/coverbridge2k/artsci/famous_people_depression.html , or http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/illstandbyyou/famous.html It tickles me to see my name on all these websites. There are hundreds of them; simply google "famous people with depression". Just look down the last name alphabetical list until you get to London. Rick London. He's this disabled person writing to you now.
Cartoonist Rick London has overcome many challenges, and has some of the most visited humor-based websites on the Internet. His latest humor niche gift shop site is Just Funny Greeting Cards http://www.justfunnygreetcards.com/ Disabled cartoonist Rick London opens yet another niche shop, cartoon greeting cards
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