Nancy Mairs - Crippled and StrongThroughout this passage, Nancy Mairs uses the word crippled to describe who she is and beliefs about her condition. She does this by describing her condition in different ways; the opinion of others and the opinion of herself. Like everyone else, she decides what her title as a person should be and she neither listens nor cares about anyone's opinion outside of her own. His tone is very simple throughout the passage. Mairs describes his state and how it relates to the actions and responses of other people in any situation. Mairs uses the term cripple loosely, making sure it is not offensive to anyone. Beginning his passage with “I am a cripple,” Mairs hides nothing. She begins by openly revealing who she is and how she wants the world to perceive her. In the first paragraph, Mairs uses the word choose three times to establish her personal decision to be called a cripple. This is Nancy Mair's choice that she is comfortable with. She states that "maybe I want them to grimace" when talking about people's reaction to the word cripple. Mairs puts her image and dignity on the line but intelligently reiterates that she is not discrediting anyone for having their own opinion. She does this rather than telling or expecting her audience to convert; she knows that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Nancy Mairs is completely honest about her condition throughout the passage. "Inasmuch as ...