"Strange man" Fang Yu is not strange, let the world see "another color" | the Beijing News quick review

The real need of people with disabilities is not just to live, but to live well and leave a beautiful figure for the world.

▲ Interview with "weird man" Fang Yu: a cerebral palsy patient who knocked out 200,000 words with his foot. Video/Beijing News Our video "Out of the Circle" column

Text | Xu Qiuying

What can a person do with only a few toes that he can control?

Fang Yu, a 34-year-old "weirdo" in Ningbo, told us that even if she is disabled, she can read and write, and she has successfully called for a solution to the dilemma of disabled people, including herself, using the "mouse typing" input method to reconnect with the world.

According to the Beijing News, Fang Yu unfortunately suffered from severe cerebral palsy 40 days after birth, his body was stiff, he could not take care of himself, his language expression was difficult, and he needed to rely on his family for care in his daily life, not to mention freedom of movement, school and work. Even so, she still learned Chinese characters by watching TV subtitles, and "walked" out of the world with a few toes.

After Fang Yu learned to type with his feet and click the mouse, he also wrote down more than 200,000 words little by little, including poems, essays, and even novels. This is difficult for ordinary people, let alone for her.

In fact, Fang Yu, who calls herself a "strange person", is not "weird", she just tells the world in her own way that she is a normal woman, who loves beauty, longs for love, and loves life; she strives to integrate into society to do meaningful things, not just "live out of herself"; she yearns for poetry and far away, not limited to the Internet, but to "walk" out of the hut to travel.

Fang Yu once said that words are air to her, and reading is water. Undoubtedly, it is literature that allows Fang Yu to find a way to express herself, and also gives her the courage and strength to face the world.

Fang Yu can communicate with the world with her toes, relying on an input method software that types with a mouse. After a notebook system update, the software can no longer be used, a netizen helped her crack the input method. But considering that users with physical disabilities like her may face the same dilemma, Fang Yu has worked hard to call for the "rebirth" of the software to optimize and solve the typing problems of many disabled people.

▲ Fang Yu's photo taken in 2021. Photo/ Fang Yu (Leng Min Hanzi Night) Weibo

Literature comforts the soul and does not increase or decrease depending on whether the body is mutilated or not. Influenced by literature, Fang Yu also created literature, and his works touched many readers. She wants to achieve economic independence through writing, and also to contribute to society in this way.

With a few toes that can still be active, Fang Yu not only realizes the needs and self-worth of self-expression with literary friends, but also makes more people pay attention to the "obstacles" of information communication among people with disabilities in the digital age.

In addition, she wrote an article calling for "indiscriminate education for people with disabilities", arguing that the supply of education for people with disabilities can even be ranked ahead of medical and financial assistance. The only thing that can really put people with disabilities (or all people) in charge of their destiny is education.

In Fang Yu's view, it is better to teach people to fish than to teach people to fish, and knowledge can change fate. She actively advocates for the education rights of people with disabilities, trying to change people's stereotypes: the real needs of people with disabilities are not just to live, but to live well.

Although Fang Yu is physically disabled, his thoughts and actions have repeatedly broken through prejudices. People with disabilities can live their lives, care for others, love life, and do meaningful things for society. Just as women like to buy high heels and take photos, people with disabilities can also leave a beautiful figure for the world, which is a "nother color" of the world.

Beijing News commentator | Xu Qiuying

Edit | Chi Daohua

Proofreading | Wu Xingfa

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