PhilosopherCrip

My last post highlighted the idea that we, as human beings, belong to certain communities and play certain roles that limit or determine the possibilities of how we can respond to certain issues. That is, our social position and the relationships we have with others shapes how we think and act. However, I don’t want readers to think that I am some kind of moral relativist who believes that one way of thinking and acting is no better or worse than another. Philosophers may sometimes hold this view, but activists, surely, do not.

So, I’d invite you to watch the above youtube video that outlines McCain’s response to the Community Choice Act, which is perhaps the most important crip legislation to face the nation since the Americans with Disabilities Act. It calls into question Palin’s claims about her knowledge of and loyalty to disability politics by linking her to McCain’s hard line stance against this bill. I thought it was well made and summarizes a lot of what has happened with disability politics in recent history.

Also, look for my friend Amber being arrested at McCain’s office last spring (whose blog called this video to my attention at http://ambertracker.blogspot.com/) .

This term, I am taking a seminar that examines the key writing of German philosopher Martin Heidegger.  Like all of the German philosophy I have read so far, his style of writing is nearly incomprehensible.  Hopefully, I can boil one of his key ideas down into something that can help us understand the way disability was addressed during the most recent Presidential Debate, without being as unreadable as he is.

Heidegger’s idea that I think may be useful to us is “the They.”  The They is - in simplest terms - the unexamined set of boundaries that mark off the limits of what we can think and how we can act as social creatures.  Heidegger argues that, because we always exist in relation to other persons, the possibilities of our existence are constrained by those relationships.  If we all exist in relation to some community and never in true isolation (even if we are rejected by a particular community, our existence is still along side it and relating to it in various ways) then the different possibilities for how we live are limited by our relationship to this community.  Heidegger writes: “We take pleasure and enjoy ourselves as they take pleasure; we read, see, and judge about literature and art as they see and judge; likewise we shrink back from the ‘great mass’ as they shrink back; we find ‘shocking’ what they find shocking.”

At first, it is tempting to understand this They as a type of conformity or group think.  Maybe Heidegger is arguing that there is something about being human that makes us want to conform to the broader social opinion?  This doesn’t quite seem to get the notion quite right though because the They is not the social community itself or the standards we conform to.  Rather, it is our human way of existing as the type of creature that thinks and acts in relation to a social environment.

McCain and Obama at the 3rd Presidential Debate

While watching the most recent presidential debate, I think I may have stumbled upon an example of how the They works to limit how we act and react in a social environment. A question came up about the qualifications of the vice-presidential candidates, and John McCain took the opportunity to mention his running mate’s supposed expert knowledge about and passion for the benefit of “special needs families” because she has a newborn son with Down syndrome - the adorable and semi-famous Trig that acted as prelude to my last blog post. Specifically McCain grumbled in his mavericky way: “by the way, she also understands special-needs families. She understands that autism is on the rise, that we’ve got to find out what’s causing it, and we’ve got to reach out to these families, and help them, and give them the help they need as they raise these very special needs children. She understands that better than almost any American that I know. I’m proud of her.” Amidst Obama’s response to McCain’s general claims about Palin, Obama countered with “And I think it’s very commendable the work she’s done on behalf of special needs. I agree with that, John.”

This entire exchange from both candidates is fraught with what I would see as a false understanding of the reality of disability. It is tempting to believe that they have merely conformed to a bad way of thinking about and acting toward our crip community.  One such false understanding is that the implicit, unquestioned premise of both candidates’ description of disability is that it is a biological harm that needs to be cured with medicine rather than a social harm that should be mitigated through the restructuring of society. Another, related premise is that the needs of people with disabilities are somehow “special” or different than those of your average human being – access to transportation and housing and education and the basic necessities of life. Another premise that may not come through as clearly to the reader of the text rather than a viewer of the televised debate was the notion that people, especially children, with disabilities are deserving of our pity. The candidates screwed up their faces into soft frowns to show how much the situation of these poor souls troubled them, and Obama quickly agreed that Palin had done “good work” in this area, the possibility of questioning her credentials in disability policy never crossing his mind – despite that fact that she has no leadership experience within the disability rights movement and no demonstrated knowledge of the major contemporary policy issues facing this generation of Americans with disabilities (see my last post).

I would argue that this is a clear example of the They constraining the possibilities of how these candidates exist in relation to disability. To mimic Heidegger’s style: we think, act, and emote toward disability as they think, act, and emote toward disability. Not even considering their status as candidates for the most powerful job in the world, the McCain and Obama sitting on that stage as average Americans moving through this social world did not even have the possibility of relating to disability in a more appropriate way because of the relationship of the They that had controlled them. If my story stopped here, it would seem as if I, as a person with a disability who has experience with the disability activism, culture, and theory, had managed to find a new way of thinking and acting that authentically defined my own possibilities in this area. I had a grasp on the proper way of thinking, acting, and emoting about disability because I came from a purer, advantaged viewpoint. I may have had these thoughts cross my mind for a moment before my phone began to buzz with text messages from friends who were reacting to the ableist rhetoric of the candidates in the exact same way.  That is, they were upset that the candidates were heaping pitty upon these faceless, nameless “special needs children” with the same words and mannerisms that the average American uses when they encounter us and react.  Surely, this was the They at work, defining how these candidates could think, act, and feel about disability.  Of course, a careful observer would realize that, as my friends and I echod each others’ outrage in a predictable way, we had our own They that was setting the boundaries of how we confront these situations. My possibilities were still constrained by the They and I was shrinking back from the ‘great mass’ as they were shrinking back.

So my question is: how do we know when what moves us is not this invisible tyrant of the They, but a genuine personal thought, action, or emotion.  As crip activists, how do we get beyond preaching to the choir and begin to clear new ground?

After tonight’s debate, I am brewing a post about the rhetoric of pity that has framed the public discussion of disability this presidential cycle.  It seemed to really come to a head tonight (and was deployed by BOTH candidates).  I need to get my paws on a transcript of the debate so I can accurately critique what was said.  It seems to me that poor Trig Palin’s mom has tokenized him from birth, but more on that later.

Until then (hopefully I’ll have time this weekend), I thought I’d share an email my sister forwarded to me that was written by a special education attorney in my home state of Connecticut.  I found it to be a thoughtful and illuminating analysis of Palin’s repeated claim to expertise about “special needs kids” because she happens to be the mother of an infant with Down Syndrome.  I think it does a good job of getting at some of the core issues at stake in this election, rather than getting hung up on the hollow sound bytes.

Trig Palin, the most famous (and most exploited) crip kid since Ashley X!

***********************************************

Dear clients, friends, colleagues, and all of the above,

As we near the Presidential election in just three weeks, I have been asked by many of you to comment on my thoughts on Gov. Palin and what she can and will do for special education students. As an attorney whose practice focuses exclusively on the representation of children with disabilities, I always investigate candidates’ positions and records on this very critical moral and financial issue. One of my clients recently suggested that I share with others what I have learned, and so here it is.

When Gov. Palin first came to my attention, I was, as I am sure all of you who care about this issue, intrigued to have someone on the national platform who talks about children with special needs. Since hearing her say this repeatedly in speeches, I have been waiting, and waiting, to hear some specifics on special education reform. Most of all, I want to know what her stance is on the IDEA, the federal statute that governs special education. The IDEA is up for reauthorization by Congress in 2010, and it is crucial that it reflect the policies and funding structure necessary to protect and appropriately educate our children with disabilities. I needed to know what Gov. Palin thinks about the future of special education legislation in this country.

I know where the other three on the tickets stand; Senators Obama and Biden have issued position statements on the IDEA to various parent groups, strongly supporting full funding for the IDEA and the rights of children with disabilities and their parents. The Obama-Biden website has a direct link to the ticket’s position on disabilities. Senator McCain’s website does not have such a link and neither he nor Palin have provided those positions on the IDEA to parent advocacy groups. Senator McCain does have a supportive position on the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) which has been published. I was, however, extremely disappointed in his discussion on the Senate floor regarding the Reauthorization of the IDEA 2004, in which he expressed his concerns that parents of children with disabilities who have to sue to secure appropriate services for their children under the Statute and win against districts shouldn’t have their attorneys’ fees covered. This is not just a matter of self-interest for me;=2 0it is the difference between families, especially poor families, being able to vindicate their civil rights or not. But I knew those things, I did not know where Palin stood, and I wanted to find out.

Having waited for some specifics from her on just how she is going to be an advocate for children with special needs in the White House, I finally got close. In her recent interview with Greta Van Susteren on Fox News, she was asked what her position is. While never mentioning the IDEA at all or what needs to be changed, kept, or fixed in it, she stated that the issue that needs to be addressed is “equal access” for children with special needs.

EQUAL ACCESS? Seriously? We HAVE equal access, that is what the original version of the Statute fought for in the early 70s, when children with disabilities were literally prohibited from attending our public schools. Equal access is so far in the minority of what needs to be addressed in special education I hardly know where to begin. Our problems are not that children with disabilities aren’t allowed into the buildings; our problem is what happens when they get there! What about a Free and Appropriate Public Education? What about “meaningful educational benefit?” What about giving children with special needs the tools to thrive and prosper and be fully independent adults, which is what the IDEA now stands for? We are decades fro m equal access being the key question, and apparently Gov. Palin is not aware of that fact.

Now, you might say “well, Jen, I am a parent of a child with special needs and I didn’t know that either.” Okay, my response: “are you running for Vice President of the United States? Are you telling the nation that you would see yourself as the voice for those children within the federal government? If you were, do you think you might have looked into it a little bit?”

It is not terribly surprising to me that Gov. Palin’s views on this are so far outdated. I have traveled to Alaska to give a speech to parents and professionals on the subject of the rights of children with special needs, in particular children with autism spectrum disorders. I was stunned by how far behind the State was from the vast majority of the rest of the country on the education of children with disabilities. Perhaps, for Alaskans, “equal access” IS the problem, but it is certainly not the case in Connecticut or most of the rest of the country. I am in regular contact with a colleague of mine who is a Parents’ attorney in Alaska, who has had to fight tooth and nail for children with special needs in Alaska simply to secure them the most basic of services that we take for granted here. I for one do not want the rest of the country to use Alaska’s system of educating our most vulnerable children as20a paradigm.

Okay, yes, you all know I’m a liberal…but that’s one of the reasons that I chose to get into the field of representing children with special needs, because I believe in my heart that this last bastion of civil rights is absolutely critical to fight. We need major fixes in our special education system, and if you think that who is in the White House does not effect you on this issue, you couldn’t be more wrong. IT MATTERS. It matters in terms of funding and at least as, if not more, importantly, enforcement. Our IDEA enforcement, even in States like CT where we have zealous advocacy, is woefully inadequate. School districts routinely violate the procedural and substantive rights of children and parents and only in a small fraction of cases are they taken to task for it. It also matters because the next President will have at least a few Supreme Court appointments to make. We have had more decisions from the United States Supreme Court in the area of special education law in the last few years than we had for decades. Those decisions have tremendous impact on whether parents have the right to have proper evaluations done for their children, how and when parents can exercise their rights under the IDEA, who has the burden of proof in Due Process Hearings, and a myriad of other issues which directly impact our children with special needs.

Whether we properly educate and embrace our children w ith disabilities is crucial to the future of this country, as the cost of NOT doing so will be far larger than the cost of doing so…leaving out the fact that it happens to also be the right thing to do in a great society. This issue should be front and center for any candidate for the White House, and I write to let you know that, at least as far as Gov. Palin is concerned, it has been an opportunity not only missed, but frighteningly misunderstood. It does not bode well for her, for us, or most importantly, for the children we love who need and deserve better in an “advocate in the White House.”

I will be casting my vote on November 4th for Obama-Biden, and I hope you will join me. They and their party have been on the side of children with special needs historically, and they will be on their side in the future. As our economy implodes and State and local educational budgets tighten, if we do not turn this around now, I fear that we will, once again, be fighting only for “equal access” for our kids. That is unacceptable to me.

Finally, for any of our more conservative clients who I may have offended, my apologies; I respect your views even if I disagree with them. However, to calm your concerns, Attorney Dana Jonson and I have convened a Personnel Board consisting of the two of us, which has investigated the matter and determined that you continue to have excellent legal representation.0

Thanks for reading, please feel free to forward this email to any and all people you know who care about the future of special education in this country.

Best, Jennifer Laviano
The Law Offices of Jennifer Laviano, LLC
Sherman, CT

Recently, my very good friend Amber took a trip to South Korea to understand how their disability movement in general and their feminist disability movement in particular have developed (http://ambertracker.blogspot.com/). This has gotten me thinking about how culture and political history have shaped our movement in the US. Typically, I tend to be as ethnocentric as the next American and my judgments are certainly still biased by my privilege as a US citizen. However, I have been on a kick the last few days, thinking about how American liberalism shapes our ideas about what it means to resist the oppressive structures that have marginalized us.

When I refer to liberalism, I am not talking about the “liberal left” but rather the political philosophy that tells us that the purpose of government is to preserve our individual freedoms. This is the notion that laws are in place to ensure that our freedoms do not infringe upon the freedoms of others.

Laws like the ADA seem to be directly connected to this notion. Access to public space and employment anti-discrimination are justified by their effects on individuals. Like the romanticized settlers of the western frontier, folks with disabilities are blazing a trail into a new territory, as rugged individuals. Relying on their own mettle, they take risks and reap rewards accordingly.

Of course, this is also somewhat problematic. This emphasis on the value of the individual is a double edge sword as it largely contributes to the very core of the bigotry of ableism. Interconnectedness and interdependence are the values that will free our people, not individualistic, libertarian ideology. In fact, these values are realities for all Americans that are often ignored. American culture tells us there is shame in having someone help you dress if you need it, but having someone else cut your hair is par for the course. We have this mythology that we are individuals that survive in a harsh world on our own. When folks with physical and cognitive differences need help in different ways, their lives are disvalued as having less quality or dignity.

While our freedoms have a uniquely American flavor, so do some of our oppressions. We need to look elsewhere if we are to understand how we can think outside of this box and move away from this kind of marginalization.

Both presidential candidates seem to have suddenly become populists with the closing of a few investment banks.  We are hearing about the tensions between Main Street and Wall Street and the tax squeeze on the middle class, who also wants to be bailed out.

Now, no doubt folks will suffer as our economy begins a tail spin and I certainly don’t want to come off as insensitive to that in any way.  As long as my grades stay up and I don’t have an affair with any of my students, my income is pretty much secure for the next few years, but this news terrifies me when I think of what it could mean for some of my family members.  I am not going to go into any of those details because it is their personal business, but the possibilities of a second great depression really make my stomach tighten into knots when i think about what it could do to some of those i love most.

With that said, I’m wondering if this economic crisis may not be ENTIRELY bad for everyone.  The logic of these situations usually means that when the economy is squeezed, the poorest class suffers most.  Tax payers earn less and pay less.  Trickle down economics ideology means that taxes are cut for the point of the socio-economic pyramid, so that the pump of investment will be primed.  This also means that social programs are cut back and public entitlement systems start trying everything they can to exclude folks from them.

This is what happens in a recession when times are tough.  Now, I wonder what would happen in a true economic meltdown?  I am not an economist by ANY stretch of the imagination, but I wonder if it may actually HELP the poorest of the poor, by giving them some company.  Wasn’t it the Great Depression that birthed the New Deal?  Couldn’t a NewER Deal eventually result from a second crisis, when the government is (hypotheically) forced to face the fact that millions (more) of folks are living in poverty and doing favors for the ultra-rich isn’t going to ever “trickle down” as investment is shipped over seas?  Would this result in a truly progressive tax code like exists in Europe?  Could this be how we get universal health care and solide retirement benefits?  What about more low income housing of better quality?

Of course, a disproportionate number of crips live in extreme poverty and lack housing.  If these sweeping changes do start to happen, it is going to be essential that we jump on this opportunity to be sure that universal health care includes choice in how/where long term care is delivered and that new low income housing is accessible and integrated in the community.

I don’t HOPE for a true economic crisis, because it may turn out to be a very dark chapter in history (remember, in the 30s we got FDR’s new deal as the solution to economic crisis, but the Germans got Hitler’s holocaust).  However, I wonder if there may be a small kernel of hope amidst the fear, for those who are most marginalized by the systems we have in place right now.

Yesterday, NY congressman Chuck Rangel referred to Sarah Palin as “disabled” during a news interview. His point was to highlight Palin’s gross inexperience and inadequacey when it comes to foreign policy. Later, he tried to backpedal and claimed that he meant to say Palin was “disadvantaged” and “is an obviously healthy person who in no way fits the description of disabled.”

I agree with Rangel that Palin isn’t qualified to be vice president and has been tokenized by the Republican party in a not-so-subtle attempt to appeal to the white, suburban, female demographic. What I have a hard time with is the notion that someone who DOES “fit the description of disabled” is somehow unworthy of our respect and lacking authority. Rangel’s comment — and pathetic attempt at retraction — was deeply ableist in that it hinged on the premise that people with disabilities deserve our pity and charity, but not our respect and obedience. We must be “kind” to someone who is disabled, but we should not take them seriously if they are in a position of authority. I would challenge Rangel to share what exactly he means by “the description of disabled.”

I have returned now to the “real world” and am coming down off of the natural high of the ADAPT action. The adrenaline of that 5 days was pretty extraordinary. I heard several stories explaining why and how the arrests went down at Dodd’s office — and several other offices of members of congress, apparently. Rather than relate them here, with the inaccuracies of sleep deprived memory, let me point you to ADAPT’s press releases: http://duhcity.org/duhpress.html. They are all informative, but the first on the list — http://duhcity.org/press/duh004.html — is the most relevant to the action that happened on Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

One thing of note that you won’t find on the press release pages is a description of how I spent my Tuesday night.

DUH City was erected as a political statement of solidarity with folks with disabilities who are, in essence, homeless because of the lack of availability of affordable, accessible, integrated housing. Many folks with disabilities are either homeless in the traditional sense of lacking shelter or homeless in the sense that they do not have a home, but are warehoused in institutions and nursing homes. While such arrangements meet the minimal requirements of permanent shelter from the elements, it is argued that they are not homes because the people living their do not have the security and freedom that is essential to calling something a home. That is, a home is not a place where every moment of your day is controlled by someone else’s regimental routine. So it is that ADAPT tried to call attention to these unacknowledged homeless by living as close to homeless as we could for a few days on the front patio of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

ADAPT button with our standard slogan!

In a personal statement of solidarity with people with disabilities who are homeless, I chose to tweak this idea slightly and sleep in a cardboard box on Tuesday night, at the fringes of DUH City. This was intended to be both a political statement, contributing to the overall message of DUH City and an attempt at an exercise in empathy. Since doing this, I have decided these are separable ideas and that I may have succeeded in the one and failed in the other.

As a statement of political solidarity, it probably went mostly unnoticed, but was genuine. However, I don’t think it really worked as a way of building any kind of real personal empathy for those who face this kind of situation as a crisis. As my friend Dominic pointed out in a comment on my post “That could have been me…,” it may be impossible for genuine empathy to be developed between folks who are embedded in systems of drastically disparate power relations. His basic idea was that true empathy — rather than pity — could not exist between able bodied people and folks with a disability because the power differential is too permanent and too absolute for anyone to be capable of truly thinking outside of it.

I am starting to understand Dom’s point here. Like disability, class is a system of power relations. While I can sleep in a cardboard box for a few hours, this will not be a genuine understanding of an impoverished person with a disability’s experience of the world. Firstly, I had a CHOICE of where to sleep. This in itself means that I can not understand the most important aspect of the oppression of poverty and homelessness, power relations. I cannot get outside the fact that I could have gone back to my 200 a night hotel room at any time. How can I understand homeless on anything but the most superficial of levels while retaining this position in society’s power structure? In addition, I had the luxury of a sleeping bag and plenty to eat and plenty of hope for my future. This cannot be a genuine exercise in empathy.

This post will not be about my day today. I spent almost all of it sleeping. However, I can update folks about some stuff that went down yesterday and last night and today, while I was sleeping.

I don’t think I mentioned how, yesterday, some HUD officials came uot and asked for a meeting with ADAPT leadership, probably because we were making such a ruckus. Word is that HUD told leadership that they could not comply with our list of demands for the following reasons:

1. They believe in incremental change rather than large scale reform (this is the excuse given to every activist in the history of the activism and is really code for “f off things are staying as they are”).

2. They are trying to deal with the hurricane right now (also a bogus reason, our demands were for systems change that can be implemented after hurricane season, all we wanted was a promise for action.)

3. We have a lame duck president (this may be a bit more plausible, but there are still a few months lefts in the administration and at least some of our demands could have been met in that time.)

At the end of the meeting, the HUD officials told our leadership “see you next year.” I’m sure they find it funny that uor people suffer while they sit on their hands and we return each year with our demands, trying to chip away at their opwer structure. I wish we all had time to stay in tent city indefinitely. At least they got some more today. Friends that were at the meeting tell me that the HUD building has thin walls and they heard our chants clear as day. For a time, we will be heard.

Yesterday, there were also 8 or 9 arrests at McCain’s office. 2 ADAPT teams (of 5 I believe) broke off and paid his campaign headquarters a visit. 8 or 9 chair users got through the door before they could lock it and were able to shut down an entire day of fund raising calls with chants. Then police moved in. I am always troubled by how rough the police are with ADAPTers that don’t appear disabled. “TABs” (temporarily able bodied), “uprights,” or “walkies” always get hit the hardest when the police come and it is hard for us to watch or hear about. One friend had his shorts torn up from being dragged.

The word is, there are more arrests today at Sen Dodd’s office. Senator Dodd is a co-sopnsor of Community Choice Act, so I find it strange that he would be an ADAPT target and that they would resopnd with police force. Apparently the arrests were not as violent as at McCain’s office, btu I still fiond it strange that the liberal senator from my home state of Connecticut would be an ADAPT enemy. I trust leadership because I know they use direct action only after many attempts at traditional negotiation, but am I am anxious to hear the story of how this all happened.

DUH City was calm last night. The police were present at our perimeter but everyone stayed cool and they let us spend the evening chatting and joking. It was actualyl quite a beautiful experience, if not exactly what I expected. We ADAPTers enjoyed each other’s company in our home made crip ghetto, talking about politics and love and life. We slept under the stars and were happy. I hope tonight will be the same, but am ready to defend our DUH City with non violent direct action if iot comes to it. This has all been a pretty profound experience.

First, let me apologize for any grammatical/spelling mistakes of these “on site” posts. I don’t have much down time for rest and so I need to squeeze some writing in as I go along. There certainly isn’t time for editing, if I want to have the opportunity to sleep at all.

Today started early. That is, we wanted to surprise our target (National Headquarters of HUD) an so we got there before any of the staff or administration. I went to bed at around 10:30pm Sunday night, and was up at 2:15am Monday morning, so the march from the hotel could begin at 4am sharp! Many of my friends and family who mock me for not being an early riser will find that amusing. We arrived at HUD and began to erect tents on their patio, labeling it DUHCity (get it, HUD and DUH?). Security guards scrambled around, and there is even a rumor that we woke one up with our 4am chanting, but we weren’t there to “take” HUD. We were merely using it as a staging ground for other actions throughout the city.

At around 6am, my friend Amber, in charge of media relations asked me to help make calls to newspaper/radio/tv stations and invite them to our tent speckled DUH City. I was a telemarketer throughout my high school and college summer vacations and so I was ready and willing to deploy these skills under a streetlamp in the service of ADAPT. Surprised that so many news types don’t come in until 9am or so, I ended up leaving quite a few messages on voice mail. We hadn’t seen any major news outlets poking around at the time that I left DUH City about an hour ago, but we are in it for the long hall and so it’s possible they will show up, enticed by my salesmanship.

Talking about the long hall, it should be noted that DUHCity is a 24 hour operation. It should also be noted that I have been assigned to the overnight group responsible for making sure that it stays in tact until the daylight returns. I am naturally a pretty nocturnal person, so this won’t be too bad. I am about to take a 5 or so hour nap and I will buy some of my famous sugar free red bull being heading back out this evening. I need to be ready for an eventful night though, because it’s possible that the police, seeing that we are not leaving, may try to sweep through and remove us overnight. I know this is not what my family wants to hear, btu I knew about this risk going into non-violent direct action organizing. I have thought about this a lot. I have read about it and discussed it with a wide range of folks (see earlier post “Why non-violent direct action?”). It has been over 3 years since when I first heard about what ADAPT does and now made this decision to be involved in a direct and meaningful way.

I have some pics from my camera phone that I may post later, but I just don’t have it in me right now. I need to find my bed and rest before I need to shower and get ready for tonight’s possible test of will.

For more info about the action, including our platform, see www.DUHCity.org.

FREE OUR PEOPLE!!!!!!!!

A fellow ADAPTer and I spent all of yesterday traveling.  Fortunately, our chairs made the flight without severe damage, which is pretty common and one of the many ways ableism plays out in a tangible way, as baggage handlers are not well trained or well equipped to deal with the equipent used by folks with disabilities.  However, because our chairs took so long to load, thus slightly delaying the flight, one of the crew felt the need to announce on the loud speaker as we were roaling up to our gate at our destination: “we ask that the handicapped passengers remain in there seats and wait for the rest of the plane to unload.”  Annoyed and already fired up from preparing for the ADAPT action, I said very loudly in response, “Stay in our seats? Oh darn, we were planning to run a footrace up and down the aisle!”  I’m not sure this was heard by the man with the speaker mic, but it definitely earned a few chuckles from those sitting nearest to me.

Now, clearly he was saying this for the benefit of the able bodied passengers who had to wait back in Detroit as our chairs were loaded by people who had no concept of what they were doing and took much longer than they should.  Of course, I understand that it is easiest for us to offload last, so that there is more space to manuever the isle chairs and the many do not have to wait for the few.  That is the typical procedure.  However, I was annoyed that the crew member had to announce this to the rest of flight, implying that somehow the time of the able bodied passengers was so very valuable and they needed to be soothed. 

Today, I have spent most of my time in trainings and meetings, semi-randomly meeting folks in the lobby and passages of the hotel during the down times.  I love this city and I love my people.  My biological family could never be replaced in how deeply I love them and the thankfulness I have for the sacrifices they have made for my benefit.  At the same time, when I spending time with other crip activists, I feel an almost familial relationship to them that is unlike other gatherings.  I certainly haven’t ever felt this unconditionally loved and accepted at a philosophy conference.  Crip culture and community is never as real to me as it is when I am in the physical presence of large numbers of my people.  This has a lot to do with my passion for this work.  I feel a connection to the other activists and know that same connection exists between me and the unseen and the unheard that are the most marginalized.  They are the reason we are here.  To bring them justice and welcome them to the beautiful world we know and love.

FREE OUR PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.adapt.org/