Betty,
        I am sorry to see you go and I wish you well.  Change is inevitable
as we pass like trains in the night sharing the same tunnel for a hundred
feet before we go our separate paths.
Vaya con la diosa,
Mariana


At 02:14 PM 7/16/00 , you wrote:
>Dear list members:
>
>Last year, I was deeply honored to be accepted by the list as a welcomed
>member.  For a time, being part of C-PALSY was a bit like having trusted
>family. However, as most of you know, the past year has forced me to turn my
>attention to matters closer to geographical home.
>
>Recent occurrences have forced me to realize that my time with C--PALSY
>should come to a close, and I would like to take my leave of you with
>peaceful spirit.  I assure you that In Caesar's world, disability rights is
>foremost in my mind.  I will be pursuing this course for the remainder of my
>life, but my time and energy will be better spent, I think, attending to
>issues that affect my immediate geographical area.
>
>Please do not forget that there are others who will come after you -- those
>with disabilities who will be affected by your actions.  On their behalf, we
>must strive to improve our relationship with our nondisabled neighbors.  We
>must help them see that this is our world as well as it is theirs, and that
>we are not here because of a mistake, or by their grace.
>
>At this time in history, nearly everything you publicly do reflects on the
>reputation of the disability community.  If you find a discriminatory
>situation and file complaint, do not accept money as a buy off.  That makes
>you look easy.  It cheapens not only your reputation, but that of the entire
>disability community.  Insist instead that the wrong be righted.  Insist on
>fairness for all people with disabilities, not just fairness for yourself.
>
>Above all, do not accept crumbs.  The half loaf you take today is the portion
>you will leave for the next disabled person.  If the battle comes to you, do
>not run.  Do not leave it for the next person.  Be true to your high value as
>a human.
>
>I have advocated on behalf of children with disabilities, indeed I have
>advocated for all children.  The reason that children with disabilities are
>more important than you is because you are at the age of reasoning, and you
>are responsible to make this world a better place for them.  They are at the
>mercy of those adults who know what is wrong and who have adult voices.  Use
>your voice.  Use your voice!
>
>Being disabled is not the handicap, and society is not the handicap either.
>Disabled people who accept crumbs and allow themselves to be patted on the
>head are the handicap because they are the very people who will be used as an
>example at every turn by those who would keep us down.  They are the targets,
>and that is the hard truth.  Those crumbs will be passed onto children with
>disabilities whose parents are fighting so hard now.  Do not sit down and do
>nothing, while parents and others fight for their children.
>
>I have enjoyed my time with you and wish each of you well in our collective
>fight for true independence.  It is all I live for now, and all I have to
>live for.  I will not see what I wish to see in my lifetime, but that is of
>no consequence.  What is of consequence is whether I fight for the day when
>we are regarded by the nondisabled community as valued members of society.

>
>I will not answer personal e-mails, as I will be off line for a time.
>
>Please take care,
>Betty Alfred
>