Joy, Kathy, I do agree with you. You have the right to self-determination.
I should clarify my statements, and further mention that this is my personal
belief. However, I base that belief on my knowledge of civil rights
activities in the days since the United States were founded.
No one should be coerced to promote one philosophy or another because they
happen to belong to a particular sub-community of the human community.
That's not what I am saying.
When African Americans were segregated from European Americans, change was
necessary. This is too short a commentary about a part of our history that
deserves more attention, more specifically, accurate attention.
At any rate, we all know (I'm assuming) that Rosa Parks -- an African
American US citizen -- refused to relinquish her bus seat to a European
American. That was part of the beginning of a revolution that brought about
changes in public transportation segregation, and was an important event that
helped to bring this nation to greater awareness, and eventually to the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. Years later I heard her in an interview. She said that
the only reason she did that was because her feet were hurting. What a bold
action though! In that day her decision was not only unpopular and unlawful,
it was dangerous.
Civil rights marches were well publicized. They were attended by such great
numbers of people, that we could not help but notice them. Forgetting the
violence that occurred -- not that violence is forgettable -- change was
brought about by the revolution of African Americans, not by the sudden moral
awakening of a European American dominated America.
We are no longer lynching African Americans. At least not literally.
I honor the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. He advocated peaceful
resistance, rather than violence. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the company of
some other leaders in the African American community, and there was violence.
But he didn't promote it. And when the marches came, there he was in front,
arm in arm with other African Americans. Bottles were thrown at the marchers
from the sidelines. Many were beaten by the police even though they were
peacefully marching.
They marched with unity and dignity, and they changed this nation.
Had I not fell upon those who feel that disability is okay, I might have gone
through the rest of my life thinking that I have the problem, when the
problem is a society that builds curb ramps leading to impassable brick
walls. I might have been grateful for those ramps, as though this
nondisabled nation has granted me something. Thanks to my associations and
mentors in the disability community however, I know that I was not built
wrong, but society was built wrong.
Hogwash! Horsefeathers! I will not have this for Zach, and the other
children with disabilities who have no true advocacy, save from those who are
willing to be hit with bottles and take beatings now, so they will not have
to take that garbage as adults. Will you have that for them?
I don't know many nondisabled people who are willing to take a bullet for us.
Unfortunately, I don't know too many disabled people who are willing to take
it either. We have had the marches, but not in great number. I personally
will not march because of the inherent hazards if something gets out of hand,
but I will write to legislators, and I speak openly about who we are: Full
citizens. I marched with off duty FBI agents because I knew for a fact that
it was going to be a peaceful march. I don't promote violence either.
Legally we are full citizens, you know. We have it all down on paper.
Actually, we are already granted liberty in the United States Constitution,
but what good is a piece of paper when the majority of people see us as less?
As I said in a previous post, if you have a severe disability, nondisabled
America assumes that you want to die anyway. The way things stand now, I
don't think you are going to have a problem getting your right-to-die request
granted one day. Although, If you do want to live and need an organ
transplant -- and are severely disabled -- I have reservations about whether
you will even end up on the waiting list. It may happen though. I may be
wrong.
I'm going to start pulling this together so I can close.
You have assumed that I think you have some obligation to further the
advancement of disability rights justice just because you are disabled. No,
that is not my position. My position is that you are obligated by virtue of
your knowledge of the oppression we suffer. It just so happens that you came
by your knowledge through first hand experience. That may give you a better
edge in terms of what the oppression feels like, but the nondisabled person
who knows these things is no less obligated.
Dr. King said that no man is free unless all men are free. That statement is
actually more applicable to the disability rights movement than it is even to
the civil rights movement, because -- as you know -- everyone who is not
disabled now may become so one day (take it from one who knows). The man who
oppresses us today may be one of us tomorrow.
One reason that I am this passionate is due to my own experiences as a
nondisabled person. I remember what it was like, and I think it stinks and
is unacceptable that it's not like that now. I don't like oppression, and I
have no intention of getting used to it. I will be enraged for the rest of
my life.
Harriet Tubman was enraged and saved a lot of lives. She is my personal
hero. She was an African American, and a member of the disability community
as well. We don't have a Harriet Tubman day, but we darned well should. We
should honor the memories of true heroes -- those who are willing to risk
their lives for others -- in a much larger way than we do.
What's the bottom line? I am not saying whether you should want to die or
not want to die. I am saying that when a community of people lives under the
thumb of oppression, I believe that you ARE obligated to participate in the
securing of its freedom.
Respectfully and truthfully submitted,
Betty
In a message dated 04/21/2001 2:35:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
> I agree.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: - Joy - [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Friday, April 20, 2001 12:35 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: From another list... Life Worth Living.
>
> Sorry this post is so outdated, I'm just getting caught up on mail. First,
> let me say that I'm hoping not to offend anyone with what I'm about to say.
> I have a problem with the idea that all people with disabilities are (or
> should be) anti-euthanasia. Why should we all feel a certain way, just
> because we were dropped into a common category of disability by fate?
> Whether I was disabled or not, I would still want to live a life that was
> full of dignity and relatively free of pain. When it becomes impossible
for
> me to do that, I do not wish to live anymore. To me, everyone should have
> choices. No one should be forced to live a life they do not want, just as
> no one should be forced to die.
>
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