Dear List Members/Accessibility Advocates: WITHOUT reference to the legal merits of the case either way ... This past week, a majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices voted to limit the scope of The ADA, in part, because the majority did not find the requisite "pattern of discrimination" when one does or must do things differently. How could this be? Simple. We who do things differently [doesn't everyone?] are not considered people. After all, we are described and many in the class self-identify as being "disabled," a term that by dictionary definition literally means "inoperable, nonfunctioning, incapacitated, incapable, can't do." So of course we are considered useless, limited, impaired, invalid, and unworthy of basic civil rights, as are the appropriately-named inanimate, nonfunctioning objects such as a disabled smoke detector, disabled vehicle, disabled car battery, disabled JavaScript that do not function, that are inoperable and incapacitated, useless, and relegated to the trash heap. What do we expect others to think of us if we describe ourselves and permit others to describe us in such a negative, demeaning, depersonalizing way? By definition, inanimate objects cannot face discrimination. Only people can face discrimination. Only people have civil [=people] rights. To be eligible for civil rights, we first need to be considered people. Like everyone else, those who support the opinion of the majority of the justices will discover sooner or later during their own lifetimes what it is like to face the requisite "pattern of discrimination" when one does or must do things differently. All it takes is slipping on the ice, stumbling into a pothole, getting one's hand caught in a doorway, burning one's hand on the stove, being in a car accident ... or a natural disaster, lifestyle choice, illness, war, or just getting older, the last which we all seem to be doing. Having to do things differently can happen to any of us at any second. This U.S. Supreme Court ruling is yet another essential reason to start now to describe ourselves and insist that we always be described POSITIVELY- ALWAYS as PEOPLE FIRST. We are PEOPLE! We have ____ DIFFERENCES: i.e. cognitive, learning, mobility, vision, hearing, perceptual, sensory, etc. DIFFERENCES. Doesn't everyone? Everyone's DIFFERENCES are DIFFERENT. Our differences are on a continuum, rather than being absolutes. We all DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY. Let us celebrate the UNIVERSAL diversity of doing things differently or DIFFERABILITY. ACCESSIBILITY (an index term that places us on the top of every index) and EQUITY OF ACCESS are UNIVERSAL needs that ALL living beings share. As Madison Avenue teaches us every day: Positive Sells. Positive Wins. Every Time. Ellen Perlow Doing things differently since birth (hasn't everyone?) Chair, ALA ASCLA Century Scholarship Committee The ALA ASCLA Century Scholarship Diversity Initiative "Celebrating a New Century that Celebrates Diversity" http://www.ala.org/ascla/centuryscholarship.html Next Application Submission Deadline: March 1, 2001-TWO DAYS AWAY! ALA 2001 Scholarship Application page: http://www.ala.org/work/awards/scholars.html Have YOU recruited/applied to be a Century Scholarship applicant today? ---------------------------------------------------- Manager of Information Services School of Library and Information Studies Texas Woman's University P.O. Box 425438 Denton, TX 76204-5438 Tel.: 940-898-2622 Fax: 940-898-2611 Web: http://twu.edu/~s_perlow/ E-Mail: [log in to unmask]