The Voiceless Minority

  As a journalist, it is your job to always be on the lookout for the next story or trend. I am no different; I am always looking for the next topic to cover on this blog; however, I never thought I would find it while chilling with my dad on a Tuesday afternoon. For those of you who don’t know him, let me quickly make an introduction. My dad is a loving, caring, ornery 63-year-old pain in my butt, but I love him with all my heart. Approximately 13 years ago, he became disabled, and we have grown closer since. Due to the nature of his disability, my dad has changed not only physically but also in other ways as well. He no longer has the attention span to watch a whole TV program or even read an entire chapter in a book. This means he enjoys doing so; it simply means that where you and I can watch a half-hour program in one sitting, it takes tremendous effort for my dad to do so. Therefore, he spends most of his time in his man-cave watching short YouTube clips. They can range from ...

Some people with disabilities require the assistance of a caregiver. Below are some questions you can ask during an interview. Interviewing a caregiver beforehand allows both you and that potential caregiver to get to know one another and see if the care they can provide can meet your needs.  Note, these are not the only questions you should ask during an interview; the questions below are a good place to begin if you are unsure of what you should ask. These questions were transcribed from one of Samantha's YouTube videos entitled "Top 10 Questions To Ask A Caregiver in 2021", which can be found on her YouTube channel called Being Sammy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPytfu95odc How many clients do you have? Ask this question right away because it will let you know how much time they have to dedicate to your needs. Sometimes, when they have too many clients, it can lead to schedule conflicts, double bookings, and even emotional stress for the caregiver, especially if tha...

  Well, the voice of the voiceless is back. I have taken quite a long break, and during that break, I wondered if the voiceless minority still needed me or if it had learned to develop its voice. While I believe the voiceless minority has made gains on its own, it is clear that it still needs the guidance of its parent and its founder, as illustrated by a series of recent events. Recently, I learned of an individual who was wrongfully treated as if they did not have a brain just because they were in a wheelchair. The rest of this blog is an open letter/memo to my loyal readers and anyone who might stumble across this blog. I hope it serves as a reminder or a sharp kick in the ass to remind people that you can't judge a book by its cover or a person by what you see when you first meet them. I was initially appalled while watching what happened to this individual, but I was not surprised when I thought about it later. Even though it is 2024, and we should be more civilized than w...