Happy Birthday ADA Thirty Years Of Advocacy & Activism

 

 

 Birthday ADA Thirty Years Of Advocacy & Activism, Where Are We Now?

I have not written for this blog in nearly three years. But in three years, it's funny how things come full circle. As many of you know, I started this blog as a sounding board for the struggles I was encountering during grad school; however, I quickly realized this blog was turning into something more significant and more critical. It was turning into my commentary on disability issues and living with a disability in general. I have covered everything from how people with disabilities are viewed as infantile by individual members of the able body community to the funny side of being disabled. As the ADA turned 30 Sunday, I felt it was time to reflect on my life and the world as a whole.

In the 30 years since its passage, my life had changed a great deal when it was first signed. I was four years old, but now I am a college graduate with a dark sense of humor who advocates for people with disabilities. I have my days where I get discouraged like everyone else, but I'm a positive voice for change for the most part. I am blessed to have grown up in a post ADA world. The opportunities I have would not be possible without the ADA. I am currently serving as co-founder and a communications team member at access to the vote Florida. A voting coalition that seeks to strengthen the power of voters with disabilities. I'm also pursuing a freelance writing career. It was not too long ago that someone who is as severely limited as me would not be in his own house but an institution. I just yesterday complained about the poor hand. I was dealt with about my current location, but looking back on it, I see it as petty and childish. While my life is not going exactly as planned, I realize I am blessed to be where I am; it could be a lot worse. Even though they were divided right now, this country is still the best place to be disabled.

In closing, I know there is a lot of work yet to be done. We all have a role to play in furthering the voice and power of people with disabilities. Just because we have the ADA doesn't mean we should get complacent. A common slogan used throughout the movement is "nothing about us without us." At the same time, this is a powerful slogan. I think it's a reminder that we still have a lot to do to fulfill our founding fathers' promise when they said, "All men are created equal."

"Son, not "sun"

So, on Monday, I started writing again for this blog. I’m trying to get my shit together. One would think by the time someone is 31; they would have figured things out. I have a great support system and parents who love me beyond measure, yet something is still lacking in my life. I did not know what this was until this morning. As I’ve stated in the other blogs, I attempt to replay conversations in my head after the fact. I was replaying one such conversation from a few months ago this morning when I realized it fit into exactly what’s going on in my life right now. On the surface, it seems as if everything is going perfectly for me. I am being considered for my first job, and from what I’m told, I’m high on the list of potential candidates. I didn’t mess up the actual interview even though I was nervous as all get out. I just had a visit with one of my best friends. Life couldn’t be sweeter, right? Well, I am sad to report that this is not the case. I never thought I’d use this blog as a therapy outlet, but a conversation that occurred recently with my mother and me, along with the dialogue that a former aide and I had several months ago, made me realize that perhaps I’m dealing with an issue that needs to be discussed on a larger scale about maturity and disability



I’ve always complained about how the able-bodied community coddles people with disabilities throughout my many pieces on this blog. While this may be true to no small extent society-wide, it isn’t true in all cases. Many people with disabilities are forced to face the hard realities of unloving and uncaring families. I am not coddled either, for the most part. However, I fall in between. I am nothing less than adored by my parents and support system, but I often fail to see it or take it for granted. I wonder if this occurs throughout the disability community. Usually, we get so wrapped up in how people treat us; we forget how to treat people ourselves. It is not my attempt to attribute all my wrongdoings to my disability, no. It is merely an acknowledgment of a flaw that I have to work on. I have lost friends and damaged relationships with people I love due to my self-centered view of the world. I cannot go back and change these actions, and the old saying that actions speak louder than words is true. However, this is my attempt to start fresh. To some readers, it may seem surprising that I am admitting that my life is not perfect. I have the chance to live a pretty awesome experience. If it isn’t perfect, it isn’t anyone’s fault but mine.

I use myself as an example to make this point; people with disabilities often view the world as victims. Maybe we are victims but victims of ourselves. The only ones we can control are ourselves. However, not to be too cliché, our actions do have consequences. Our world can be awesome or horrible or a mixture of both. It is up to us to choose the path we roll down.

What's so "special"?

My Random Rantings for the Night

I haven't written in a while on the Voiceless minority. I've been busy dealing with some medical issues and capturing and taking advantage of several opportunities that have come my way. More on that later –



However, the point of this blog is to get on my soapbox. Before I do so, I must say that this blog is a straight opinion piece, and it comes from the point of me being extra picky when it comes to semantics.



The other night I was watching one of my TV shows – the WWE- when they announced a partnership with the "Special" Olympics. When I first heard this, I went all noble, and my mind took over. I said, "Oh, here we go again, the mainstream media and the able-bodied community using the disabled as 'inspiration porn.'" For those who don't know what that is, the term inspiration porn was coined by disabled activists and comedienne Stella Young. It is the idea that the able-bodied community uses their disabled counterparts' achievements to inspire them. They use simple achievements, such as getting out of bed, and they see it as extraordinary. When I first heard the announcement of the partnership with the "Special" Olympics, I made the connection between that and inspiration porn immediately, and part of me believes this idea to have merit. It needs to be further explored, which I hope to do throughout this blog.



Once I had calmed down, I reflected on the "Special" Olympics concept as a whole. The overall idea is a good one. It gives people with developmental and intellectual disabilities an outlet for an athletic competition which they may not get otherwise. My issue with the whole concept is again, I'm picky on semantics, but why do we have to call it "special"? If we look at the "regular" Olympics, the emphasis is on athletic achievement and bringing the world together, to forget all our problems for a little while. To recognize a segment of the disabled community's accomplishments, we have the Paralympic games after the Olympics. This is an excellent concept as it recognizes disabled athletes for their physical achievements, and at no point are they referred to as "special." Instead, their achievements are looked at from an athletic standpoint despite their obstacles.

The Paralympics do not get as much attention as the regular Olympics, but they still draw considerable attention. My problem is with the media's treatment of the "Special" Olympics. As I said before in this blog, the concept is a great one as it allows people with intellectual and developmental disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy and Down Syndrome to participate in athletic events. The problem comes when the media capitalizes on the concept in the wrong way. Rather than treating these athletes like their able-bodied counterparts, in this writer's opinion, most of the able-bodied community infantilize an entire population through the way these games are presented. I am not saying this from the point of no experience. I participated in these games when I was younger. In my experience, every athlete gets a medal; to illustrate the absurdity of this point, I got an award for my driving ability. Anyone who knows me knows my uncanny ability to end up in the bushes or hitting a wall when I steer myself. The medal I received was for going correctly through an obstacle course. My opponent, a good friend of mine at the time, ended behind me but received the same medal I did. It has been a long time since I competed in the "Special" Olympics, and hopefully, this practice has ended. I am skeptical. If it has not, it is a further illustration of my point that the "Special" Olympics are not designed for athletic competition. Instead, they are intended to pat participants on the head and say, good job, buddy. These participation trophies do nothing to spark a healthy interest in competition and might do just the opposite. If anyone reading this still participates in the "Special" Olympics and can prove me wrong, I gladly welcome the correction and admit my error on this blog in a future post.

Even if this is not the case, I assert that organizations like the WWE, who greatly influence the media, use their platform to showcase individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities inappropriately. Glorifying these individuals simply because they have a disability goes back to the idea of inspiration porn. On this particular episode of WWE, they highlighted one athlete in particular who was a participant in speed skating. The only problem with the way they highlighted him is that the athlete himself did not speak throughout most of the piece. Instead, members of his family and his coaches spoke for him. As a readers note, I have a family who participates in the "Special" Olympics to this day. My cousin does get great enjoyment out of the games, but our family does not treat her as extra special. They look at what she has accomplished. For them, it isn't about the medal; it is about the fun she had.

In closing, the "Special" Olympics concept is a great one, but I raise this question and point – why are the people who participate "special" just because they participate?

Take a Breath and Enjoy the Ride

     This past year I turned 30. They say, whoever they are, that 30 is supposed to be a significant turning point in life.

 

     Up until recently, I found this statement hard to believe, but events have occurred in the past couple of weeks that have changed my mind. For anyone who has been following my blog lately, they've noticed a couple of things; I've increased the number of posts I've written. Hopefully, you also saw a renewed passion regarding issues within the disability community.  It has taken some time to realize the origin of the change in my motivation, but now I think I have figured it out.

 

     During a recent conversation with my friend Eliza, she put things into perspective. Our conversation occurred weeks ago, and I thought nothing of it at the time. However, I tend to replay conversations in my head rather than finding their significance later. I was replaying this conversation in my head last night when a light bulb went off in my head, and everything we discussed suddenly made more sense. The discussion centered around my life and my grand plans; my friend did not try to downplay my grand plans. She just reminded me not to look too far into the future and live in the moment. Up to this point, I had been planning my life away from Florida and even the little town of Ocala. I still want to move eventually, but I realized between last night, and today there is a lot that I still need to do where I'm at.

 

     A lot of times, I think my grand planning has a lot to do with my disability. I know many other individuals like myself who sit and plan for a future that isn't guaranteed. In other words, to use my dad's business model, they have many ideas for the 10 year goal, but have no idea how to break it down into small manageable segments to reach that goal. I'm guilty of this myself. I have three incredible opportunities here in Ocala, but I tend to forget this and look forward to the next step on the life ladder.

 

     Thanks to Eliza and others, I'm slowly taking a deep breath and enjoying the moment. I'm currently building two self-advocacy groups in different parts of the state. I'm also lucky enough to be on the ground floor to develop a unique radio show about disability issues and news.

 

     I guess this blog's point is not only to highlight my accomplishments and what I'm doing now but rather to get the message across. In the 21st century, we are so fast-paced and technology-driven that we often forget to enjoy life for what it is. Before the race of life is run and we all stand at the finish line, why don't we want the scenery we are blowing past. This is not only a message for people with disabilities but also a message geared towards those of my generation as a whole.

I'm not a doll you can buy on QVC

 

     So, a conversation came up this weekend with a friend who is also my PCA, which made me think of a complex problem facing the disability community. The following sentence was spoken: "I don't understand why it's a problem when people protect you when you are in a wheelchair." Upon hearing this, I lost my mind. After I was done screaming incoherently in rage, I got to thinking about the statement, and I realized that the problem was not my PCA's problem; it is a societal problem.  

 

  In this writer's opinion, if you have any disability, most of society sees you as a fragile doll that needs protection. I'm here to say this: WE ARE NOT SOME FRAGILE DOLL THAT YOU CAN COLLECT AND BUY ON QVC; WE ARE PEOPLE! Some of us are motivational speakers, some of us are doctors, some of us have Master's degrees, and we are not happy being put in a box. This is very true for me personally. Recently, I had a conversation with my dad, who is going through his trials right now. The discussion centered around new opportunities that have been presented to me lately. I think about the "big picture" and think about what things will be like long term. I have trouble living in the moment, and my dad is pretty good about centering me. However, in this instance, he did what I think most people do with people with disabilities; he went into the over-protective mode. Granted, he may be overly protective because I am his son, but I see my world differently; I have the most wonderful sister who does not have a disability, and sometimes I feel like they are less protective of her. I'm not saying they do this on purpose; I'm just saying that this occurs.

 

    It is said that as a society, whether consciously or subconsciously, we have gotten to the point where we coddle an entire group of people. I know that I have written on the topic before in previous blogs; I wonder if I'm the only person with a disability that feels this way. I am not trying to rock the boat or come across as having a chip on my shoulder, as some have said. Instead, I express my true feelings about an important issue that is not getting as much attention as it needs. As my previous blogs have stated, it is not impressive if a person with a disability gets out of bed. How is it possible in the twenty-first century that we do not recognize the fight for disability equality as a civil rights issue? No matter what one's disability is, it does not define them as a person; they are still people first and need to be treated as such.         

Oh The Possibilities

I know I have written a lot lately; hopefully, it’s a trend that will continue. There are a lot of exciting things happening in my world since the Florida SAND conference. It’s funny how one event can put things in motion that you weren’t even thinking about before the event. Today I met an interesting person by the name of Chris. I have many big ideas, but I have realized that they will take networking and time to implement. I am starting to see that the universe puts things in motion when you least expect it. I was putting together my two-year plan, and it did not involve staying where I am at. I’m not saying that I will, but after the past few days, I’m more open to the possibility of it. I won’t get into great detail about the things that Chris and I discussed because it isn’t set in stone yet; I will say that if it happens, the world will be vastly different (at least in my little corner). I know this was short and sweet, more to come later. 

It's Time to Get Political Again

So, I was talking to a couple friends tonight and I realized that I missed another episode of Speechless. For those who don’t know, Speechless is a show about a young boy named JJ with Cerebral Palsy. JJ cannot speak and has a wonderful mom as a disability advocate. The cool thing about this show is that as a few shows in the past, they actually use an individual with a disability to play the disabled character. I wrote a blog early on in the history of this blog that was relevant to tonight’s episode. Tonight’s episode dealt with the idea of “inspiration porn”. I will not go into detail about the episode as I have not watched it fully yet. Towards the end of this blog, I will link the above-mentioned post. Why am I writing about it now? I am writing because it is amazing that a major network like ABC is finally paying attention to disability issues and portraying them fairly. Perhaps if this show gets picked up for more seasons the perception of people with disabilities in society may change in time. It is up to the mainstream media, people with disabilities and their allies to help shape societies view of a minority long silenced. When I contemplated writing this blog today, Speechless had nothing to do with the topic but I realize now that it is a key part of why I need to write the following: I am a Republican with a disability. Most people outside of the disability community would ask, "Why to attach something political to a disability?" Politics is a hard topic for people to swallow and so is a disability. Why combine such controversial topics? The answer is quite simple. It is time that people with disabilities take more of a political stance and fight for more of what they want, need, and desire. Anybody who read yesterday’s post knows that I went to the Florida SAND conference last weekend. There was a small political presence at this conference. But the number of attendees at the conference was small in comparison to the number of people with disabilities that need to be heard. I am writing today to not only complain but suggest a solution. I am currently working on a radio show about disability advocacy. The individual who gave me this opportunity put another idea in my head as well. To have a political voice one needs to have voting power. Individual voices can make noise but if a large portion of a population shouts the same message it is more apt to be heard. In the recent election, this could be seen through Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump neither candidate fit the typical mold and they didn’t do things quietly. It is the time that people with disabilities make their voice heard. I live in Florida and I am suggesting to any Floridian who is an advocate orally that it is time to build a disability caucus in Florida. Below are the names of all 27 Florida Congressmen and women, I am urging you to read the post I recently put up entitled An Open letter to President-Elect Trump. In it, I discussed some important legislation that is currently up for debate in the house. Read the article and go and read the legislation known as the “Time Act” and contact these congressmen and let them know that, to steal from your Florida SAND anthem “Our Voice Matters.”

Debbie Wasserman

Charlie Crist

Stephanie Murphy

Brian Mast

Llena Ros-Lehtinen

Carlos Curbelo

Mario Diaz-Balart

Ted Yoho

Val Demings

Frederica Wilson

Ron Desantis

Alcee Hastings

Kathy Castor

Ted Deutch

Darren Soto

Gus Bilirakis

Vern Buchanan

Francis Rooney

Bill Posey

Lois Frankel

Dennis A. Ross

John Rutherford

Matt Gaetz

Tom Rooney

Neal Dunn

Al Lawson

Daniel Webster

http://thevoicelssminority.blogspot.com/2014/06/i-dont-want-destiny-you-have-planned.html

http://thevoicelssminority.blogspot.com/2016/12/an-open-letter-to-president-elect-trump.html