tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post8977517652168604720..comments2024-03-16T16:44:18.220-07:00Comments on Bad Cripple: An Unexpected Humiliation at a Conference on the Humanities, Disability and Health Carewilliam Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-25897502080051074822017-02-28T16:42:21.147-08:002017-02-28T16:42:21.147-08:00The mind boggles. Greatly.
I get so upset at ADA...The mind boggles. Greatly.<br /><br />I get so upset at ADA violations because the law *is* 25 years old now. People and institutions should darn well know better by now, and *especially* anyone involved in disability services! I have little patience for the average business owner any more, either, though. I do believe in educating people, but sometimes people just do not get it until they are smacked in the face - with a cop, or a lawsuit. <br /><br />And don't even start me on how people in academia react to people with invisible disabilities! It is seriously ugly.<br /><br />For any of you who have suggested that it was "on" Bill (or indeed "on" any of us) to take responsibility to notify people of our disabilities and access needs, for shame. It is exactly this sort of thing that the ADA seeks to completely eliminate. The building should be accessible, period, end of story - and for events of this nature in particular, there shouldn't even be a question about where to hold them. It's one thing when something like an interpreter is needed in a situation where one might not expect to have such a need (like a job interview), but wheelchair access is part of the freakin' *building code*.<br /><br />The whole point of the ADA is to allow people with disabilities to participate equally *without* having to give advance notice for things like this. Why *should* we have to announce our disabilities in advance? Why *shouldn't* we be able to just walk/roll in and have no one think twice, including ourselves?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Wendy H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07497410828504468105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-76057436731853626402015-03-27T18:42:54.557-07:002015-03-27T18:42:54.557-07:00I sit on the sidewalk reading my NYT telling ppl w...I sit on the sidewalk reading my NYT telling ppl walking past that I can't get in. When SUNY opened an ATTAIN lab in a CUNY building, I outed all the attendees (pols, the CUNY president etc). A CUNY PR hack told me the Inwood campus (a 4th floor walkup in a local Catholic school) could be inaccessible because the Grand Concourse was accessible! Now I understand my WC makes me invisible but does it drop my IQ 100+ points?EMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08978218544475326810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-23489110016203397512014-07-16T07:54:11.256-07:002014-07-16T07:54:11.256-07:00Marjorie. I have a cranky reply. The ADA is almost...Marjorie. I have a cranky reply. The ADA is almost 25 years old. When will educating people about disability rights sin in. Two decades seems like a long time for a lesson to sink in. Not critiquing you but the lack of progress.<br />william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-84427969033234133602014-07-15T19:51:46.431-07:002014-07-15T19:51:46.431-07:00Clearly, there is a continuing need for public edu...Clearly, there is a continuing need for public education regarding disabilities and access. I was very fortunate to work in the Tukwila School District some years ago, when an enterprising special education teacher involved middle schoolers in such a program. For the better part of a month, students were introduced to the various barriers the disabled are met with every day: glasses to simulate visual disabilities, ear plugs to simulate hearing, an arm or a leg tied up, a mouth full of gum, use of canes, wheelchairs, etc. -- it was an immensely valuable experience for these young people, one they did not forget. Two years later, I became aware that those students had identified -- and demanded action -- for a variety of barriers, including public water fountains placed too high, department store aisles too closely crammed with garment racks to allow free movement for people in wheelchairs, thresholds that presented a stumbling hazard... The hands-on experience made ALL the difference. Maybe these highly-educated members of the Conference on the Humanities, Disability and Health Care could benefit from something similar.marjoriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04527546648719654936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-80521496269583934812014-02-19T19:21:39.115-08:002014-02-19T19:21:39.115-08:00I find your writing so thought-provoking. I skippe...I find your writing so thought-provoking. I skipped to this post from a subsequent one about speaking for people with disabilities where I was provoked to thoughts about my own frequent public speaking. <br /><br />I find it at times hard to relate to the level of vehemence with which you write - though I encounter many of the same inaccessible indignities in my daily life as a wheelchair user, and would consider myself a vocal self-advocate. However, the longer I have my disability (i was born with it, and have used a wheelchair since I was a child), the more things like this - the cruelly ironic moments - can really get at me. Host a conference on disability and healthcare and don't bother to make sure it's accessible? That sounds like only lipservice was given to inclusion. <br /><br />Coming back to your post about speaking for people with disabilities - I get asked to speak a lot, but I realize that perhaps my speaking is more palatable to many because my experiences have sprung from the privilege of living in a relatively young west-coast city, where much, if not most, of the architecture was built or renewed since accessibility was factored into the building code (in Canada we don't have the ADA, but accessibility is considered throughout building codes across the country). Additionally, I was 8 when Canadian hero Rick Hansen wheeled across the country and around the world in a wheelchair - though he's now a controversial figure, I witnessed the change he had on Canada first-hand... as suddenly it became cool, if not heroic, to use a wheelchair. Suddenly people <b>wanted</b> to hear my story. I grew up in an unprecedentedly accepting society for people with disabilities.<br /><br />I still encounter ridiculous situations like the one you describe here on a regular basis. Some bother me more than I can explain, and I try to make change whenever it happens so the person who comes after me hopefully will have a better place to live in. But sometimes, even the best of us, even those who have seen it all, or those who have benefited from the privilege of all the change that people like you have created, sometimes we still get mad as hell and can't take it anymore. Who is anyone to say what you experenced at this conference was not the last straw for you? <br /><br />Sometimes we have to draw lines... nobody else will draw them for us if we don't.Jocelynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251877264034401691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-42508650446828662562013-12-16T20:26:06.722-08:002013-12-16T20:26:06.722-08:00Mark Forgea, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. ...Mark Forgea, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. If you read the article and the comments carefully, you'll see that a) the room was inaccessible (yes, the presence of stairs constitutes inaccessibility if you use a wheelchair) and b) the restaurant was inaccessible. On what basis do you have the temerity to suggest otherwise? Anything less than full access is a civil rights violation, as we disabled folks are well aware, and any complaint against such a violation is fully legitimate. <br /><br />You owe Bill an apology. Some respect for the man, his experience, his life's work, and his writing is in order here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-78492848463715355752013-12-14T12:52:48.460-08:002013-12-14T12:52:48.460-08:00Mark, I am taken aback at your grossly misleading ...Mark, I am taken aback at your grossly misleading observations. The main entrance to the student center is accessible. The room selected in the building was not accessible. One navigated down a long hallway to encounter two steps effectively barring me from entering the room. My only option to enter the building and room where the meeting was held was through the emergency escape door. This is a blatant violation of the ADA. Correct me if I am wrong but does google earth show the interior of the building where the steps were? The President of Hobart and William Smith acknowledged the lack of access and the college will correct this barrier between semesters. This is not the first time William and Hobart Smith has had ADA issues. Stephen Kuusisto sued the university many years ago and won. All institutions have flaws although you seem to want to give the college a free pass on a gross civil rights violation. The fact remains the organizers botched this from start to finish. Do I really need to provide copies of email to you to demonstrate the level of incompetence and disregard for the ADA. The odd part here is I went out of my way to be polite to the college. I could have simply filed a formal complaint wit the the Department of Justice. To suggest my complaint is without merit is not only wrong but insulting. After 35+ years of paralysis I think I know when I am being discriminated against. I have much experience sadly. william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-3342452037926615422013-12-12T13:59:51.002-08:002013-12-12T13:59:51.002-08:00Oh boy. Talk about editing to make an artificial ...Oh boy. Talk about editing to make an artificial point. And a tasteless one at that. The building shown was built in 1928, subsequently incorporated into a newer structure next door, with an access ramp just to the left of this building entrance with a straight shot from the sidewalk. The reason the access ramp wasn't put at the door shown was due to the width and pitch restrictions required by the ADA. Restaurant without access? I want to know where. If it was on campus then this is a story made of whole cloth. This kind of petulant protest and artificial complaining hurts people who have a legitimate complaint. This sounds like something else, and I hope the original author will correct his complaint to admit this building is fully accessible and can be seen on Google Earth (I placed a pin titled "ADA Access to Old Hamilton Printing Building" on Pulteney street (coordinates 42 51 32.01 N and 79 59 10.61 W, 588 feet in elevation with and eye altitude of 529 feet).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17531019046999445157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-44401279264734646662013-12-12T11:41:17.484-08:002013-12-12T11:41:17.484-08:00DandG, Hobart and William Smith is going to renova...DandG, Hobart and William Smith is going to renovate the building to insure the inaccessible room is accessible. I will not participate in the spring. The suggestions I made to the organizers were dismissed. william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-63651143436882082242013-12-12T10:05:55.308-08:002013-12-12T10:05:55.308-08:00DandG, To my knowledge the organizers had no reaso...DandG, To my knowledge the organizers had no reason to exclude me. I was in fact invited to participate. <br />william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-5133719148836209542013-12-11T06:54:10.228-08:002013-12-11T06:54:10.228-08:00You did not answer the question. Did the organizer...You did not answer the question. Did the organizers have some other reason (e.g. personal dislike? academic disagreement?) to want to exclude you? Could it be that the inaccessibility was an intentional passive/aggressive way of avoiding you?DandGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13078892548041115257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-77739336328890179342013-12-11T06:43:17.689-08:002013-12-11T06:43:17.689-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.gpshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14621047190396415934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-75248834139200495692013-12-11T04:34:09.995-08:002013-12-11T04:34:09.995-08:00DandG, There were indeed indications before the ev...DandG, There were indeed indications before the event that problems would arise. For example, the post meeting dinner was to be held in an inaccessible restaurant. In an email the organizers stated they moved the dinner to an inferior second option. I was willing to participate in the Spring. I sent a detailed letter to the senior organizer with many suggestions. Suffice it to say things did no work out. Even weeks later the organizer stated "mistakes" were made. This to me indicated a giant cultural gulf. What took place was not a "mistake" but rather a violation of my civil rights that could and perhaps should have been subject to a Department of Justice investigation. At this point, I think my participation is pointless. At a fundamental level the people involved do not get disability. william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-90396801174082324742013-12-10T08:38:07.188-08:002013-12-10T08:38:07.188-08:00You indicated that they were, in fact, expecting y...You indicated that they were, in fact, expecting you. Did you get any sense ahead of time that they didn't want you there for any reason? Also, was the event open to the public or was it by invitation only? The website does not make this clear. Are they planning to do things differently for their next meeting?DandGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13078892548041115257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-40522838622926453682013-12-10T04:22:24.711-08:002013-12-10T04:22:24.711-08:00Dina Q. If I entered a blatantly illegal entrance ...Dina Q. If I entered a blatantly illegal entrance to the building I would give tacit or passive support for breaking the the law. Many different things could have happened. The organizer could have apologized at the time and suggested we find another location to meet. It was a somewhat small group we could have met in the student center. These are less than ideal options but would have demonstrated a modicum of effort and support for my civil rights. Based not the organizer's reaction I could only conclude I represented a "problem". My inclusion and humanity was not deemed valuable. Under these circumstance you expect me to enter and then educate the scholars present? I don't think so. In retrospect I have no doubt I did the right thing. william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-18089020139105450732013-12-08T20:03:12.878-08:002013-12-08T20:03:12.878-08:00"I was placed in an impossible situation. I c..."I was placed in an impossible situation. I could enter the building via an obvious illegal entrance or not participate in the event." How about entering through that 'illegal door' and making it your mission at that event to change things so next year this door would no longer be there? Wouldn't this have been a win-win for everyone, unlike your refusal to participate?Dina Qhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02283990346260336510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-81382000538066127412013-12-08T20:01:03.449-08:002013-12-08T20:01:03.449-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Dina Qhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02283990346260336510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-21731518693881382272013-11-26T07:43:39.608-08:002013-11-26T07:43:39.608-08:00The battle for human rights is hardly started and ...The battle for human rights is hardly started and the hardest people to convert are ultra-liberals, the intelligentsia, academics, the media. The believe themselves above the fray.<br /><br />On Prince Edward Island Canada, the University of Prince Edward Island moved all the accessible parking, and there wasn't enough, to the campus perimeter to be fair. Despite violating the National Building Code and civil bylaws they did it and never gave it back. I waged a two year battle to no avail, although I did get my named smeared in the press. <a rel="nofollow">http://njnnetwork.com/2009/08/upei-says-pei-building-codes-dont-apply/</a>Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13740238421583172783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-18125199981500474302013-11-22T15:42:32.469-08:002013-11-22T15:42:32.469-08:00SKNM, You are extremely unusual. I have no doubt e...SKNM, You are extremely unusual. I have no doubt every scholar walked up the stars and did not give wheelchair access a single passing thought. I would also suggest the vast majority of the population does not give a damn about wheelchair access. I encounter inaccessible venues every time I travel or walk out the door of my home. william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-13507397309342869482013-11-22T10:37:59.520-08:002013-11-22T10:37:59.520-08:00I saw this post circulating on FB and was immediat...I saw this post circulating on FB and was immediately interested!<br /><br />Do you think it's true that all other participants walked up those steps without a second thought?<br /><br />That would not be me... <br />I see details in everything!<br /><br />When I took my child to art class and had to walk up a long staircase to get there, I wondered: "What happens when a child in a wheelchair wants to go?"<br /><br />When we designed and built our home at the age of 34, we had a conversation about accessibility. Then we roughed-in for wider interior doors, built bigger showers that were easy to get in and out of, and allowed for more space in bathrooms and hallways. We also designed it with one bedroom on the main level.<br /><br />We didn't think of or do everything, but we made it possible to have a visitor in a wheelchair; and, we didn't want to exclude future buyers. It just made sense to us to design a home that is more welcoming...<br /><br />I'm not sure I believe my hubby and I are alone in looking at the world this way as part of every day life... I hope not...SKNMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12160495918306241735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-69463127995577107272013-11-21T11:02:09.801-08:002013-11-21T11:02:09.801-08:00Just walked into my local library--a building less...Just walked into my local library--a building less than ten years old--and realized the handicap access plate which initially was installed to open the door had disappeared. The doors remain and are virtually impossible for anyone with a wheelchair or indeed any kind of severe physical impairment to push them open. I was informed there was a handicap parking space around the back and that if you used a wheelchair you could enter there IF YOU RANG THE BELL. There was, by the way, no sign at the front door; you couldn't possibly know where to go. And then there is the little problem of the bell. I was not with my son who uses a chair, but I asked the clerk at the desk who seemed not at all interested and told me there was probably someone at Town Hall who could help, but she didn't know who. THIS IS A PUBLIC LIBRARY! My love and sympathy to you, Bill.Penny Wolfsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10902945108377067327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-48412556552703126732013-11-20T19:21:31.150-08:002013-11-20T19:21:31.150-08:00I hate this so much. Over and over, I go to speak ...I hate this so much. Over and over, I go to speak at events where conference organizers pay lip service to access without putting any practical thought or effort into it. It's intensely disrespectful. Then the same organizers often ask me how they should do "outreach" to get more diversity at their events, more disabled speakers and attendees. Lizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02650178982186311590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-85787299039754059412013-11-19T16:19:27.349-08:002013-11-19T16:19:27.349-08:00What a powerful piece of writing about an outrageo...What a powerful piece of writing about an outrageous experience. I look forward to your book (mentioned in the intro to your blog). Sue Katzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13459862344003388373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-5522063126597482562013-11-18T13:04:24.060-08:002013-11-18T13:04:24.060-08:00Gene - I have to second what other people here.are...Gene - I have to second what other people here.are saying. Bill is using the word "cripple" in much the same way that the LGBT community uses the word "queer" - reclaiming it.<br /><br />Regarding Bill being wrong to expect an accessible venue - even if this *weren't* a event about disability, I don't think it's wrong to expect the world to perform well. You may find yourself disappointed, but it's not WRONG.<br /><br />But for goodness sake, this is an event about disability!Overandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12813614830913638297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-25490670310863009672013-11-18T13:01:54.098-08:002013-11-18T13:01:54.098-08:00Jesse CS70, thank you for the contact info. This i...Jesse CS70, thank you for the contact info. This is the email I sent to all the addresses:<br /><br /><br />"Hello, I recently read about your Conference on the Humanities, Disability and Health Care, and the inability of one of the people involved in your conference to attend due to the lack of access for those who are wheelchair bound. I find this very interesting and offer myself as a bipedal human without an advanced degree, who has the ability to "see" stairs and realize that wheelchairs cannot access them. I am prepared to offer you a reasonable contract (including travel and housing expenses) to help you avoid these types of problems (and possibly lawsuits) in the future. "Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17909203297295198895noreply@blogger.com