Guest guest Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 In August 2005, we took and two adult friends who both happen to be female PWD's to the 15th anniversary celebration of the ADA in Philadelphia. This was my first experience with a large scale disability rights event. is privileged to have two adult " roll models " that she enjoys spending time with, and they invited us to join them at this event. Although I am eager to help find her place in the world as a young PWD, I must admit that all of us were disappointed, saddened and frequently sickened by what we saw at this event. Rather than being a celebration of disability awareness, it was a huge left-wing political rally whose ongoing themes were " Bush=Hitler, " " No War For Oil, " " Rich People Suck, " and even " Gay Pride. " I saw literally hundreds of wheelchair & scooter users and none of them were saying or carrying signs that had anything to do with disability awareness or pride in themselves. The closest thing I saw was a guy who held a piece of paper on which he had written, " Bush Hates Gimps. " On the drive back, we discussed how it seems they had all been co-opted by someone else's political agenda. We felt awful because it was like the common dignity had been stolen from people who gathered to make an otherwise empowering and positive statement. In December, someone showed me that a picture of us had been taken at the parade and was now on the Philadelphia Inquirer's web site. It was also copied on the web site for MoveOn.org. The caption said we were parents of disabled children protesting President Bush's Medicaid policies. Nothing could have been further from the truth! I have given this a lot of thought and I fear for 's future as a disabled person. But, not because I am worried about discrimination she will face. I think I've witnessed something even more sinister. The weakest among us are being convinced to believe things that are against their own self-interest just to promote someone else's political party. Even those who pretend to be working for your interests will steal your dignity and distort your self-empowering message just to sling mud at political opponents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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