From: ADAPT <cyanosis@igc.apc.org>
Subject: 09/92 - The Disability Rag (6/6)
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: ?
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 08:19:49 GMT

/* Written  9:01 pm  Jan  2, 1993 by cyanosis@igc.apc.org in igc:gen.diffable */
/* ---------- "09/92 - The Disability Rag" ---------- */

LETTERS

False advocates
	In the last issue of The Rag (July/August), the implication that 
I read loud and clear is: if you don't believe in our premise, you're 
not a proper advocate. 
	In the ADAPT article, the message was: If I do not choose to 
participate in civil disobedience, in-your-face tactics and offensive 
measures, I do not deserve to be proud of my disability status. I 
resent this. I applaud ADAPT's efforts, but I choose to work at my 
local level, educating those with disabilities and those without.  
What about those of us who keep the homefires burning? What 
independent living centers do is help empower individuals, a fact 
that needs to be acknowledged. What good is the big picture if the 
local person is unaffected? 
	I also take offense at John Hockenberry's assumption that if 
one supports the independent living philosophy, then one becomes 
complacent. Wrong. What independent living centers do, while 
advocating for improvements and equality, is offer individuals 
practical assistance now. I am proud that I represent a CIL and all 
that we work for. I have nothing to apologize for.
	In "Coming of age in the movement," Larry Carter seems to 
suggest that money should not be spent on research and cures, but 
rather on equipment and services; that any self-respecting person 
with a disability should be proud of his/her disability and have not 
need to find a cure Q   s/he would have to give up too much. Well, I'm 
sorry; I have as much contempt as the next person for Jerry Lewis, 
but I think Carter's concept is a bit misguided.  Maybe he's 
comfortable with the status of his disability. But how about those of 
us who live with pain, secondary health problems and disabilities of 
a progressive nature? I don't think my disability pride is at issue 
when I say I would like a cure or a preventative measure found.  To 
think otherwise is naive.  
	Don't presume I don't feel pride in myself, and don't judge me 
as a false advocate. I am comfortable with myself and believe in 
anyone's right to his/her opinion. 
	SUZANNE B. BACAL
	Philadelphia
	
	Cowboy Justice at Customs
	I was returning from a week's vacation in St. Martin; I'd had a 
great time until I got to U.S. Customs on the return trip, at the 
Raleigh/Durham airport. ("Cowboy Justice in Tiburon," July/August)
	I use a wheelchair and could not have done the trip without the 
help of my part-time assistant, Steve. At U.S. Customs, both I in my 
wheelchair, sunburned and in need of a shave after a week of sun and 
sea, and Steve, black and missing front teeth, aroused suspicion. We 
were given the Full Treatment. Each of our four bags was opened and 
minutely gone over. Four Customs agents eyeballed us and seemed to 
be convinced we were up to no good. Innumerable questions were 
asked. 
	Then they took Steve to the interrogation room, where they 
told him to remove his pants and shoes. They asked him what the 
bulge in his crotch was and felt his private parts twice. They asked 
him what the condoms in his bag were for; he replied they were in 
case of emergency (no emergency ever arose). Steve came out and 
they told me to go into the interrogation room and get out of my 
wheelchair; they inspected the wheelchair. They released us finding 
nothing; the whole process took more than a half hour. It was 
upsetting and humiliating.
	I asked myself whether being in a wheelchair provoked 
suspicion, especially since they seemed to be just as suspicious of 
me as they were of Steve. The agents are trained to spot the unusual, 
and no doubt it is unusual for disabled people to find the money to 
take an expensive vacation. And since most Caribbean islands have 
only primitive access, it may be unusual for people in wheelchairs to 
want to go there at all.
	Before the trip, I'd warned Steve about illegal substances, but 
he doesn't do drugs, even though he lives on a street that is awash 
with drugs.
	It could be said that Customs is right in trying to stem the 
torrent of illegal drugs coming into the country; they have to earn 
their pay. 
	Possibly the point of this episode is that if you travel abroad, 
be very sure of your attendant if you go with one. If he or she is 
found with drugs, you could find yourself in jail for the better part 
of the rest of your life. Be polite and truthful to the Customs agent, 
but be alert to question whether your civil rights may be violated. 
Carry lots of  identification. 
	Be aware that you may (or may not) be singled out for 
interrogation because you are in a wheelchair. My response was that 
even though the experience was humiliating, I realized they were 
doing their job, and I would advise going alone with the game unless 
there is a clear violation of your civil rights. 
	RICHARD B. TREANOR
	Washington, D.C.
	
	Thanks for review
	Because a good friend of mine has CP, I hesitated in seeing 
"Waterdance"  since I assumed, incorrectly, that the film would not 
handle the subject of disability sensitively. But when I saw 
Lawrence Carter's review in The Rag, and saw that Carter, 
mentioned elsewhere in the issue, has CP, I thought to myself, "If he 
liked Waterdance, maybe it's done well."
	So I did go see it; it was wonderful. Thank you for Mr. Carter's 
review; it was right-on.
	Michelle Zierles
	New York
	
	Not my group
	The Alliance for the Mentally Ill group protesting the Daffy's 
ads ("Group protests straitjacket ads," July/August) supports 
involuntary psychiatric incarceration and treatment; the New York 
City affiliate claims that poor people and minorities are being 
deprived of their "right" to have shock treatment. Such groups claim 
to represent people like me while denying that we have any rights. 
	George Ebert
	Syracuse, N. Y. 
	
	NFB discrimination
	I have been following the letters in your magazine about the 
National Federation of the Blind with some interest. Because of my 
son's disability, I am a member of the NFB's Committee on the 
"Multiply-Handicapped Blind Child." In their newsletter, the 
committee invited committee members and their families to attend 
the NFB's annual convention at the end of June.  I thought it would be 
a good experience for both my son and myself to meet lots and lots 
of disabled adults. 
	My fantasies about going were rudely ended by the next two 
sentences in the newsletter: "Child care will be provided for the 
typical blind child. If your child is medically fragile or very 
physically or mentally involved or is low functioning, you will need 
to arrange your own child care."
	So the NFB is now prepared to use value-laden language to 
discriminate against children with disabilities other than blindness. 
What exactly does "typical" and "low functioning" mean? Who 
decides? Do children have to audition for child care? Should parents 
bring current Individualized Education Plans that indicate the 
"level" the child is functioning on? 
	I do not think it any less oppressive when a  group of disabled 
people decides to oppress another group than when a group of able-
bodied people decides to do the same thing.
	Shame on you, NFB!
	Judith Lesner
	Oakland, Calif.  


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