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Disability
Sun, 2011-03-13 07:03
#1
Boom Boom
Disability
Sun, 2011-03-13 10:10
#3
Maysie
From the link:
"The world is too populated and there are too many defective people," according to an e-mail account of the conversation by Omand. Asked what he meant, she said Harty clarified, "You know the mentally ill, the retarded, people with physical disabilities and drug addictions - the defective people society would be better off without."
Omand says Harty then stated, "I wish we had a Siberia so we could ship them all off to freeze to death and die and clean up the population."
What hateful bullshit! And advocating the deliberate killing of people? This is now okay I suppose? Fuck.
Thanks for bringing this to the attention of babble, Boom Boom.
It's a disgusting sign of the times that someone in a leadership position with this kind of attitude can feel open to spout such hatred and ableist crap and not fear any political or personal repercussions. Shameful.
Sun, 2011-03-13 10:21
#4
Boom Boom
excerpt:
A community health program manager got a surprise when she e-mailed her NH State Congressman recently to ask him about why he had voted to cut money from mental health programs. The Senator told her that society would be better without disabled people, and he wishes he could ship disabled people to Siberia.
comment:
I've been hearing disabled since birth, and have been living on a disability allowance since 2002 after my hearing declined further. I thought these kind of attitudes that the Senator espouses had disappeared long ago.
(shouldn't there be a permanent forum or subheading in "Body and Soul" for disability issues?)
Sun, 2011-03-13 11:59
#5
I guess once you've fought in a war you get to say all sorts of fucked-up shit and people will excuse it because of your "service to the country". Soldier privilege?
Rep. Jon Richardson, an Allenstown Republican on the Legislative Administration Committee, said he does not condone Harty's comments on any level, but he takes into account the fact that Harty is a World War II veteran in his 90s.
House Speaker William O'Brien said in a statement that he does not endorse Harty's comments but respects "his longstanding commitment to protect the values we cherish.""As someone who served in General Patton's Army in North Africa and Italy against dictators like Hitler and Mussolini, he has given far more to our country and our ideals than most of us ever will," O'Brien said.
Although, Harty should be careful what he wishes for. He may just find himself on the first ship to Siberia.
Colleagues say he is hard of hearing and has appeared confused in recent House sessions."He's shown signs of great confusion in committee in terms of House process and content," said Rep. Marilinda Garcia, a Salem Republican who serves with Harty on the House Legislative Administration Committee.
"In our committee . . . he is constantly confused, easily swayed, hard of hearing, and prone to offer up unrelated commentary or go off on unrelated tangents," Richardson said.Harty, a first-term representative, wrote a letter to Foster's Daily Democrat last month stating, "So far I really don't know what I'm doing. . . . A new Rep really needs a coach along with him at first but there is no room for anyone to sit with him, and no way they could holler at him in a committee meeting.
"The few votes I've made so far I really didn't know what I was voting for or against," his letter said. "Just looked at the people around me and went along with them."
[url=http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/245163/lawmaker-advocates-eugenics... advocates eugenics[/url]
Sun, 2011-03-13 12:28
#6
I think the greatest responsibility for this mess lies with the man's Party and the voters for putting him in a position of responsibility like that.
Of course what he said was wrong and messed up, and my guess is he would have probably expressed a similar sentiment, perhaps more cautiously, even if he was in his right mind. But if he is suffering confusion and memory loss the man is clearly being affected by a disability himself (as Freedom 55 said, above).
And the fact that he tried to pass it off as a joke suggests to me that he doesn't really care too much about taking responsibility for his words even when he isn't on the spot and has time to reflect.
But as for him having the right to say whatever he wants? I suppose he has as much right as an infant who doesn't know any better, but if Harty's colleague means that everything that comes out of his mouth should be respected and off-limits to criticism, that is nonsense. At least he acknowledged that the comments were completely inappropriate, and doubly so given the responsibility of the office he holds.
Sun, 2011-03-13 13:08
#7
The Republican stance towards disabled people is inconsistent, and kind of weird.
"In our committee . . . he is constantly confused, easily swayed, hard of hearing, and prone to offer up unrelated commentary or go off on unrelated tangents," Richardson said.
The brain damage that occurs in dementia manifests early on as a disinhibition, resulting in the person making inappropriate comments. Despite its purported "bootstrap" mentality, however, the GOP has a long-standing history of overlooking, accommodating, and attempting to conceal dementia in persons in positions of power.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/15/us-usa-reagan-alzheimers-idUST...
At the same time, vicious rhetoric directed against disabled people who happen to be Democrats is not censured, and therefore tacitly condoned.
Sun, 2011-03-13 13:12
#8
Maysie
But as for him having the right to say whatever he wants? I suppose he has as much right as an infant who doesn't know any better, but if Harty's colleague means that everything that comes out of his mouth should be respected and off-limits to criticism, that is nonsense.
Advocating killing people is not a "right" that anybody has. In fact, it's against the law.
Sun, 2011-03-13 13:51
#9
@ Maysie
To clarify.... I was making a facetious "benefit of the doubt" statement in response to the other representative's excuse.
Seriously, I think people who have no sense of right and wrong (infants and those who are not in their right minds) can't be held responsible for their actions and so long as they don't actually pose a danger probably shouldn't be sedated or muzzled to prevent them from saying objectionable (and even murderous) things.
Of course in this case (since we are talking about someone who holds public office, and whom I expect has not been diagnosed) it's kind of complicated. And I would suspect there is a little more than dementia going on here. I am sure the congressman has occasions when he has enough sense that he could take responsibility if he wanted to.
And as I said, I am sure he has a big circle of friends and colleagues who bear some resopnsibility for this too.
Sun, 2011-03-13 14:19
#10
Speaking the Nazi references, a good friend of mine told me a relevant story about her grandfather.
He had been sent to the front (as a death sentence, presumably) in the First World War because he was a communist. In fact, he was injured and captured, and sat out the war in a prison camp.
During the second world war, he regularly walked around town yelling "Fuck Hitler" and "Fuck the Nazis". I am sure he was just lucky to be in the town he was, or he would have been sent to a camp or just shot. But for some strange reason everyone left him alone because they just assumed he was out of his mind, and he survived.
Mon, 2011-03-14 18:54
#11
Boom Boom
From: unionleader.com
Rep. Martin Harty, a Barrington Republican, has resigned after he drew fire for remarks on mental illness and population control.
Mon, 2011-03-14 21:37
#12
[url=http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199807163390306][color=black]What Are the Potential Cost Savings from Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide?[/color][/url] 1998
Battin, the co-author of this paper, is not a physician. She's written a number of essays focused on "the right to die." In Nazi Germany, the selective health care system referred to witholding medical care and even murder of the aged and "useless eaters" as mercy killings. But whether or not the US-based Hasting Center is leading themselves down the road to legalizing mass murder or just pushing for personal rights to European style euthanasia, they do have something in common with European fascists of the 1930s and 40s. And it's that they consider public health care needs to be open to interpretation by bureaucrats and politicians - and that saving on health care costs at the expense of human life should be included in efficiency measures when trimming public expenses. In the end the US health care system is deciding which hospitalized Americans have lives worth living and not. Yes, they've been doing it for a long time already to a certain degree. And conservatives and fascists alike tend to use utilitarian arguments to justify their administrative decisions. It's about dollars and cents as far as all of them are concerned.
Tue, 2011-03-22 12:23
#13
Can any Toronto Babblers provide more detail on the attacks in Toronto?
Toronto police are seeking an attacker targeting people with mental-health problems after the latest victim in a string of five assaults died Monday.
George Wass, 62, died in hospital after collapsing at his home, police said. He was attacked late last week in the Queen Street West-Jameson Avenue area.
Thu, 2011-03-24 14:18
#14
Adolescents in military families are often burdened by additional emotional stress when a parent is deployed to Afghanistan, according to a new Canadian study.
University of New Brunswick researchers released a study on Thursday that examined students at Oromocto High School, near Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, who recently had a parent serving in the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.
The UNB researchers reported the teens worried their parents would not return home or would come back "different."
And that stress caused concerns at home. The young people felt a sense of responsibility for the emotional stability of their other parent and for any younger siblings at home.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/03/24/nb-military-family-stress-1127.html
Thu, 2011-03-24 14:43
#15
Maysie
Unlike other disability issues, there's a very simple solution to end the emotional stress in those families, Caissa. 
Thu, 2011-03-24 14:49
#16
Alas, I don't think that sort of prevention will take place in the near future, Maysie.
Thu, 2011-03-24 15:02
#17
For a minute I was expecting Dylan 
Thu, 2011-03-24 15:06
#18
Maysie
I'm a macro-thinker. And macro-dreamer apparently.
Thu, 2011-03-24 16:56
#19
Boom Boom
Any chance of a Disability Forum or sub-forum?
Fri, 2011-03-25 07:30
#20
As much as the topic is near and dear to my heart, I wonder how much use it would get. Have we had a lot of threads that would easily fit into such a space, Boom Boom?
Fri, 2011-03-25 08:32
#21
Boom Boom
No, but I could fill them up quickly, all on my lonesome.
Fri, 2011-03-25 19:31
#22
(shouldn't there be a permanent forum or subheading in "Body and Soul" for disability issues?)
OK, but you and I would probably be the only ones who would post in it regularly. It would probably end up being a very stagnent place, like the other Anti opression forums on Babble.
Fri, 2011-03-25 19:32
#23
(shouldn't there be a permanent forum or subheading in "Body and Soul" for disability issues?)
OK, but you and I would probably be the only ones who would post in it regularly. It would probably end up being a very stagnent place, like the other Anti opression forums on Babble.
I might.
Fri, 2011-03-25 19:37
#24
Boom Boom
That's three so far. 
Fri, 2011-03-25 20:12
#25
I'd be interested.
Fri, 2011-03-25 22:02
#26
Any chance of a Disability Forum or sub-forum?
I think that's a great idea.
Fri, 2011-03-25 22:23
#27
Hang on, that's dumb. The capitalist system can mistreat those who produce efficiantly.:o
Fri, 2011-03-25 23:21
#28
Boom Boom
Talking about disabilities might be useful, as well as resources, such as: Persons with disabilities , with an aim to improving these.
Sat, 2011-03-26 11:32
#29
Rep. Martin Harty, a Barrington Republican, has resigned after he drew fire for remarks on mental illness and population control.
Good, but I would imagine that a lot of North Americans support his position.
The power elite hates us. We consume but a lot of us can't contibute to the capitalist system in any resonably efficiant way. If you can't make a lot of widgets or buy a lot of widgets your of no use to the money men who run the world, and they break your balls. The situation changes of course if you are the disabed child of a power broker, but how many of us can claim that privilage?
Tue, 2011-09-13 01:59
#30
Boom Boom
Solar-powered hearing aids invented
excerpt:
He said inventions like the solar-powered hearing aid could make a big difference in Africa. Experts estimate two-thirds of the 250 million people worldwide who have a hearing disability live in poor countries.
The solar-powered device was designed by Andrew Carr, a mechanical engineer in Cambridge, who noticed most hearing aids donated to Africa don't help because they treat a different type of hearing loss more prevalent in the West. The hearing aid Carr developed must be held close to the ear to work, but doesn't have to be worn inside.
Carr's device has an internal solar-powered battery and can be looped into a necklace or attached to a hat so it's next to the person's ear.
Tue, 2011-09-13 14:42
#31
Too bad they would never work in Canada.
Tue, 2011-09-13 14:49
#32
Boom Boom
Eventually we may see solar powered hearing aids in Canada - just a matter of ingenuity and time.
Tue, 2011-09-13 14:53
#33
I thought the lack of sunshine would be an impediment.
Tue, 2011-09-13 14:56
#34
Boom Boom
Fri, 2011-10-28 14:05
#35
A young girl with autism and her mother received an apology from the Winners retail chain for barring the girl's service dog from its west Edmonton store last weekend.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/10/28/edmonton-winners...
Fri, 2011-10-28 14:43
#36
Boom Boom
No Disability Forum here yet. 
I got a new hearing aid Wednesday, more power and programming ability than the last one, but I lost so much hearing in my 'blocked sneeze' episode last summer it doesn't make any difference in my hearing ability.
Mon, 2011-11-07 09:01
#37
Ottawa's transit service has launched an investigation after a YouTube video on the weekend appeared to show a city bus driver delivering an expletive-filled tirade against an autistic passenger.
The 55-second cellphone video attracted hundreds of views and many angry comments.
Shot on the No. 96 bus from downtown Ottawa to Kanata, the video shows a young man in shorts standing near the driver. Out of view, another man, apparently the driver, yells at the passenger.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/11/06/ott-oc-transpo-vid...
Mon, 2011-11-07 10:36
#38
Northern Shoveler
Ottawa's transit service has launched an investigation after a YouTube video on the weekend appeared to show a city bus driver delivering an expletive-filled tirade against an autistic passenger.
The 55-second cellphone video attracted hundreds of views and many angry comments.
Shot on the No. 96 bus from downtown Ottawa to Kanata, the video shows a young man in shorts standing near the driver. Out of view, another man, apparently the driver, yells at the passenger.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/11/06/ott-oc-transpo-vid...
Bus drivers are all judged by the actions of their most frustrated drivers. Strange how it is only union jobs especially public sector ones that get this kind of treatment.
Babble seems to like to highlight each and every media complaint about unionized workers and their inadequacies.
Mon, 2011-11-07 13:06
#39
I'm much more interested in the difficulties individuals on the autism spectrum often face than the adequacies or inadequacies of a worker.
The young autistic man who was apparently the target of an expletive-filled tirade from an Ottawa bus driver says he was reading from a script he had written when the driver lashed out at him.
Matthew Taronno, a 20-year-old who describes himself as "mildly autistic," said the script contained some "inappropriate language" and said he went to the front of the bus to apologize. The driver was in no mood to hear it, Taronno told CBC News on Sunday at Algonquin College, where he is studying script writing.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/11/07/ottawa-octranspo-d...
Mon, 2011-11-07 13:34
#40
Catchfire
Any chance of a Disability Forum or sub-forum?
Why, yes there is, BB. Sorry I missed this in the Spring. Let's discuss the name and other issues here, and we'll get it up and running ASAP.
Fri, 2011-11-18 12:45
#41
Ottawa's transit service has launched an investigation after a YouTube video on the weekend appeared to show a city bus driver delivering an expletive-filled tirade against an autistic passenger.
The 55-second cellphone video attracted hundreds of views and many angry comments.
Shot on the No. 96 bus from downtown Ottawa to Kanata, the video shows a young man in shorts standing near the driver. Out of view, another man, apparently the driver, yells at the passenger.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/11/06/ott-oc-transpo-vid...
Bus drivers are all judged by the actions of their most frustrated drivers. Strange how it is only union jobs especially public sector ones that get this kind of treatment.
Babble seems to like to highlight each and every media complaint about unionized workers and their inadequacies.
[url=http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Kelly+Egan+Fired+Transpo+driver+speaks/5728... bus driver speaks out[/url]
The terms for that explosive episode, at 2 a.m. on Nov. 3, were really set two days before.
It was Halloween. He was driving the No. 12 in the east end. It was about 8 p.m. A passenger, about 13 years old, boarded the bus and asked him to alert him to the Montreal and Shefford roads stop, only about six stops ahead.
The driver said okay, but told him to watch the electronic call-out system, which alerts passengers to every stop. No said the kid, yammering on his cellphone, you tell me when we get there.
“He keeps asking me, every stop, ‘is this it? Is this it?’”
When they finally arrive, the driver tells him. The youth was met by a friend on the sidewalk. Before leaping off, he spat in the driver’s face, took off, nearly running over a mom with a stroller.
The driver stopped the bus, called his supervisor. There was a discussion about whether he should go to the hospital. He declined, but an unusual thing happened. As though all of the stresses in his life surged at this moment, he started to crack. He couldn’t believe how upset he was.
“Christ man, I even said (to the supervisor) I didn’t even cry when my mom died.” But the spit in the face seem to break a dam.
He took the rest of the night off. The next day, exhausted because he hadn’t slept, he said he called his supervisor and it was agreed he would take Tuesday night off as a sick day, one of only four he had taken all year.
Wednesday, he was back behind the wheel, on the No. 96.
Fri, 2011-11-18 12:58
#42
Catchfire
Moving to Disability Issues Forum. (Hooraay!)
Fri, 2011-11-18 13:34
#43
Boom Boom
My heartfelt thanks to Catchfire and anyone else involved in setting up the Disability Issues forum!
Fri, 2011-11-18 14:12
#44
Catchfire
Thanks for that follow-up story, F55. Very telling.
Sat, 2011-11-19 10:58
#45
Northern Shoveler
Can someone explain "mildly autistic" to me. I wonder what was in the script that this young man was reading? The story says he thought he should go and apologize for it.
Thx F55
PTSD is rarely diagnosed but is a real and serious mental health issue that many front line workers experience especially in the public service sector.
Sat, 2011-11-19 11:28
#46
I think it is a disability issue from the perspective of the driver's sensitivity, but really, it could have been anyone talking loudly and not being aware of the effect it was having on others.
Autism covers a wide spectrum. I have a family member who has a mild form, and is far more aware, level-headed and perceptive than a lot of people.
Sat, 2011-11-19 12:32
#47
Some people with Asberger's Syndrome aren't really distinguishable from high-functioning autistics. In fact, some people with Asberger's are advocating that it as a difference, not a disibility that needs a cure or some form of treatment.
Sun, 2011-11-20 11:24
#48
Isn't Asberger's Syndrome a form of autism?
Sun, 2011-11-20 11:40
#49
It's Asperger, with a "p". It's usually called an "autism spectrum disorder", but whether it's a "form" of autism or not really depends on how people choose to define autism. If we understood what caused either one, we might be wiser.
Mon, 2011-11-21 09:56
#51
I believe the draft of the DSM-V is suggesting subsuming Asperger under ASD.