Think about it all! this is the group I belong to and of which I've been
active. I cannot be in two places at once however and in Michigan my civil
rights were violated over and over again and that continues to this very
day!
On September 17 2015 there was a civil rights onslaught against the rights
of PWD!
That continues to this very day.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2017 5:38 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Disabled Protesters Just Showed Senate Democrats
How It's Done
Disabled Protesters Just Showed Senate Democrats How It's Done
Friday, June 23, 2017
By Kelly Hayes, Truthout | Op-Ed
A disabled demonstrator is dragged from her wheelchair outside of the
offices of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as people gathered to
protest Medicaid cuts, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, June 22, 2017.
(Photo: Doug Mills / The New York Times)
In a moment that profoundly encapsulated what the Trumpcare is all about,
more than 40 people, including disabled protesters, were dragged from a
Senate office hallway in Washington, DC on Thursday, leaving streaks of
blood on the hallway floor. The scene was deeply disturbing, but it's one we
should all feel compelled to confront, because it is the truth of what 24
million people could be up against, as of next week.
The protest was organized by ADAPT, a group focused on the direct-action
efforts of disabled people. The group noted in its press release that the
action was staged on the 18th anniversary of Olmstead v. L.C., a Supreme
Court decision that affirmed the right of disabled people to live in the
community. As the die-in commenced, outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell's office, participants chanted, "I'd rather go to jail than die
without Medicaid."
Forty-three people were arrested, shortly after the GOP finally released the
text of a bill that predictably outlined provisions that would destroy or
end the lives of a great many people. The hallway strewn with empty
wheelchairs, after disabled protesters were dragged from the premises, stood
as a gut-wrenching reminder of what's at stake over the next week. The
courage of those who were removed from that hallway on Thursday was a
reminder of what this moment demands of us.
But here's the thing: The majority of those making sacrifices, and taking
chances, are those who can least afford to do so: disenfranchised people,
disabled people and those living on a fixed income. Have we chosen to be a
society where, across the board, those most impacted by the issues we claim
to care about are solely responsible for their own survival? Have we become
so consumed by the American cult of self-oriented politics that we're
incapable of fighting for each other's lives? If so, we have rendered
ourselves incapable of forming any front wide or strong enough to save
anyone.
So, as we make demands of the senators who have a voice in what happens
next, let's remember to demand that they also answer these tough questions,
both in words and in action. After watching those disabled individuals being
dragged from their wheelchairs, chanting as they were hauled from their
legislative halls of decision, the question screaming in my mind was both
rageful and clear: Where are the Democratic senators who have proudly dubbed
themselves "The Resistance"?
Last year, Democratic Congress members sat in on the House floor in an
effort to bring a law about gun control to a vote, in the wake of the Pulse
nightclub shooting. The bill at issue would have had no significant impact
on gun violence in the US, but the gesture was nonetheless applauded as
having signified that our elected representatives were "doing something."
It's time to make clear that the broad category of "something" is not
enough.
Stating one's position in opposition to Trumpcare is not enough.
Symbolically holding the Senate floor on Monday was not enough.
Voting against the bill is not enough.
These senators have the opportunity to throw themselves in the path of
what's coming, and they should be held to a standard of resistance that is
commensurate with the harm with which we are all being threatened.
As I reflect on the chanting and singing of House Democrats, who mocked
their Republican opponents as Trumpcare passed the House, I am reminded of
the reality of US politics: Those in power think it's a game, and they think
it's a joke. If they thought otherwise, they would be throwing down as hard
as disabled people did in the Senate hallways on Thursday.
We all have roles to play, and some of us have numerous roles to play. We
can make phone calls and apply pressure through direct action, rallies,
vigils and more. We can make ourselves heard in any number of venues, if our
voices are forceful. But when we call Democratic senators, what is our
demand? It can't be limited to their votes. If they want a place in history
that removes them from this crime against marginalized people, they must
engage in genuine resistance. They have much less to lose by doing so than
many of us. They would be handled much more gently by police for sitting in,
blocking traffic, or nearly any other stunt or action they might pull, and
they have been duly elected by the people to protect our interests.
I don't believe in this system, and I expect very little from politicians,
but expectations cannot govern demands if we have any hope of seeing justice
in this world. There is no moral position, in the face of this legislation,
but resistance and obstruction -- and after what happened Thursday, any
senator that doesn't embrace resistance and obstruction should be ashamed.
No one should be allowed to say they are acting in solidarity with the
marginalized while enjoying a secure position of comfort and safety. There
is simply no excuse for that level of submission to "the order of things."
I don't say this with any lack of awareness about the vast distinctions
between Democrats. Some have expressed a strong belief in health care as a
human right. Some have even taken to the streets, at some point in their
lives. But what I am saying to you right now, is that even you admire those
people, it must be made clear to them that, in this moment, talk is cheap.
There was blood streaked across the floor outside their offices on Thursday
-- the blood of disabled people -- and that calls for more than a
verbalization of solidarity. It is a challenge being leveled by those living
in the margins. It is a bar that's been set, and we have every right to
demand that they follow the lead of those brave individuals.
And while we are on the subject of bravery, I want to speak to what that
word means, in a time when people sometimes conflate a statement of belief
with concrete action.
There is a reason we refer to brave people as having the courage of their
convictions, rather than the courage of their beliefs. There is nothing
inherently courageous about our beliefs or positions. Our beliefs can be
tucked away, to afford us safety, or bandied about in settings where they
prove more fashionable. Your belief in my right to survive is unimpressive
unless your actions back up that belief.
Your political perspective, by itself, is about as relevant as what I had
for breakfast -- which, by the way, was nothing.
Our actions in the world define us, and until our convictions are tested,
our words are purely theoretical, and establish nothing about who we are in
the world. So, when you call your Democratic senators, remind them of that.
Remind them that their obligations are not limited to obstructive
parliamentary maneuvers -- which we should all encourage -- but also
encompass the demands of a higher law, one that defines our view of
humanity. That higher law, grounded in fundamental human rights, should
inform any notion of why government exists. Because regardless of rules of
procedure, power that cannot justify itself should be upended and undone,
and if those in power will not defend our lives with every tool at their
disposal, then there should be hell to pay.
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
Kelly Hayes
Kelly Hayes is a direct action trainer and a cofounder of The Chicago Light
Brigade and the direct action collective Lifted Voices. She is community
relations associate and a contributing writer at Truthout and her
photography is featured in the "Freedom and Resistance" exhibit of the
DuSable Museum of African American History. Kelly's contribution to the
anthology Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? stems from her work as an
organizer against state violence and her ongoing analysis of movements in
the United States, as featured in Truthout and the blog Transformative
Spaces.
Related Stories
Disability Advocates, Nursing Home Industry Battle for Health Care Dollars
for Aging, Disabled
By Toshio Meronek, Truthout | Report
Trumpcare Is Very Destructive to Both Medicare and Medicaid
By Janine Jackson, FAIR | Interview
Trumpcare 2.0 Is a Death Bill -- It's Time to Fight for the System We Want
By Meaghan LaSala, In These Times | Op-Ed
Show Comments
