I can't say that I have ever had a cop do it, but on numerous occasions
I have been accused of faking my blindness.
___
Carl Sagan
“Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder
and awe. Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to
nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will
prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront
the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the
Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will
penetrate its deepest mysteries.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos
On 8/20/2020 9:54 PM, Frank Ventura wrote:
Miriam, I think this was a white guy but that misses the point. Listen to what
he says. He clearly said that the cop at the jail didn't believe he was a
quadriplegic. By denying a disabled person's disability a person is guilty of
completely dismissing the disabled person at all. Can you imagine if someone
went up to a woman and said they don't believe they are actually a woman or
going up to a black person and telling them to prove they are black? No one
would dare strip either of those groups of their very identity but when it
comes to the disabled we are always put in positions of proving our very basic
identity as disabled folks.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2020 9:47 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: If Joe Biden Rejects His Progressive Base, Trump
Will Win
Ah, but he was in jail, and is he black? So he wasn't a white blind guy
walking along peacefully with a white cane. If he's black, it isn't the
disability that caused them to treat him that way. It's that he's black. To the
cops, the disability was just incidental.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2020 9:35 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: If Joe Biden Rejects His Progressive Base, Trump
Will Win
Miriam, you can't sell that. The disabled don't have a cool marketing movement like "me
too" or "black lives matter".
Everyone has seen the hash tag #metoo on Twitter; everyone has seen the video
of George Floyd being murdered but how many people have seen this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1k-wMFiYs8
The disabled need to unify and market ourselves. Sadly, the blindness
organizations are not a friend to cross disability issues.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2020 6:08 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] If Joe Biden Rejects His Progressive Base, Trump
Will Win
Do you know what minority group is never mentioned? The disabled.
Miriam
Published on
Thursday, August 20, 2020
byCommon Dreams
If Joe Biden Rejects His Progressive Base, Trump Will Win He could pave the way for
another Donald Trump victory in the "the most crucial election in human
history."
byAmy Goodman, Denis Moynihan
"If Joe Biden ignores, demoralizes or actively alienates his progressive base, he could pave
the way for another Donald Trump victory," writes the authors. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty
Images) "If Joe Biden ignores, demoralizes or actively alienates his progressive base, he
could pave the way for another Donald Trump victory," writes the authors. (Photo: Win
McNamee/Getty Images)
During the official roll call at the virtual Democratic National Convention on
Tuesday, representatives from 57 states and territories declared their delegate
totals for Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, each from an iconic setting
highlighting their region. Native American delegates from the Dakotas and New
Mexico greeted viewers in their indigenous languages.
African American delegates spoke from Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington,
DC and the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
The sweeping celebration of the Democratic Party's diversity, however, also highlighted
the party's fracture between its centrist establishment and its emerging progressive
wings. Yes, all the delegations enthusiastically declared Joe Biden "the next
president of the United States." But, Bernie Sanders' delegate total of 1,151,
compared to Biden's 3,558, indicates the persistence of a significant ideological divide.
Two voices from the progressive wing were granted several minutes of airtime in
Tuesday night's program: Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortéz and
Medicare-for-All activist Ady Barkan.
Ocasio-Cortéz, widely known as AOC, transformed Democratic Party politics with
her 2018 primary upset over ten-term incumbent Joe Crowley, demonstrating the
power of grassroots organizing coupled with progressive policy positions to
energize a young, diverse electorate.
"Good evening, bienvenidos and thank you to everyone here today endeavoring towards a better,
more just future for our country and our world," AOC said, opening her pre-recorded, speaking
slot for which she was allotted 60 seconds (she used 95 seconds). She continued, thanking the
"mass people's movement working to establish 21st century social, economic and human rights,
including guaranteed healthcare, higher education, living wages and labor rights for all people in
the United States.striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization,
misogyny and homophobia and to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign
policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past; a movement that realizes the
unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at
the expense of long-term stability for the many, and who organized a historic grassroots campaign
to reclaim our democracy, in a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for
deep, systemic solutions to our crises of mass evictions, unemployment, and lack of
healthcare."
Ady Barkan's statement was also pre-recorded, for another reason: he is dying
from ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. A Yale-trained Israeli-American lawyer
and activist, Barkan was diagnosed in 2016 at the age of 32, suffering
increasing nerve degeneration, muscle atrophy, and paralysis. He can no longer
speak, so composes his speeches in advance, using a synthetic, computer voice.
"In the midst of a pandemic, nearly 100 million Americans do not have sufficient health
insurance. And even good insurance does not cover essential needs like long-term care," Barkan
said. "Our loved ones are dying in unsafe nursing homes, our nurses are overwhelmed and
unprotected, and our essential workers are treated as dispensable. In the richest country in
history.we do not guarantee this most basic human right. Everyone living in America should get the
healthcare they need, regardless of employment status or ability to pay."
Ady Barkan advocated for Medicare-for-All without naming it, though he usually does,
perhaps since Joe Biden has vowed to veto any Medicare-for-All bill that reaches his desk
if he becomes president. Shortly after Barkan's address aired, he tweeted, "We need
to elect Joe Biden to take the next step towards Medicare For All. After November 4th?
We're going to put a bill on his desk."
Will the Democratic Party spurn the demands of its younger and increasingly
diverse progressive wing? They will try to.
This week, the Democratic National Committee quietly dropped its pledge to eliminate
subsidies and tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry, saying it appeared in this year's
draft platform "in error"-despite appearing in the
2016 platform and being supported by both Biden and his running mate, Vice
Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Then, the Biden campaign denounced respected Palestinian-American Muslim organizer Linda
Sarsour, after she appeared on a livestream of a Muslim Delegates and Allies Assembly
side-event to the DNC. Sarsour has publicly fought against racism, xenophobia,
Islamophobia, and antisemitism. She also supports the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions
movement for Palestinian rights. A Biden spokesperson said Biden "obviously condemns
her views and opposes BDS."
Ady Barkan fired back on Twitter in solidarity: "I say this as a Jew and an Israeli
citizen.the Biden campaign issued a vile and dishonest statement against my beloved
sister Linda Sarsour, a fierce advocate for justice and freedom, and a leading antiracist
and organizer against antisemitism. The Biden campaign must retract and apologize."
If Joe Biden ignores, demoralizes or actively alienates his progressive base, he could
pave the way for another Donald Trump victory, in what public intellectual Noam Chomsky
has called "the most crucial election in human history."
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman is the host of "Democracy Now!," a daily international TV/radio
news hour airing on 1,100 stations in North America. She was awarded the
2008 Right Livelihood Award, dubbed the
