Planet of the Blind

Highgate Cemetery, London

"Why are you taking us to the cemetery, Professor?"

I recalled D.H. Lawrence saying: "I like to try new things so I can reject them."

"So you can see how the Victorians pictured their place in history," I said.

Ravens were sitting atop Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s tomb.

"They buried him with a little bell, in case he should wake up and need rescuing," I said.

"Karl Marx didn’t get a little bell, and you’ll notice there are no birds on his tomb." I said.

"George Eliot doesn’t have any birds either, and look, her tomb is sinking. That’s because they buried her with all her books." I said.

"How do you know her tomb is sinking if you can’t see?" asks a girl.

"Because I read the books," I said.

You could hear a day laborer spading up wet earth beside a fallen stone.

S.K.

We’re lucky to be living in Worthington, OH. Or should I say, we’re lucky to be selling a house in Worthington, OH. After one month on the market and believe it or not, two showings, we’re in contract.

Our realtor was very optimistic. "Houses are still selling in Worthington" he said. He was right. We happen to be in the right place at the wrong time.

My heart goes out to all those people who have their own plans stalled by a lousy real estate market. Monica Moshenko, host of Disability News & Views Radio Show, and her son Alex are trying to sell their house in upstate New York. They have ambitious travel plans to tour the US in an RV as they take "the pulse of America and the largest minority in America — people with disabilities." They are ready to go but won’t until the house sells.

Monica, Alex: Steve and I hope things fall into place for you soon.

And that goes for the rest of America on the move. Or hoping to be soon…

As for me, it looks like I’m Iowa bound as of December 5th. My husband is waiting patiently for me there. Soon, honey, soon.

~ Connie

Flat World Blues

What if the world was flat? Forget Columbus for a minute. Certainly you should forget Magellan.

In the flat world gravity would have a different effect so the people and animals and "things" would also have to be two dimensional. In effect, everyone would be like an upright, walking stingray. Or one of those card board cut out Bill Clinton or George W. Bush figurines that the tourist photographers always seem to have in plentiful supply in Washington, DC.

The flat world would have lots of problems: there wouldn’t be any airplanes and people would have to get around on the backs of flat donkeys.

Of course everybody in the flat world would be nostalgic for the 3D earth except for American school children who wouldn’t be affected. The blackboard would be the same. The teachers would still be there.

Since flat people can only move sideways Congress wouldn’t be affected.

Wars would be much harder to fight. Soldiers would have to throw razor blade Frisbees like that guy in the old James Bond film. And of course because people could only move sideways, throwing the Frisbee would be a matter of "blind luck".

As a creative writing teacher I sometimes tell my students that too much imagination can hurt a human being. In general we tend to opine that there isn’t enough imagination in our world.

But human imagination is often perilous. There are lots of bad ideas in the imagination’s house of horrors including eugenics, slavery, child labor, and the assembly line.

I’m no socialist. Don’t take me the wrong way. A flat world would likely have its own social inequities. In a flat world the really thin people would be the most powerful ones because they could get around faster. And there would be no incentive to develop your soul. (The soul is round according to all the world’s religions.)

There wouldn’t be any music in a flat world. If you need proof, Joseph Stalin’s favorite record was a 78 rpm recording of wolves.

Now I need more "roundness". I need to put my hands on a sculpture by Brancusi. I need to clutch a chestnut in my hand.

Stay balanced, my friends, stay balanced.

(Balance, by the way, is a requirement in both the flat world and in the round one.)

S.K.

Disability Blog Carnival # 24 Marks 1st Anniversary!

Penny L. Richards started the Disability Blog Carnival one year ago and this month celebrates the occasion at her place, Disability Studies, Temple U.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate her for all her continuing hard work and dedication to this "community" of bloggers. Bravo, Penny. Bravo! We thank you for the memories!

And now, without further ado…Welcome to the first anniversary edition of the Disability Blog Carnival!

Cross-posted at [with]tv

Clipart above shows blue and yellow confetti across which is the word "Congratulations!" spelled out in red letters.

Grammar on White Cane Safety Day

Today is "White Cane Safety Day" and the President of the United States has issued the following proclamation.

We do want to take a moment to reflect on the extraordinary achievements of our nation’s blind citizens and to remind Washington that 17 years after the adoption of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is estimated that 70 per cent of the blind remain unemployed in the United States. I applaud President Bush for his proclamation, though as an English professor I can’t resist pointing out that the opening sentence has a subject-predicate agreement problem.

S.K.

Today is White Cane Safety Day

White Cane Safety Day, 2007: Proclamation by the President of the United States

Our country upholds the value of every person, and all Americans deserve an opportunity to realize the American dream. Many citizens who are blind or visually impaired use white canes to achieve greater independence and increase mobility and productivity. On White Cane Safety Day, we celebrate the symbolism of the white cane, and we underscore our dedication to ensuring more individuals have the ability to lead active lives and achieve their personal and professional goals.

My Administration is committed to helping Americans with disabilities live and work with greater freedom. Through the New Freedom Initiative, we are building on the progress of the Americans with Disabilities Act and helping our citizens who are blind or visually impaired gain greater access to the workplace, school, and community life. By working to tear down barriers, we are creating a society where all people are encouraged to reach their full potential and where the promise of our great Nation is accessible for everyone.

The Congress, by joint resolution (Public Law 88-628) approved on October 6, 1964, as amended, has designated October 15 of each year as "White Cane Safety Day."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 15, 2007, as White Cane Safety Day. I call upon public officials, business leaders, educators, and all the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

twelfth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Cross-posted on [with]tv

Thank you, Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, The Ohio State University for bringing this to our attention.

The Wheelchair Runningback

Alright, I admit that I haven’t had enough coffee. Accordingly there are cobwebs in my belfry. But here’s the thing: I go to bed with a disability and when I wake up I still have it. And in turn this means that even in the half awake-half asleep intersection, the state that Edgar Alan Poe admired, I am still blind. I am blind when counting backwards by sevens. I’m blind when I watch the TV.

The experience of disability is invariably the “half-awake-half asleep” World view of Edgar Alan Poe: at once terrifying, revealing, darkly beautiful, unforeseen, foreseeable, sacred and profane, you name it. Disability defies our notion of stable space both in physical and metaphysical terms. Disability is the sore thumb of a saint: it reveals where culture must go if society will be just. And yes, people aren’t ready for it.

I remember being in a meeting some years ago with administrators whose job it was to provide services for the blind. The meeting had something to do with hum drum budgetary matters. I was the only blind person in the group. Everyone was talking about the legal battle between Casey Martin, a professional golfer who had sued the Professional Golfer’s Association over the right to use a golf cart during PGA sanctioned golf matches. Casey Martin won the right to use a motorized cart as a means of getting from one tee to another—a right that was eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices agreed with Martin’s assertion that his disability didn’t prevent him from hitting a golf ball and they disagreed with the PGA’s assertion that allowing Casey Martin to ride from one spot to another would fundamentally alter the nature of the game. I agreed with the Supreme Court on that occasion and I was surprised by the evident distress of the other men in the meeting. They felt that allowing Casey Martin to ride in a golf cart from one fairway to another would radically destroy professional golf.

Continue reading “The Wheelchair Runningback”

"Pillow Angel" Ashley's Surgeon Commits Suicide

No matter what you think about the controversy and the ugly debate surrounding Ashley’s case, this is still stunning, tragic news…and very sad.

Doctor at center of stunting debate kills himself

Daniel Gunther helped parents of disabled girl keep her small
By Linda Dahlstrom
SEATTLE – The doctor at the center of a controversial procedure which stunted the growth of a severely disabled girl has committed suicide.

I woke this morning and read the terrible news that Dr. Daniel Gunther committed suicide on September 30.

There are no sufficient words for grief, and no words for the mystery of human suffering. The goal of medicine and indeed, the wish behind all the arts and sciences is to advance the quality of life. I choose to believe that Dr. Gunther stood for this very principle, despite the fact that I adamantly disagree with his decision to proceed with the "Ashley Treatment".

I would also like to believe that the surgical procedure he performed on "Ashley" was, in his mind anyway, conceived as a means of alleviating human suffering. I believe that the surgical procedure was risky and that it was conducted in a most controversial manner, however, controversy can be good for social progress and disagreement is often productive in a free society. That being said, I always feel that the death of someone, particularly by suicide, diminishes us all. I grieve for his family and friends.

Monica Moshenko Interviews Howard Renensland, Founder & CEO, [with]tv

Monica Moshenko, host of Disability News & Views Radio Show has interviewed [with]tv Founder and CEO, Howard Renensland. On her website she introduced Howard by writing this:

Howard Renensland, Father, Advocate, Actor and CEO & Founder, [with]tv

[with]tv
is a start-up corporation devoted to providing television and Internet
programming of, by, and for people with disabilities. Driven by his own
experiences the past 22 years advocating for his own daughter Victoria,
Howard found the single most debilitating factor limiting people with
disabilities is not their disability, but their image in mainstream
media. There is no mainstream television channel in the world
addressing the needs of and targeting people with disabilities as
viewers, consumers and participants. Howard resolved to change that by
creating , an inclusive media outlet that defines all people by their
talents and the quality of their stories, rather than by disability; a
place where his daughter Victoria and everyone else can work in a
universally designed workplace with a welcoming, inclusive workforce –
with-tv is born. Listen to this compelling interview with Mr.
Renensland to learn more about with-tv and how you can get involved
now! http://www.with-tv.com Television of, by and for people with
disabilities…..and everyone else.

Mr.
Renensland, President and Founder of [with]tv, has been a professional
actor, writer, director, and teacher for thirty years. He is a member
of Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio
Artists, and Actors Equity Association. Mr. Renensland has appeared in
over 400 television commercials, numerous radio ads, and hundreds of
print ads as well.

LISTEN TO THIS!

Thank you, Monica!

Cross-posted on [with]tv

United Nations Launches New Website re: Rights of Persons with Disabilities

For Distribution:

From: Edoardo Bellando [mailto:bellando@un.org]
Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 4:46 PM
Subject: Announcement: new Enable website – www.un.org/disabilities

Dear Friends,

We are pleased to inform you that the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), has launched a new website. The website in English is complete, while the new website in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Russian will be launched in early 2008.

We invite you to visit the new website, and encourage you to update all links to the Enable website from your own organizational websites.

Happy browsing!

Best regards,

Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Please visit the UN Enable Website at:
http://www.un.org/disabilities

Cross-posted on [with]tv