Editor's Column
by
Tim Benjamin
The documentary, “Offense
Taken,” is again highlighted in Access Press. The collaboration
involved in creating and distributing this documentary has proven
to be phenomenal. I think of myself as a pretty aware person with
respect to recognizing discrimination. But “Offense Taken” opened
my eyes to the hurtful language that I use in my communications.
That’s
one measure of the importance of this film—that even those
of us who think of ourselves as pretty well-informed on what hurtful
language is, get a wake-up call. I know that everyone who sees this
documentary will re-examine their language and how they use it, and
what thoughts lie behind it. But the other power I see in this film
is how it demonstrates what a few people committed to create change
can accomplish. Best of all, it was put together by folks “in
our own backyard,” and many of you will recognize them. By
next month, Access Press will offer a way for you to see the documentary
on your own—it will change the way you think about a lot of
things. I’d like to thank everyone who was involved in creating
this documentary, and for allowing Access Press to be involved. Great
job!
Also, don’t miss Access Press assistant editor, Jane McClure,
whose article, “Hall
of Shame,” appears in this issue.
McClure has put together a summary of several prominent films that
have reflected badly on the disability community. If you have any
more films to add, or if you’d like to comment on any of the
films that Jane writes about here, please send in your comments and
your suggestions. Unfortunately, we expect that the Hall of Shame
will expand.
Mai Thor is sharing
with us her journey to parenthood. Mai is due to give birth to
her and her partner’s first child. Many of
you may know Mai, and those of you who do, will recognize her voice
in her journal. If you don’t yet know Mai, I urge you to read
her journal and get to know a pretty fabulous woman and her sharp
wit and in-your-face attitude about life. I know you’ll enjoy
reading about something that isn’t written about much: disability
and pregnancy. I want to thank Mai Thor for sharing this intimate
part of her life and we wish her and her child the greatest joy on
his or her birth day.
Our Congressional survey
responses are very interesting; please take the time to read them,
as they were written for the readers of Access Press. As for any
of the candidates who did not reply, you can contact them or the
Secretary of State’s office to
ask them what their responses are to your own questions (and maybe
why they didn’t respond to the disability community newspaper).
If we receive any late responses, we’ll post them on our web
site. We appreciate very much the responsiveness of the candidates
that replied: thank you!
In the middle of September,
an International Code Convention (ICC) will be held in the Twin
Cities. I know what you’re thinking:
What’s the ICC? Well, read and you’ll see the
proposed changes on the degree
of slope being suggested for the residential
ramps of the future. I was at a recent demonstration on the different
angles of ramps, and I invited two of my good friends, Bill and Joen
Overby. They’re a retired couple in very good health. Bill
plays softball on a regular basis, and Joen is an avid walker. They
both had a very difficult time pushing one another up and down these
proposed new ramp slopes. Thanks to all the folks involved for bringing
this to our attention.
As for the political
conventions, all the fun is over and both major parties now have
nominees. The Republican National Convention was held here in St.
Paul and many journalists, including Amy Goodman from “Democracy
Now,” were arrested. I don’t know
how to defend the Police Department for the arrests. In fact, I don’t
want to defend them. They were wrong! St Paul, Minneapolis, and Minnesota
came off well in the eyes of the national media, and that’s
a great thing. We do live in a wonderful place. But the media didn’t
give enough attention to the ways in which people’s legal rights
to demonstrate were quashed—from the planning phases right
through to being rounded up on bridges and being arrested for being
in the wrong place at the wrong time. We can do better than that. ![end of story bullet]()
