The Daily Item: Union officials address psych worries

The Daily Item: Union officials address psych worries

Discrimination is a mask that covers many faces. Always behind the mask one finds ignorance and fear. What do they have to be afraid of? The answer to that question is difference. Not being just alike, not exactly the same. Kids served by this unit have a disability, a psychiatric disability.

Fortunately for them there is a chance to be cured of this disability. Many of us wish we were so lucky. But the services have to be there.

MORE THAN JUST A SYMBOL

I was there as a witness in my new capacity as a member of the new Lynn Disability Commission. I commented on this historic day in my previous day. Scooping the ITEM once again. It has also been brought to my attention by at least one person that there was some confusion over my use of satire.

So in the interest of absolute clarity, I will be serious for a moment. I warn you don't think I am going to make this a habit.

The symbolism attached to this act is overwhelming. This acknowledgement is the beginning of our acceptance into full participation in the city of Lynn. The simple hoisting of a piece of cloth will not bring down all barriers or end discrimination. If only it were that easy.

What it does do is lay a foundation of respect for the rights of the disabled and the realization that we are citizens too, full citizens. As the late Ted Kennedy said, "the work continues, the dream lives on".

Lots of people worked tirelessly to bring us to this point, the actual number is too long to list here. Still I would like to acknowledge the leadership of Mayor Judith Flanigan Kennedy who has often been a victim in my other reporting for the LYNN SCHOOL WATCH. She stepped
up to the plate and put all the rhetoric into action. THANK YOU!

The Daily Item: Lynn honors disabled through flag-raising ceremony

FLYING THE FLAG

Boy, the room was HOT. I was sweating profusely, kind of like politicians on election day. Not elected but appointed, I got to attend my first politically staged as a new member of the Lynn Disability Commission event for the raising of the North Shore Independent Living Center's flag. Yes, it was a choreographed event designed to get maximum media coverage to benefit self serving politicians who want to get every vote. Timing this to celebrate the American's With Disability's Act's 21st anniversary was not an accident.

Do I feel exploited? Absolutely. Am I incensed, angry, even outraged? Are you kidding me? Not only does the fact that some politicians respect us disabled people enough they think it would be to there benefit to take advantage of us, there was also free food. You can't change the rules until they let you get in the game.

LISTEN TO THIS!

Do you hear what I hear? The sounds of silence. No I'm not talking about an old Simon and Garfunkel song. I wish I was. I'm talking about our crosswalk lights. In the nearby towns of Salem and Swampscott (at least by Vinnen Square mall) I am serenaded by somewhat less than  lyrical voice instructing me when it is safe to cross the street. I would be nice to hear some tunes from Lynn. It's a matter of R-E-S-P-E-C-T (and safety too).

DUTY CALLS OR WAS IT THE MAYOR

Got a call from the Mayor's office, my first official duty as a member of the Lynn Disability Commission, a flag rising at high noon tomorrow. I'm psyched.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED?

Sidewalks. We all suffer for their their disrepair. If one has mobility issues just traveling a few feet over a trail of shattered concrete can be difficult, agonizing, even life threatening. A curb cut at the corner does little good if the path between them is a dangerous adventure.

Let's see who suffers from the lack of attention paid to these pedestrian byways. Surely the disabled, the "walking wounded" so to speak, but also the elderly and anyone else who stands on two feet or uses some kind of assistive device, like wheelchairs, walkers, or BABY CARRIAGES. 


WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!

Why Can't I Vote There?

I received a response the other day to my part of a class action lawsuit against the city of Lynn for closing down the Ford School polling location in 2004 for reasons of non-compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). One would think that I should have been overjoyed to see the voting rights of the disabled treated with such respect and sensitivity. Or were they?

You would think the remaining locations would be violation free. My personal inspection of all eight remaining polling places found the opposite to be true. Every polling station had some violation. So does that mean we should close down every other place?

The spirit of ADA is not confrontational. As a community, we disabled have been oppressed too long and we have learned from great examples of past discrimination that real change does not come from the point of a sword but instead from the point of a pen especially when used in a ballot box.

So it infuriates me when the ADA legislation is perverted to be used as a justification for a possibly dubious task. This law is meant to be one of accommodation and participation, not one of retribution and retaliation. ADA is not just to protect the disabled minority, everyone at some time in their lives will have the opportunity to benefit from the realities of its enforcement.

Failures to enact this legislation because of solely financial reasons is unacceptable. The purpose of this legislation was to insure civil rights, equal rights. You can't put a price on that.

FROM LYNN SCHOOL WATCH: APPOINTMENT CONFIRMED

DO I GET A BADGE?

Well, I guess it is official. After hearing that my name was brought up before council Tuesday night, I received a letter of appointment to the LYNN DISABILITY COMMISSION from Mayor Kennedy. I'd like to thank her for her confidence in me and I want to assure her that I intend to work to make this commission one that the city can be proud of.

Between this and my election to TREASURER of SPED/PAC, I should be in a good position to fight for the full educational rights of all the students with disabilities, not just the poor ones who write poetry.

About that badge, I really want one. I even came up with a design: a wheelchair with crutches crossed like swords underneath.

JUST GETTING BY

Someone has asked me to write about how difficult it is for the disabled to get around the sidewalks when people inconsiderately park their cars on the sidewalks. Let me ask how those same drivers would feel if we left our MOBILITY DEVICES piled up in the street. How funny is it now?

Guess what? It's not all about walkers and wheelchairs. The key word is MOBILITY. Everyone at various times in their life will need some sort of mechanical aid. Forget crutches and canes, I'm talking about BABY CARRIAGES

When it comes to MOBILITY,  we all share the same issues.


NOW HOW ABOUT THOSE CURB CUTS!

An American Celebration

Some important birthdays are coming up this month. Yeah the big one, everybody knows on the 4th. It is celebrated with fireworks and cookouts. Most everyone attends the party. A chorus of "America The Beautiful" is heard in concert with "Happy Birthday". Hot Dogs for everyone.

Still another milestone will be celebrated this month. The "Americans With Disabilities Act" will turn 21. For the average person that means he or she can go anywhere. For the disabled that truly "American" rite of passage is not necessarily true. Sometimes there are barriers that just that just a picture ID won't be enough to allow them entrance.

To get those barriers removed, we as the disabled have to voice our concerns but in order to be heard we have to speak the right language, VOTE. That way, you don't have to use words.