Rights
Disability and Rights Articles
The nation of America is facing a number of issues right now, one of which is the issue of whether to, ‘permit,’ gay, lesbian, and transgendered couples (GLTB) to marry. As a C.N.A., I assisted so many fellow people with disabilities; some of whom identified themselves with the gay community. Did it ever bother me somehow? No, why should it have? I have some news for my family members and friends, and I don’t quite know how to tell them; grin…
When I was in my twenties, I was in love with a woman who had two children. One of her children; her daughter, had been traumatized by a man she had a relationship with previously – rather badly so. The little girl was only three years old; she clearly had PTSD, and also had herpes. At age early-twenties, I knew only compassion for the woman I was with and her children. I was working as a C.N.A., but also for a local bakery on the side at the time.
In criticizing the social model of persons with disabilities, it is important to remember that the issues related to the obstacles faced by white men who use wheelchairs are not the only issues to be examined. Persons with disabilities come from every race, class, gender and cultural background. Work aimed at understanding the diversity within the population of people who have a disability is not being done at the pace needed to ensure inclusion of these people in society. Disability, aside from race, class, gender and cultural issues, is a topic filled with diversity.
There are many kinds of leaders in the world today, including leaders who are transformational, inspirational and charismatic. Leadership is vital for disability culture, and for the well-being of persons with disabilities who might otherwise be left out of society. In this portion of my paper I approach leadership and disability.
Disability culture has several transformational leaders who can be inspirational, charismatic and intellectual. In this part of my paper I present three disability culture leaders; Ed Roberts, Justin Dart, and Laura Hershey. All three of these leaders are highly respected in the disability community.
Cpl. Matthew Bradford was injured while on duty in Iraq. A roadside bomb exploded underneath him, and as a result of his injuries he is now a double amputee and has lost his eyesight. He spent several years at the Center for the Intrepid, a privately-funded and cutting-edge rehabilitation center where he learned how to walk again using prosthetic legs. Mathew also learned how to navigate without his vision.
Despite the signing of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, accessible communities are not a reality. The Community Choice Act has not been achieved under Health Care Reform. Unemployment of People with Disabilities remains at a level that would find nondisabled persons rioting in the streets of America.
The Journal Sentinal Online of Milwaukee, Wisconsin has presented an article concerning people with mental health disorders in the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex. A watchdog group has reviewed patient files and found that out of the seventeen people in the facility's care they reviewed, ten of them had improper sexual contact with others, while five of them were sexually assaulted at the complex during the last half of 2009.
