Tag: disability

In a few minutes I will be on Talk 910 with Gil Gross. I’ve been on AM 910, a San Francisco station, twice before, once to talk about gender with Gil and once to talk about Jenny McCarthy with Frosty. If you are coming to this post from the Talk 910 listener area, here is … Continue ReadingRadio – Talk 910: The Ethan Saylor Primer

Yesterday, CNN published an essay of mine on the Ethan Saylor case. Following the advice of some friends, I emphasized a classic point from disability studies: We are all, at best, temporarily able bodied. This hook seems to have worked as the piece is receiving a good readership. For new readers, twitter followers, facebook friends. … Continue ReadingCNN: Five reactions to my Ethan Saylor essay

#JusticeForEthan has a petition. If you read my blog, you have probably either signed it or chosen not to do so, so that’s not news. What’s amazing is that it is only 1200 from 300,000. Once, just getting to 1200 would have been an accomplishment, as petitions withered and died. Some of this is because … Continue ReadingThe Voices of Justice for Ethan – nearly 300,000 strong.

Something is happening to the media narrative. Since Saylor died in January, the only people to cover the story were local reporters, especially the people for Washington Post Local (this op-ed from July has a wrap-up of links). This is part of why I tried to write about the story in a way that would … Continue Reading#JusticeForEthan and the Media Narrative continued

A few weeks ago, after writing about Ethan Saylor for The Nation, I received a number of questions about why President Obama didn’t speak out about Saylor’s death the way he did for Trayvon Martin. I argued that these questions were misguided. People get murdered every day, the president weighed in because it became a … Continue ReadingJustice

Today began much the same as yesterday, except we walked out to the bus. Nico has always had a special needs bus, a “short bus,” pick him up, and for the last year it was right in front of our house. We’d watch the neighbor kids gather at the bus stop from our porch, but … Continue ReadingIsolation and Inclusion continued

Today my son started first grade. There was no busing today, just hundreds of parents and kids in their various spots along the school. Nico was happy to walk from the car to school (it was a longish walk due to parking hundreds of parents) and was willing to leave the playground alone, but got … Continue ReadingIsolation and Inclusion

An online conservative on Twitter called Wendy Davis, the Texas state senator, “retard Barbie.” The leading Republican candidate for governor thanked him. Thirty hours later, that candidate noted that he thanks his supporter, but to “stay positive.” This language stops ONLY when people inside a movement stops. I know some of you are Republicans. I … Continue ReadingOn the phrase, “Retard Barbie”