Big NoiseBig NoiseA Blog About Freedom, Justice and Equality. Primarily about disability issues. But it also has articles about other minority and disenfranchised groups including, workers, the oppressed, people of color. Articles
Why We Fight
2007-06-14 04:15:00 This piece is not finished, but I've been itching to get it up (more than any other entry for some strange reason), so I decided to put up the draft.I recently saw the documentary, “Why We Fight ”. It really helped me clarify what we are doing in the Middle East. For over four years we the people, have pressured the White House for an exit strategy in Iraq. We ask for timetables. We want to know when the Iraqis will stand up. And for four years the answer is always the same. We will leave when the mission is completed. The next logical question is, “what is our mission?” Responses are as muddy as the Mississippi. Bush says: the US and allies, “will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime; that time lines are just what the terrorists want; that we cannot cut and run; we must maintain maximum flexibility; and so it goes. Why are we so dissatisfied with the answers? Because they just don’t make sense. The Bush Administration's explanation is unbelievable bec...
Holding on To Our History
2007-06-03 02:43:00 The history of our country is filled with people's struggle and social movements. It is the Smithsonian Institute's mission to collect, preserve and interpret that history. Its collections give us a way to understand the experiences and customs of our institutions and the everyday lives of our citizens. The collected artifacts cover the gamut of American history and life. It has the Woolworth's lunch counter from Greensboro, North Carolina. It was at that counter young students, black and white challenged the Jim Crow laws of the south. You can see Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, Archie and Edith Bunker's chairs, a section of the Aids Quilt, and Lewis and Clark’s compass. It also has Ed Robert's wheelchair.Ed Roberts is one of our early Heros. At the University of California at Berkeley, in the tumultuous 60s, Ed and a group of students, The Rolling Quads, got organized. Ed understood that the struggle for independence was similar to other liberation movements... it was a civil ri... More About: History , Holding , Hold , Tory , Holding On
Holding on To Our History
2007-06-03 02:43:00 The history of our country is filled with people's struggle and social movements. It is the Smithsonian Institute's mission to collect, preserve and interpret that history. Its collections give us a way to understand the experiences and customs of our institutions and the everyday lives of our citizens. The collected artifacts cover the gamut of American history and life. It has the Woolworth's lunch counter from Greensboro, North Carolina. It was at that counter young students, black and white challenged the Jim Crow laws of the south. You can see Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, Archie and Edith Bunker's chairs, a section of the Aids Quilt, and Lewis and Clark’s compass. It also has Ed Robert's wheelchair.Ed Roberts is one of our early Heros. At the University of California at Berkeley, in the tumultuous 60s, Ed and a group of students, The Rolling Quads, got organized. Ed understood that the struggle for independence was similar to other liberation movements... it was a civil ri... More About: History , Holding , Tory , Holding On
Justifying the Unimaginable
2007-05-18 14:55:00 Note: This article appeared in the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois's newsletter, The Catlyst, June, 2007.The term “Medical Ethics” refers to a relatively new field of study that examines values as it applies to medical care. Hospitals ask medical ethicists to determine who deserves to live and who dies. The name may be even more oxymoronic than “military intelligence”, considering some of their recent decisions. Their "moral compass" leads them to say a life with disability is worth living. What else can you believe when they promote euthanasia and infanticide... it is bigotry at its core. Deadly Medicine In 1999, members of the Institutional Ethics Committee at Baylor University helped develop a Futile Care Law. Their actions have caused the death of many people with disabilities. Today in Texas, eighteen month old Emilio Gonzales is about to have his plug pulled. The medical establishment is going to end his life. Why? Emilio will never be ...
Justifying the Unimaginable
2007-05-18 14:55:00 Note: This article appeared in the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois's newsletter, The Catlyst, June, 2007.The term “Medical Ethics” refers to a relatively new field of study that examines values as it applies to medical care. Hospitals ask medical ethicists to determine who deserves to live and who dies. The name may be even more oxymoronic than “military intelligence”, considering some of their recent decisions. Their "moral compass" leads them to say a life with disability is worth living. What else can you believe when they promote euthanasia and infanticide... it is bigotry at its core. Deadly Medicine In 1999, members of the Institutional Ethics Committee at Baylor University helped develop a Futile Care Law. Their actions have caused the death of many people with disabilities. Today in Texas, eighteen month old Emilio Gonzales is about to have his plug pulled. The medical establishment is going to end his life. Why? Emilio will never be ... More About: The U
And the Award Goes to... Kevorkian?
2007-05-12 16:52:00 Note: This opinion first appeared in the State Journal-Register on May, 7, 2000 as a guest editorial. The struggle for parity in healthcare continues. Consider what is happening at Children's Hospital of Austin where 17-month-old Emilio Gonzales, who is on a respirator. The establishment say its medical efforts are futile and the child is suffering. It invoked a state law that allows hospitals to end life-sustaining treatment over the parents desire to keep him on the respirator.Excuse me? Even the academics at the Gleitsman Foundation and Harvard University should be able to call this one… it’s a no-brainer, a walk in the park, a proverbial piece of cake. Unless, of course, being a serial killer is your idea of “activism”. The Gleitsman Foundation Activist Award is dedicated to the memory of Michael Schwerner, a passionate civil rights activist who was kidnapped and murdered in Mississippi (along with James Chaney and Andrew Goodman) in 1964 Each year the foundation hon... More About: Kevorkian , Goes
And the Award Goes to... Kevorkian?
2007-05-12 16:52:00 Note: This opinion first appeared in the State Journal-Register on May, 7, 2000 as a guest editorial. The struggle for parity in healthcare continues. Consider what is happening at Children's Hospital of Austin where 17-month-old Emilio Gonzales, who is on a respirator. The establishment say its medical efforts are futile and the child is suffering. It invoked a state law that allows hospitals to end life-sustaining treatment over the parents desire to keep him on the respirator.Excuse me? Even the academics at the Gleitsman Foundation and Harvard University should be able to call this one… it’s a no-brainer, a walk in the park, a proverbial piece of cake. Unless, of course, being a serial killer is your idea of “activism”. The Gleitsman Foundation Activist Award is dedicated to the memory of Michael Schwerner, a passionate civil rights activist who was kidnapped and murdered in Mississippi (along with James Chaney and Andrew Goodman) in 1964 Each year the foundation hon... More About: Kevorkian , The A , Goes
We’re Not Good Judges of What’s Hurtful to Others
2007-05-12 16:05:00 Note: This opinion was originally published April 28, 2001 as a guest editorial in the State-Journal Register, my hometown newspaper. It took another six years for the University of Illinois to ban the Chief. The reasoning they used...University was losing too much money because of NCAA penalties related to using racist mascots. See Chris Britt,'s political cartoon at the end of this article to see how the paper responded when they finally got rid of the Chief. We just don’t get it. By “we” I mean Americans of European ancestry. We have a hard time understanding what all the fuss is about. We believe Chief Illiniwek is really cool. We say he is revered. We say he’s not offensive at all, but a good symbol of Native Americans. I used to live down the street from Webber Borchers, the first Chief Illiniwek and former state assemblyman. The colorful old cuss used to revel us with stories about the character he created in 1929 when he was a history major at the Univers... More About: Judges , Good
We’re Not Good Judges of What’s Hurtful to Others
2007-05-12 16:05:00 Note: This opinion was originally published April 28, 2001 as a guest editorial in the State-Journal Register, my hometown newspaper. It took another six years for the University of Illinois to ban the Chief. The reasoning they used...University was losing too much money because of NCAA penalties related to using racist mascots. See Chris Britt,'s political cartoon at the end of this article to see how the paper responded when they finally got rid of the Chief. We just don’t get it. By “we” I mean Americans of European ancestry. We have a hard time understanding what all the fuss is about. We believe Chief Illiniwek is really cool. We say he is revered. We say he’s not offensive at all, but a good symbol of Native Americans. I used to live down the street from Webber Borchers, the first Chief Illiniwek and former state assemblyman. The colorful old cuss used to revel us with stories about the character he created in 1929 when he was a history major at the Univers... More About: Judges , Good
Ralph Nader Did Not Steal My Vote
2007-04-29 03:48:00 Note: I wrote this just days before the '04 election as a guest editorial in my hometown newspaper. I'm sorry Bush won. But I'm not sorry I voted for Nade r. The Democrats have moved back to the left a little, very little. But, at least it's in the right direction. I hope Dennis Kocinich stays in long enough for me to vote for him in the primary.I got mail; Three e-mails in as many days. Each one foretold the end of the world as we know it, if I cast my vote for Ralph Nader for President. God, I hope so! Each email listed reasons why Nader is stealing votes from Al Gore and just how terrible that is for the world at-large and the USA in particular. Well, I’ve one thing to say about that. Ralph Nader did not steal my vote. He earned it; and Al Gore lost it by moving so far to the right. Al and W. agreed 40 times in the second debate. Wow. My ex and I didn’t agree that much in a month let alone one night! Maybe they should consider a long term relationship. ... More About: Vote , Steal
Ralph Nader Did Not Steal My Vote
2007-04-29 03:48:00 Note: I wrote this just days before the '04 election as a guest editorial in my hometown newspaper. I'm sorry Bush won. But I'm not sorry I voted for Nade r. The Democrats have moved back to the left a little, very little. But, at least it's in the right direction. I hope Dennis Kocinich stays in long enough for me to vote for him in the primary.I got mail; Three e-mails in as many days. Each one foretold the end of the world as we know it, if I cast my vote for Ralph Nader for President. God, I hope so! Each email listed reasons why Nader is stealing votes from Al Gore and just how terrible that is for the world at-large and the USA in particular. Well, I’ve one thing to say about that. Ralph Nader did not steal my vote. He earned it; and Al Gore lost it by moving so far to the right. Al and W. agreed 40 times in the second debate. Wow. My ex and I didn’t agree that much in a month let alone one night! Maybe they should consider a long term relationship. ... More About: Vote , Steal
Bush & The Salvation Army
2007-04-29 03:38:00 Note: Originally published as a guest editorial in my hometown newspaper, July 2001My husband and I discussed faith‑based initiatives often since President Bush raised the issue. Our neighbors might call it arguing. What they may not understand is that if one cannot not discuss an issue with passion (a.k.a. volume), it isn't worth discussing in the first place. It's not that we're on opposite sides of the issue. We're much closer than that. I'm foursquare against it. Separating church from state is good for religious freedom, and even better for the rest of the freedoms we hold dear. I’m not anti religious, I’m anti moral superiority. He is, or more accurately was, neutral on the question. He believed it could be a good thing if handled correctly. Religious institutions can be closer to the people who need services. What won him over to my position was the Salvation Army document exposed by The Washington Post. The internal and private communique, states t... More About: Salvation Army
Bush & The Salvation Army
2007-04-29 03:38:00 Note: Originally published as a guest editorial in my hometown newspaper, July 2001My husband and I discussed faith‑based initiatives often since President Bush raised the issue. Our neighbors might call it arguing. What they may not understand is that if one cannot not discuss an issue with passion (a.k.a. volume), it isn't worth discussing in the first place. It's not that we're on opposite sides of the issue. We're much closer than that. I'm foursquare against it. Separating church from state is good for religious freedom, and even better for the rest of the freedoms we hold dear. I’m not anti religious, I’m anti moral superiority. He is, or more accurately was, neutral on the question. He believed it could be a good thing if handled correctly. Religious institutions can be closer to the people who need services. What won him over to my position was the Salvation Army document exposed by The Washington Post. The internal and private communique, states t... More About: Salvation Army
People's History Trip: Selma & Montgomery
2007-04-29 03:30:00 Note: This was published originally in my hometown newspaper, Feb. 2004 or 2005. I wanted to contribute to Black History Mont h.I don’t know much about Australian history. I can only speak about it in broad generalities… The British made it a penal colony. They nearly annihilated the aboriginal people who were there before them. They drink Foster’s beer, say things like, “g’day mate” and, they recently hosted the summer Olympics. That’s about it. I could not name a historically significant place or an important date in their history. But, more on that later. A few years ago my husband and I were meandering through the deep-south on our way to New Orleans. We had no specific schedule to follow, no set time to be anywhere. So, when we saw the sign pointing us to Montgomery, Alabama we decided to check the place out. The closer we got, the more excited we became. Montgomery: Where Dr. King rose to international prominence as a civil rights leader; where in... More About: Trip , Selma , Tory
People's History Trip: Selma & Montgomery
2007-04-29 03:30:00 Note: This was published originally in my hometown newspaper, Feb. 2004 or 2005. I wanted to contribute to Black History Mont h.I don’t know much about Australian history. I can only speak about it in broad generalities… The British made it a penal colony. They nearly annihilated the aboriginal people who were there before them. They drink Foster’s beer, say things like, “g’day mate” and, they recently hosted the summer Olympics. That’s about it. I could not name a historically significant place or an important date in their history. But, more on that later. A few years ago my husband and I were meandering through the deep-south on our way to New Orleans. We had no specific schedule to follow, no set time to be anywhere. So, when we saw the sign pointing us to Montgomery, Alabama we decided to check the place out. The closer we got, the more excited we became. Montgomery: Where Dr. King rose to international prominence as a civil rights leader; where in... More About: Trip , Selma , Tory
Close 'em. Once and For All!
2007-04-29 03:23:00 Note: This was originally published in my hometown newspaper. But, I can't remember when. (CRS)In 1865 the Illinois General Assembly gave an order to the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. They were to establish an "Experimental School for the Instruction and Training of Idiots and Feeble-Minded Children". First located in Jacksonville, it was eventually moved to Lincoln and called the "Institution for the Education of Feeble-Minded Children." This is how Lincoln Developmental Center began. It was to provide care, support, training, and education for "mentally deficient children". It had a hospital and shops where the "inmates", as they were called, manufactured brushes, mattresses, and shoes. Inmates also worked on a nearby farm owned and operated by the institution, not unlike the conditions at Big Muddy or other prisons. But, unlike the inmates in the penal system, they were not eligible for parole. From such roots, is it any wonder that there were... More About: Close
I Now Pronounce You...
2007-04-29 03:19:00 Note: This was originally published in my hometown newspaper sometime in 2003.My niece is getting married today. She’s the first of a long line of my nieces and nephews to get married. It’s an exciting time for all of us. But, her marriage is not without family controversy. She fell in love with a man who shares her worldview. They both actively help the poor, work for the disenfranchised, and attack bigotry. For my very conservative Catholic family it has raised a lot of questions. What will it mean for her future? How secure a life will she have? The one consolation they had was that he, like them, was a Catholic. Was. The chief controversy arose when they told their parents they no longer considered themselves to be Catholic. They were not going to be married in the Catholic Church and that was that. My brother and sister-in-law, shrugged their shoulders and said to the rest of us, “This is the man she picked. It’s her decision, now ours’. There are no la... More About: Pronounce , Pron
Parents Get Your S*$&% Together and Drag Your A#*$ to School
2007-04-29 00:10:00 Note: More than 15 years ago I wrote a serious polemic titled, “Pare nt s Get Your Act Together and Take It to School ”. I wanted to outline ideas and examples so parents of children with disabilities could be active participants when planning their child's educational program. I told parents that the law guaranteed parents the right to advocate for specific programs, services, classrooms and technologies that will allow their child to benefit from his/her educational programs. Equal partnership was the overall theme. Well, that was then and this is now, and not much has changed. So it’s time to update it, Mothers from Hell 2 style. I hope you enjoy it. Preparing for an IEP MeetingIf you've been to an IEP (Individualized Educational Purgatory) meeting, you already know that your role is “just the mom and dad." This perception comes from the fact that every school bureaucrat is an expert about your child. They have reinforced your own insecurity as a parent and as ... More About: Drag
It's A Man's World-Dammit!
2007-04-28 23:58:00 Note: Rennatta Frazier, mentioned in this article, was an african-american police officer in Springfield IL, our home. Se was railroaded and fired from the department and later, after this was published in the local paper, found innocent. I work in a female dominated profession. In my office, I work with nine women and zero men. Counting step-children, I have five daughters. We all wish the very best for one another. I’m married to a feminist. His dreams for us often exceed our own. It could be easy for me to believe that sexism is on life support and society is ready to pull the plug. I seldom encounter it in my day-to-day life. But, I know it exists. Lest I forget, a dramatic reminder recently smacked me around. I staffed an exhibit for my agency last week. The exhibit was part of a statewide professional organization with a membership that is about 98% male. I don’t need to say what profession; it doesn’t matter. It would have been the same if it were butch... More About: World , A Man
Baseball Bambina
2007-04-28 23:32:00 Note: I originally wrote this about 20 years ago for a class i was taking. It's been published in several small publications over the years. I still cry with pride about my daughter when I read it.Like many parents of kids with disabilities, I have learned as much from my daughter as I gave to her. She was like a pin-ball wizard… awesome to watch her do her stuff. At age 3 my daughter, Campbell was non-verbal and far behind other children in motor development. For an entire semester she sat in front of a mirror with a tongue depressor in her mouth, learning how to make vowel sounds, the first sounds that babies make when they babble. At six she was able to speak so I could understand her. She was eight when her speech became intelligible enough for strangers to pick up her speech patterns and words. In her sixth year we finally got a diagnosis: mild cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and a few minor labels thrown in just to make life interesting. It was also in... More About: Baseball , Ball , Base
Amanda Baggs: The Many Shapes of Personhood
2007-04-28 23:25:00 Amanda Baggs holds little back when it comes to talking about the lives of people with cognitive disabilities. Amanda is diagnosed as a low functioning person with autism. Despite that label, she learned English, which she describes as her second language. She is using it to tell us about her, her life, her fight for personhood, dignity and justice, not just for herself but for all people who have cognitive disabilities and those who have been dehumanized. In her youtube.com* video and website (amanda.autistics.org) she is spot on, tough and upsetting. Upsetting because I am guilty of her indictment that people do not believe there is a language of autism and as a society we care little to change that. Baggs says: “I find it very interesting by the way, that failure to learn your language is seen as a deficit, but failure to learn my language is seen as natural that people like me are officially as mysterious and puzzling rather than anyone admitting that it is themselves who ar... More About: Shapes , The Man , Amanda
Today’s Health Care System: A Bitter Pill to Swallow
2007-04-28 23:23:00 Note: This was originally published in a Disability Rights newsletter at the end of 2006 or early 2007We have a health care system based on profit. This should scare the beegeebers out of us and stop each and every one of us in our tracks. It's scarier than all the dooms day dogma we hear about on the news. Decisions about the tests used to diagnose us, the drugs we take, the surgeries we need, and every other healthcare service is dictated by the bottom line - on who can line their pockets on our backs. So-called non-profit hospitals and clinics must keep up with their competition by buying the newest high tech machines, specialize in medical cash-cows like cancer, heart disease or birthing centers and then spend millions on advertising why they should have our business. For people with disabilities, it's a double whammy! Not only do we share the same crisis as people without disabilities, but we face institutional care if, god forbid, we cannot purchase the supports we need to ... More About: Health , System , Health Care , Care , Bitter
Side Show TV: Step Right Up for a Look at Disability on the Small Screen
2007-04-28 23:16:00 Note: This was originally published in a Disability Rights Newsletter, Spring 2007Extra Extra! Side show Freaks form superhero team in a new show on Comedy Central! Characters include a blind, anti-Semitic premature baby and conjoined twins. On Boston Legal, Denny Crane is wooing a chain-smoking, magically materializing dwarf. South Park features two characters with disabilities, Jimmy and Timmy. They have also had "special" episodes titled, "Krazy Kripples", and "Helen Keller: The Musical". "Meet the Fooses" is a documentary about your average ordinary family with one exception, they are little people. On TLC, we can tune in weekly to watch the Roloff family, also dwarfs. Apparently, watching little people drive, shop, coach, fight and clean is much more entertaining than watching taller people do it. On the Roloff website, you can vote on where they should take their next trip. Won't that be fun! Let's watch little people navigate white water rafting, or Moscow, or whatever… w... More About: Screen , Show , Small
Bad Rap: Political Correctness
More articles from this author:2007-04-28 22:58:00 Originally published in a Disability Rights newsletter, Spring 2007Growing up I had a cousin nicknamed “Butchie” or “Butchie Baby”. As he grew into adulthood, he asked us to call him by his name, August or Auggie. It was a difficult transition for all of us. Decades later, some still fall back to the old name. Auggie’s request meant he wanted us to see he was no longer a Butchie. He was a man and wanted us to acknowledge that. Every family has similar story. I do not know one person who refused such a request. Yet, on a broader level, this is political correctness and many say it has gone too far. Critics charge that no one can say anything about anyone without offending. As if it’s about offending. Some say it is tyranny to be expected to talk decently about others. They say it’s their right to be politically incorrect. Just Google the phrase “politically correct” and you will see what I mean. Are the names we call others a window to understanding and ack... More About: Political , Political Correctness , Poli , Politic , Rect 1, 2, 3 |
|
 |
|
 |
