Comments on: thoughts on alex barton and the way we organize http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/ Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:27:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU hourly 1 By: cripchick http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/#comment-2487 cripchick Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:52:06 +0000 http://misscripchick.wordpress.com/?p=266#comment-2487 sanbituranima, thanks for stopping by. i definitely hear what you are saying, i guess i am frusterated not so much at the way we as a community responded to alex barton but the way we always handle these things. (i.e. recently FRIDA, a feminist disability org, held a memorial for a disabled woman who was brutally tortured and killed in her home. they were the only ones who called it ableism, the general media just made it a tragedy.) thank you for calling me out on my website not being fully accessible. i've been playing around w/ CSS for the last hour and haven't figured out how to make it accessible yet. i will ask for some help from other people and hopefully i can get it fixed in the next few days. if i'm not able to change it with this theme, i'll make sure that all future blog entries are in a larger font. sanbituranima, thanks for stopping by. i definitely hear what you are saying, i guess i am frusterated not so much at the way we as a community responded to alex barton but the way we always handle these things. (i.e. recently FRIDA, a feminist disability org, held a memorial for a disabled woman who was brutally tortured and killed in her home. they were the only ones who called it ableism, the general media just made it a tragedy.)

thank you for calling me out on my website not being fully accessible. i’ve been playing around w/ CSS for the last hour and haven’t figured out how to make it accessible yet. i will ask for some help from other people and hopefully i can get it fixed in the next few days. if i’m not able to change it with this theme, i’ll make sure that all future blog entries are in a larger font.

]]> By: sanabituranima http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/#comment-2486 sanabituranima Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:00:57 +0000 http://misscripchick.wordpress.com/?p=266#comment-2486 The reason I didn't use the wrd ableism in my Alex Barto post was that I didn't want to give the impression that bullying is ONLY wrong if it's done against disabled people, or ONLY wrong when it's done in the name of an "ism". I've been in debates before where people argued about whther it was worse for ateacher to be racist/sexist/ableist/whateverist or to just tohate all ther pupils and be vile to all of them. I'm not sure what I think, but I know that both are wrong. By theway, PLEASE can you enlarge the text on your site? The reason I didn’t use the wrd ableism in my Alex Barto post was that I didn’t want to give the impression that bullying is ONLY wrong if it’s done against disabled people, or ONLY wrong when it’s done in the name of an “ism”. I’ve been in debates before where people argued about whther it was worse for ateacher to be racist/sexist/ableist/whateverist or to just tohate all ther pupils and be vile to all of them. I’m not sure what I think, but I know that both are wrong.

By theway, PLEASE can you enlarge the text on your site?

]]> By: secondhandsally http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/#comment-2483 secondhandsally Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:48:31 +0000 http://misscripchick.wordpress.com/?p=266#comment-2483 I think you bring up a very interesting point about internalized ideas about self-worth and what one deserves. In one of the classes I took in college, we read a paper that studied various University's literature on "diversity." The paper argued that this literature, which was mostly aimed at alumni (who presumably are being targeted to contribute to the University), made the case that diversity would expose majority students to the minorities making them better workers. My professor (and the paper) argued that we should acknowledge that trying to make Universities more accessible to minorities was a matter of social justice, not "making things better for the majority." I think people who are being criticized or asked to change have difficulty framing these discussions as "social justice" because to do so means admitting, both to yourself and as an institution that social injustice is occurring and that something needs to be righted. I think some people just don't want to see that. I think you bring up a very interesting point about internalized ideas about self-worth and what one deserves.

In one of the classes I took in college, we read a paper that studied various University’s literature on “diversity.” The paper argued that this literature, which was mostly aimed at alumni (who presumably are being targeted to contribute to the University), made the case that diversity would expose majority students to the minorities making them better workers. My professor (and the paper) argued that we should acknowledge that trying to make Universities more accessible to minorities was a matter of social justice, not “making things better for the majority.”

I think people who are being criticized or asked to change have difficulty framing these discussions as “social justice” because to do so means admitting, both to yourself and as an institution that social injustice is occurring and that something needs to be righted. I think some people just don’t want to see that.

]]> By: BillK http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/#comment-2463 BillK Sat, 31 May 2008 19:13:03 +0000 http://misscripchick.wordpress.com/?p=266#comment-2463 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/30/earlyshow/living/parenting/main4140155.shtml

http://www.momlogic.com/2008/05/teachers_from_hell.php

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/30/michael-goforth-st-lucie-schools-hits-keep-comingg/ http://thalunatic.blogspot.com/2008/05/kindergarten-teacher-humiliates-5-year.html http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/30/earlyshow/living/parenting/main4140155.shtml

http://www.momlogic.com/2008/05/teachers_from_hell.php

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/30/michael-goforth-st-lucie-schools-hits-keep-comingg/

http://thalunatic.blogspot.com/2008/05/kindergarten-teacher-humiliates-5-year.html

]]> By: BillK http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/#comment-2462 BillK Sat, 31 May 2008 13:41:04 +0000 http://misscripchick.wordpress.com/?p=266#comment-2462 http://www.slate.com/id/2192480/entry/0/ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/30/earlyshow/living/parenting/main4140155.shtml http://www.momlogic.com/2008/05/teachers_from_hell.php http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/30/michael-goforth-st-lucie-schools-hits-keep-comingg/ http://www.slate.com/id/2192480/entry/0/

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/30/earlyshow/living/parenting/main4140155.shtml

http://www.momlogic.com/2008/05/teachers_from_hell.php

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/may/30/michael-goforth-st-lucie-schools-hits-keep-comingg/

]]> By: BillK http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/#comment-2461 BillK Sat, 31 May 2008 11:23:25 +0000 http://misscripchick.wordpress.com/?p=266#comment-2461 http://www.slate.com/id/2192480/entry/0/ http://www.slate.com/id/2192480/entry/0/

]]> By: links for 2008-05-30 « Exposing the cherry http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/#comment-2460 links for 2008-05-30 « Exposing the cherry Fri, 30 May 2008 22:37:55 +0000 http://misscripchick.wordpress.com/?p=266#comment-2460 [...] thoughts on alex barton and the way we organize « cripchick’s weblog Wendy Portillo, Alex’s teacher, allowed his classmates to go around and tell him all the things they did not like about him. After the class told him he was “disgusting” and “annoying”, the teacher allowed them to vote him out of the class. Afte (tags: disability, WTF, injustice) [...] [...] thoughts on alex barton and the way we organize « cripchick’s weblog Wendy Portillo, Alex’s teacher, allowed his classmates to go around and tell him all the things they did not like about him. After the class told him he was “disgusting” and “annoying”, the teacher allowed them to vote him out of the class. Afte (tags: disability, WTF, injustice) [...]

]]> By: dread1myn http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/#comment-2459 dread1myn Fri, 30 May 2008 19:06:26 +0000 http://misscripchick.wordpress.com/?p=266#comment-2459 I'm sorry, I put my friend Adam's name where I meant Alex. Adam is a young friend of mine with disabilities who is dealing with being bullied by his classmates because of his disabilities. He lives in Colorado, and his parents are having a hard time getting his school to do anything concrete to address the bullying. I’m sorry, I put my friend Adam’s name where I meant Alex. Adam is a young friend of mine with disabilities who is dealing with being bullied by his classmates because of his disabilities. He lives in Colorado, and his parents are having a hard time getting his school to do anything concrete to address the bullying.

]]> By: dread1myn http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/#comment-2458 dread1myn Fri, 30 May 2008 19:00:59 +0000 http://misscripchick.wordpress.com/?p=266#comment-2458 The story about Adam was circulated around here. You better believe lots of us here at the Center for Disability Rights wrote letters to the school principal and the Governor of Florida, among others. In addition, I "went there", because sometimes, you have to. I blasted Al Sharpton, and the NAACP about why they aren't standing up for Alex, and other people with disabilities who are being abused. These high-profile folks are strangely silent when someone who doesn't look like them is suffering injustice. Civil rights is for EVERYONE, not just Black folks. As an African-American, I feel that they need to speak out against wrongs that happen to ALL kinds of people! In my opinion, they'd have more credibility. I apologize if I have offended anyone, but I feel that the issue had to be addressed. The story about Adam was circulated around here. You better believe lots of us here at the Center for Disability Rights wrote letters to the school principal and the Governor of Florida, among others.

In addition, I “went there”, because sometimes, you have to. I blasted Al Sharpton, and the NAACP about why they aren’t standing up for Alex, and other people with disabilities who are being abused. These high-profile folks are strangely silent when someone who doesn’t look like them is suffering injustice. Civil rights is for EVERYONE, not just Black folks. As an African-American, I feel that they need to speak out against wrongs that happen to ALL kinds of people! In my opinion, they’d have more credibility. I apologize if I have offended anyone, but I feel that the issue had to be addressed.

]]> By: Pinky Bear http://crip-power.com/2008/05/27/thoughts-on-alex-barton-and-the-way-we-organize/#comment-2455 Pinky Bear Thu, 29 May 2008 15:37:28 +0000 http://misscripchick.wordpress.com/?p=266#comment-2455 Florida sucks. Florida sucks.

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