Dear Phyllis and all:
I'd like to second or third the comments made by Susan and Jennifer. I
consider myself an activist, and I've been one since the early sixties.
But I don't think that my best skills are used in demos or organizing at
that level. It took me a long time and a lot of guilt to come to this
realization. I am part of the Radical Teacher editorial collective, and
many folks there in times past used to consider the only kind of activism
was involved in demonstrations, being arrested, etc. (I've have gone to
many demos and been arrested as well) But, in reality, I find I'm better
at writing, doing journalism, teaching, and organizing in the academic
setting. This is really a question of finding one's strengths. Many
people are really good at organizing, and no political movement is complete
without a combination of physical, mental, and psychological organizing.
One more point: I think it is important to recognize that not every
progressive person involved in disability issues feels that Singer is a
persona non grata or that Princeton should not have hired him. There has
been enough discussion on this list to allow for the fact that there can be
a range of opinion on Singer. I for one have been reading his work and
although I don't agree completely with him or his premises, I don't think
that he should be a)forbidden from speaking or b) prevented from teaching
at a university. I do think, along with some others, that he should be
engaged in dialogue and debate. It is worth noting that the New York Times
yesterday reported on the demo and also on Singer's response...which was
that he's changed his opinion and been educated (by us disability
activists!) to recognize that disability is not the medicalized negative
that he had previously thought. The Times wrote: "Mr. Singer issued a
statement saying that in studying the treatment of severely disabled
infants, he had decided it was not always good toprolong life, no matter
what the prospects might be. But the statement said he had tempered his
view after an outcry from disability advocates. "I therefore now urge
parents facing such a decision to contact groups representing those with
the particular disability, or their parents or carers, to broaden their
sources of information." Clearly, Singer has "broadened" his own sources
of information by listening to us.
As with other issues around hate speech on campus, I think we need to teach
the issue, engage in debate, rather than trying to be thought police whose
job is to silence divergent, if obnoxious or dangerous, speech.
One final point, Phyllis refers to "self proclaimed scholars." I'm not
sure what this means. I always cringe when people use that term--as if
someone else is really able to officially proclaim anyone a scholar or an
activist or anything else.
At 01:08 PM 9/22/1999 -0700, you wrote:
>I'd like to applaud and echo Susan's comments below. Let me publicly
> express my thanks to Phyllis and all those who participated in
>the protest. At the same time, however, I'd also like to suggest that
>activism takes many forms.
>Scholars who teach and write are being activists, and I think those of
>us who choose to advocate for disability rights in this manner are to be
>commended. Is it necessary to rank who's "the best activist?"
>
>But, I've made my position on this subject clear at other times on this
>list. I might add that I worked forand with people with disabilities in
>several capacities before returning to academia, so I know whereof I
>speak.
>
>Jennifer
>
>On Wed, 22 Sep 1999, Susan Gabel wrote:
>
>> Dear Phyllis and all,
>> Phyllis, thank you for participating in the Singer protest. I
appreciate your
>> willingness to be arrested for that cause. I hope that I can learn from
your
>> example and your strength.
>>
>> I think, though, that there's another way to look at the activism issue.
It
>> seems like activism can take many forms and that from the outside
looking in on
>> someone else's experience, it might be difficult to know what they can
and cannot
>> do and what they consider activism in their life. Some folks have just
enough
>> energy (physical and mental) and just enough time to be good advocates
for family
>> and self. I suspect that we all go through stages in our lives when we
can and
>> cannot be involved in protests that lead to arrests, etc. There
probably are
>> many reasons for these phases but I'll bet they're often related to
constraints
>> or other commitments in our lives: children/family members who need us
present,
>> impairments that prevent or interfere with certain activities (my
depression, for
>> example, can be quite constraining at times and I must carefully manage my
>> environmental stress), jobs that cannot be missed, selves that must be
tended
>> to. I'm sure my list isn't exhaustive.
>>
>> Can we find ways to value everyone's contributions and accept that we
will all
>> contribute differently but to the best of our "ability"? Susan Gabel
>>
>
>
Best,
Lennard J. Davis
Graduate Director
Deparment of English
Binghamton University
Binghamton, NY 13902
607-777-2770 Fax: 777-2408
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