Same experience in other part of Canada, Given that the weather is always at its worse around Dec 3, few people actually go out to the celebration. Moreover, the date coincided with the worst violence in Canadian history (Lepin's murder of female students) making it particularly hard to celebrate for women with disabilities here.
Maria
-----Original Message-----
From: Tanis M. Doe [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 1999 12:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: celebration of ability
I have a few comments. I just returned fromconducting 5 days of training
for trainers in disability awareness in an interior communityin British
COlumbia. They live a fairly isolated life but all of the trainees (who
will becometrainers) are familiar with independent living philosophy, have
a disability themselves and are competent as instructors. It came as a
suprise to me that the language they choose to use was based again on the
idea that disability was to be avoided and that learning difference,
mentally challenged, differently abld and people first language, people
who are deaf people with disabiltiies was preferable to DISable d people.
I think this is quite common in other places too but I think we should be
aware that not everyone keeps up with the current cultural or political
language and that their attitudes MAY be just as positive as ours but
their language different. Though its hard to tell.
On the note of celebrating disability or ability. I think this might be
critized by some members of the list serve, but in Alberta I once changed
the National Access Awareness Event that used to spend money on flyers
posters, and baloons etc which celebreated access (even though there was
little to be found) and instead divided the money up into 100 dollar
allotments and had a small funny ceremony to give each disabled person a
little bit moremoney to use to increase their quality of life ( it was
only symbolic- like an anti-telethon or a joke) To make the point that the
money spent on the awareness ampaign could have be redirected to
individual consumers who could do what they needed with it- use for
transit, assistance, awareness, writing or food. Just a thought.
Tanis
Tanis is moving in August please stay tuned for new address and phone
number. Visit http://members.xoom.com/doetanis1/newhome.html for some
links. Pls send attachments to [log in to unmask] not to this email thanks.
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