www.accesspress.org History Note
Inside
“If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”
■ ALS and Service Dogs—p. 3 ■ Crime and Vulnerability—p. 3 & 8 ■ Linguistically Disabled?—p. 11
— George Orwell Page 2 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Mpls. MN Permit No. 4766
Volume 18, Number 8
Minnesota’s Disability
Community Newspaper
August 10, 2007
Family Of Deceased Disabled Veteran Losing Their Home by Clarence Schadegg abled veterans compensation and social security retirement benefits, on which the family relied. It was weeks before Cher Fields received war widow’s compensation. That compensation was about onethird of their previous income, although her housing costs Although John was a combat- have not changed. disabled veteran who succumbed to combat-related in- “We’ll have to move. We don’t jury, the VA has refused ap- know where we’ll live yet. We proval of his claim for Dis- don’t know where we’ll go,” abled Veterans life insurance, said Cher, whose 21-year-old benefits which would have daughter Sunny and 23-yeareased the family’s transition, old son Jesse also share the allowing his widow time home, where they have lived needed to mourn and find em- for ten years and where John ployment. died. She questions the morality behind the actions of the To make matters worse, when VA and financial institutions Fields died, the government that make life so stressful for immediately cut off his dis- the families of veterans, who ary 15, 2007, Field’s widow has had to contend with the slow moving bureaucracy of the Veterans Administration (VA), high medical bills, burial costs, and monthly mortgage payments on their house, which is now in foreclosure.
The lated John Fields, disabled Vietnam veteran whose sidow and children are now losing their home.
B
arely six months after veteran John Fields died of war-related injuries, his house is being foreclosed and his widow and family have to move. “This will be the last gathering at our house,” said Cher Fields, widow of Vietnam War veteran John Fields, as friends came together to honor her
husband’s memory following the “unveiling” of his headstone. John Fields had lived for many years with war-related mental and physical disabilities, dying of cancer brought on by his exposure to Agent Orange during his tour of duty in Vietnam. Since his death on Janu-
fought to protect us from a system like the one that would turn the Fields out of their own home. “Is this any way for our government to treat the families of deceased veterans who honorably and proudly served their country?” she asked.
John Fields believed his responsibility to country did not end when he left the military; it was then that a greater responsibility began. He dedicated his life to helping other veterans; some veterans who didn’t even know him have benefited from his work. Together with Cher, John had helped start veteran rap groups and twelve step programs for veterans struggling with PTSD and chemical dependency. They also started a veterans peace organization and for some years operated a walk-in center for veterans and their families in transition (aka “homeless”). John died before he saw the full blossom of his work.
At the cemetery on the morning of July 15th, exactly six months after the death of John Fields, a diverse group of disabled and non-disabled veterans and civilians came together to unveil the headstone placed at John’s grave as is the Jewish tradition. A psalm was read, after which those gathered placed pebbles, symbols of the endurance of memory, by the Veteran - cont. on p. 15 headstone.
Offense Taken Locals Speaks Out About the Word ‘Retard’ by Sherry Gray and Bret Hesla “What should be done with the “R” word?” That was the question at a public meeting last month, when more than 100 people from Minnesota’s disability community gathered to address the insulting use of the word retarded in today’s popular culture and media. The July 25th meeting, organized by Advocating Change Together (ACT), was part of a coordinated response to the controversial title of the Minneapolis-based Brave New Workshop’s recent show, “Rise of the Celebretards.” About half of those attending were people with developmental disabilities who have had direct experiences with the derogatory term. Others present included parents, siblings and representatives of local nonprofit advocacy groups and service providers. BNW declined to participate.
The forum, held at the Interact Center in downtown Minneapolis, opened with a slide show streaming controversial images showing how the word “retard” is and has been widely used as a slur in popular culture. Interact members followed with a brief performance highlighting how such images and language translate into limitations placed on persons with disabilities by the broader society.
fend persons with disabilities, their family members and friends. These portrayals also lead to justification for limiting people’s full participation in the life of the community.
Participants called for a broader campaign to combat negative references in popular culture and ended the forum by proposing some next steps to take in initiating this campaign, including the possible Lauretta Dawolo, news direc- launch of a disability anti-defator of KFAI Radio, moderated mation league. the lively discussion that followed. Most speakers took a Origins of the Controversy strong stand against the slang The public meeting was the use of the “R” word, while some result of several months of acparticipants spoke about the tivity, and one step on a longer backlash that can result when journey. The offensive title heavy-handed attempts to ban struck a chord even before the certain speech alienate the first performance in May. Startlarger society. The general con- ing in April, disability activists sensus of the group was that the and members of the commuthoughtless use of certain terms nity wrote letters, sent e-mails, and images do more than of- and made phone calls to BNW
protesting the title of their upcoming show. Though BNW refused to change the title, the volume of protest was not lost on local organizers, who began to discuss coordinated action. In May organizers took their protest to the wider community by contacting the local media and posting messages on Web forums around North America. At the 2007 Minnesota SelfAdvocacy Conference, a group wrote a song of protest. These activities resulted in so many messages of protest that BNW created an online forum to handle discussion (but did not meet with protestors as they had requested). The outrage further inspired local newspapers columnists to criticize the show title. In June, local activists concerned that the BNW’s show title reflected an alarming trend in popular culture formed an ad
Manny Stienman voiced his concerns at the recent forum on the word “retard.” 20, Peggy Mehen, a member of Interact Theater, and Kelly Lee, an ACT board member, interviewed people attending the “Rise of the Celebretards” show. They asked more than fifteen theater-goers their views about the word “retard.” Jerry Smith of the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the University of Minnesota Ask the Audience Standing outside the doors of filmed the spontaneous interthe Brave New Workshop the- views, with the assistance of ater on Friday evening, July Offense Taken - cont. on p. 11
hoc group of individuals and organizations to develop a coordinated response. Led by ACT, the ad hoc group organized a set of activities in July that included seeking the views of the local community, organizing a public forum, and producing an educational video.