NEWS & LETTERS, August - September 2009
Disabled fight discrimination
Washington, D.C.--Several of us from ADAPT were in the nation's capital on July 24 at a rally where President Obama was speaking. A few were within 40 feet of the podium. Because we were wearing ADAPT shirts, we were threatened with arrest if we did not leave. On the very day of the signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the President was threatening ADAPT members for speaking out for freedom and the principles of the CRPD.
Where is the freedom for people with disabilities and seniors yearning to breathe free of nursing homes and/or other institutions? Where is the freedom of speech for those people with disabilities who want liberty? If disability is not a crime, why are thousands of our people locked away, with no parole, no end to their sentences? Where are our rights?
Are we simply a crop for the nursing home and institutional providers so that they can get their dollars? Where is the justice in this picture? Obama makes it clear: dissenting voices, GO AWAY!
--ADAPT community
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