Really George?

Here we go again - yet another movie and movie star who feels it necessary to make a joke at the expense of people with intellectual disabilities. Yep, it's the 'R' word AGAIN, this time in an Oscar nominated movie.

The movie is The Descendents,and the movie star is George Clooney. I know he has enough clout in the industry to demand a change in the script. Yet he didn't, so in my book that means he agreed with using the R word as a punch line.

Here is the exact dialogue exchange as taken from the book on which the movie is based, and the movie lines are almost exactly the same:

"Stop it," I yell. "Stop touching each other."

"Whoa," Sid says. "Maybe that's why your wife cheated on you if you're so against touching."

I snap my head around to face him. "Do you get hit a lot?"

He shrugs, "I've had my share."

I face my daughter, "You know you're dating a complete retard. You know that, don't you?"

"My brother's retarded, man." Sid says. "Don't use it in a derogatory way."

"Oh." I don't say anything more hoping he'll interpret my silence as an apology.

"Psych," he says and now kicks the back of my seat. "I don't have a retarded brother!" His little trick is giving him a great amount of amusement. "Speaking of the retarded," he says, "do you ever feel bad for wishing a retarded person or an old person or a disabled person would hurry up? Sometimes I wait for them to cross the street and I'm like, 'Come on already!' but then I feel bad.

So needless to say, I will not be seeing this movie and I will be encouraging others to not see it. I'm sure it has already made a gazillion dollars and may probably win an Oscar, but it won't make my $7.50, and neither will any future movie in which Mr. Clooney participates.

I'm really, really tired of this.

The "R" Word

This video has been making the rounds of Facebook and some other blogs, but it is so powerful that I wanted anyone who hasn't seen it to get the chance to see it.

I Don't

- need new windows. If you know anything about new windows, you should have been able to tell I just had mine replaced not long ago.

- want to buy any magazines from a teenager who claims to be disadvantaged and was dropped off with 12 other teenagers

- wish to have my driveway repaved

- want to have my trees trimmed even if they are, as you say, a major hazard during a storm

- want to change the company that monitors my home alarm. I know you say your service is better, but so did the three people who came before you.

- don't need to be picked up and taken to the Baptist church on Sunday. I have nothing against your religious beliefs but I am a member of the Catholic church.

- am not interested in the ministerings of the Mormon church. Nor do my Deaf children need to 'borrow' any of your movies on DVD. Again, I have nothing against your beliefs, but I really like nuns.

- am not in need of your lawn service. I have teenage sons who take care of that for me, thank you very much.

- don't care to see your meat or Avon or tupperware or jewelry catalog

- like, really don't like, you coming to my door uninvited. That's what the 'No Soliciting' sign is for.

Just call me the grumpy lady of the neighborhood, or better yet, don't call me - I'll call you if I have a need for your services.

265

Ashley has been on our state's debelopmental disabilities Medicaid waiver waiting list for 7 years. Each year, she receives a letter letting her know where she is on the list. This year, she is number 265. Seven years ago, she was in position 345.

I'll let this video explain our frustration and the frustration of hundreds of thousands of other families and individuals with disabilities.

Worth Every Challenge

From a very young age, I always wanted to make a difference – to know that my time spent on this earth was worth something. As I have gotten older, those thoughts refined themselves into wanting to leave the world a better place once I am gone. And through the adoption of some very special children, I believe I am well on my way to achieving that goal.

November is National Adoption Month. Thousands and thousands of children are waiting for families to call their own. These children often have been through hell. They have seen and experienced things that no one, and especially a child, should see and experience. Parenting them will not always be an easy job. In fact, sometimes it will seem downright impossible. But it’s not.

When I first decided to adopt as a single parent, most of my friends and family told me I was crazy and shouldn’t even consider parenting another child, especially a child with significant special needs. In fact, many of my friends have felt that way when I decided to adopt two more times, and when I told them just this year, that I am ready once again to adopt.

Maybe I am crazy, but I am not wrong. Adopting and parenting children with special needs, both medical and emotional needs, has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my life.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have made the lives of three very special children better than they would have ever been. More importantly, my life has been enriched in a way that words just can’t express.

I’m searching right now for the next addition to my family. I want a child with significant medical needs – a child that probably is growing up in an institution rather than with a family. I know it will be tough, but I have an support system in place, the willingness to tackle any challenge, and more than enough love.

What about you? Would you consider opening your heart to a child that needs a family? I promise that if you do and it gets really tough, I will be here to help you….

Today I am thankful for the social workers who believed in me and who have helped to make my family what it is today.

No LOOK For Me

How many of you took your child with disabilities shopping for school clothes recently? What would you have done if the store in which you were shopping clearly discriminated against your child, and even embarrassed him/her because of their disability?

I bet you would do the same thing that Molly Maxson’s mother did – raise a huge, gigantic stink about it. I know I would.

Molly was shopping with her sister at Abercrombie and Fitch, an extremely popular store for teenagers who want the latest ‘look’. Molly has Autism and needed her sister’s help in the dressing room to try on clothes. Abercrombie and Fitch refused to let Molly’s sister help her, citing problems with shoplifting and a store ban on more than one person in a dressing room. Molly was further humiliated by having to listen to her mother and sister continually ask for accommodations while other customers were standing around.

Molly has been vindicated and Abercrombie and Fitch was fined $115,000 for their actions. But this wasn’t the first time the clothing retailer showed its true colors regarding people with disabilities.

Riam Dean was a shop assistant at Abercrombie and Fitch in London. Riam, who was born with her left forearm missing, claimed she was forced to work in the stockroom of the US firm's London store because she did not fit its strict "look" policy. Miss Dean also won her lawsuit against the company.

It goes without saying, at least for me, that we will NEVER be shopping at Abercrombie and Fitch, and I will strongly encourage everyone I know to follow our lead. How about you?

Spread The Word

It is time to “Spread the Word to End the Word” and on March 31, 2009 Special Olympics is calling for a national day of awareness for America to stop and think about their use of the R-word. That R-word is not “recession,” but something more hurtful and painful – “retard.”

Check out their website for more information, and then pledge your support at www.r-word.org.




Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope... and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. ~Robert F. Kennedy