"You should park where you belong" says local business owner to disabled man.

I partook of time with friends at a business in Key West Plaza, West Monroe. I'm not naming that business because this event had nothing to do with where I took my business, rather where I parked. But Key West Tan gets mentioned because this occurred via the owner of that business. I don't know what this man's name was, but I'm sure others through out the business area do. Here is what happened.

The man came to find me, asking about the car I parked as seen in the image. I thought something had happened to it so I found the man asking about me, and brought his attention to myself. He confided that he wished for me to move my vehicle from the space in front of his store for the sake of his patrons.

This is where I point out that the rain poured in buckets outside. Furthermore there were and are no signs or any form of assigned parking (save for disabled) in the entire plaza shopping center. On the side of the business (Key West Tan) are four parking spaces directly attached to his business. There is no way in any portion of the parking lot that you can avoid being rained on, by parking there. I am disabled, walk with a cane (most of the time) due to complications with my disability, Multiple Sclerosis. However, my parking placard is expired. So all I could do was move the car out to the middle of the parking lot to get the most rain exposure possible. These are all important factors to this story.

Initially, though quite disturbed at the idea that this man was willing to go business to business to hunt me down for where I parked, I did move the car. But then I noticed that there was no sign indicating he could ask that of me and I changed my mind. I had quite a few things I would need help getting to my car as it were, never mind travelling a wet slick parking lot with a four pod cane. I had every bit as much right to park right where I did and he had no legal recourse to ask me to move. So I put the car right back in the same space and went back about my business trying to enjoy the day with friends.

Mr. Tan Owner came back to make a point and I didn't let him.

"Before you say a word," I said. "tow me." Yeah, it wasn't a nice thing to say, but his treatment of me was about to get worse, so I don't feel so bad about it.

The man went out to his truck, got his phone, and as far as I could tell... called the police. Since there was a possibility of police, I got out my phone, took my cane because the stress was weakening my legs by this point, and went out to take the photo you see above.

"He's parked right in front of my business..." I heard him say on the phone. No police ever came. I didn't think they actually would.

After a few minutes he came back over to talk to the owner of the business I was at. I interceded. Why? Because no one in that whole complex had any legal power to tell me to move that car anywhere. It was me he needed to talk to.

"So just because you don't want to park where you belong..." the man said to me, gesturing to the disability accessible spaces.

"My placard is expired, Sir, I can't do that." I explained to him.

"That's semantics."

"No, it's the law." I will not make myself the worlds biggest hypocrite by parking illegally where I tell others not to park illegally. I even pointed that out to him, but there was no reaching him. I had to walk away.

"You know, it's just a matter of common courtesy." He said to me. I couldn't help but think I was the guy who needed a cane in the equation and it just didn't add up. Common courtesy for who?

So to sum up, he went out of his way to track me down, expected me to move for his patrons when he had no legal recourse to do so, and summed up with how I need to be where I belong, even if I break the law doing it... because it's just common courtesy.

Am I really out of bounds for wanting a public apology? I don't think so. Who is he going to do this too next? Would he still have hunted me down if I was a little old lady? And just to be clear, telling a disabled person they 'belong' in any space is highly discriminatory.

UPDATE: The owner has reached out to me via a third party (I will not mention names out of kindness because of this) to apologize to me. I will accept his apology, however I expect him to meet me in  person to follow this up. He has stated that in afterthought he was far out of bounds and the landlord has made it clear that no parking spaces may be claimed exclusive for any of the businesses in the plaza. I applaud his quick response, less than 10 hours from posting of this article.

UPDATE 2:  Through the third party mentioned above and a couple of other sources, it was made clear to me that our business owner (I know know him as Mr. Steven Kelley) intended to meet me at the shop I frequent to offer me requested apology. It's all I expect. Apologize to me and shake my hand. After that I would have altered this article so that it gave no names to include business. I was there for a whole 6 hours. HE NEVER SHOWED UP.  Clearly this isn't going to happen. So now this article can stay exactly as is. And sadly, that may not entirely be the end of it. There are people who care about me who are not happy with what happened. Word is spreading.

Trump's executive order on immigration and...

why it's bullshit.

Give him a chance! That's what his supporters keep screaming as they cheer every unconstitutional trick he pulls. People are very afraid and his supporters think that fear is pretty tasty and hilarious. Now he's keeping his word about that stupid wall and guess what, Mexico is not going to pay for it. I have yet to see anyone give one legal reason that will hold water for Mexico to pay for a wall around our country. Never mind the fact that it won't stop people getting in with legal visas. For the inanely stupid out there, that is how people get into our country by majority. They do it with a legal visa and just don't leave when it expires. Oh, but Trump has a plan for that. He's got an executive order that will make all the Muslim haters in our country weep with joy. And it's extremely offensive and bigoted. It's racial profiling at possibly the worst in history. Oh, but give him a chance.

Let's take a look at a break down of what he's doing with this so far. You can see the entire order online pretty easily.

1: Both travel and immigration to our country from the following shall be banned (with an open left to add more countries later) :  Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Iran.

Because we never ever want to have peaceful talks with these countries ever again. You have family here? Don't worry, they'll be sent to you shortly, whether legally here or not. I guess, at least we aren't doing the whole internment camp again. Or will we?

2: It is advised that students from the listed countries not leave the US, for they shall not be permitted to return.

Because we only want to give education to foreign students we particularly like. Discrimination? Nah, it's not discrimination. They can call "alternative facts" like waving Mentos around in a murder commercial.

3: People from those countries with visas who have not traveled to the US, will not be allowed  in. Their visas are void.

Yep, because good or bad.. fuck you and your country too.

4: The ban will extend to spouses of US Citizens of those countries with pending applications to the US.

Wait, what? Seriously? Okay, let's destroy some families while we're at it because this would be way too boring otherwise. Oh but wait, that gets better as we go.

5: The EO will call for what is known as a "values test" with questions such as:
-Do you follow Sharia Law?
-Do you believe in beheadings?
-What do you think of gays?

Uh, because people trying to get into our country for any reason will just magically fess right the fuck up on that shit. You know, our country has pulled this crap before. We did it to the Japanese right before we carted them off to internment camps. We did to fully legal citizens only because they were Japanese and not for any other reason. So we haven't learned our lesson (or at least the Republicans haven't) and we're just going to do it again. This time to Muslims. Oh wait, we did to the Indians too when we took all their land away. And all the rest of the Muslims in those countries and students from them can just fuck off. They don't even get a questionnaire.

How can anyone who claims to support democracy actually support this? How? How is this a good example of what he's going to do? Hell, it's not even all he's pulling so far. I'll probably write about that too because now I need a place to vent and this is it.

The tale of the Texas pool party

Just before I went in for dental surgery I shared the following video to my Facebook page. At the cursory look (that I'm just as guilty of getting sucked into as anyone) I looks like Officer David Casebolt had seen too many action movies. But, like everything, there is more to the story and it begs your attention and mine. If the video below is gone, you can google it. It went more than viral enough.

LINK TO FULL VIDEO

This has sparked cop hatred on all levels. It's sparked demonstrations that filled the private neighborhood with over a thousand people for picketing. All anyone seems to care about is what races were present and the video gives you that slant instantly. But they all ignore some very simple basic facts of reality:

1: If you run from the police, they will chase you. FACT.
2: If you refuse to follow basic instructions in an already super tense situation, you will get taken down. FACT.

Please feel free to do your own deep research on these and I don't mean go read all the memes people make. Find the real facts.

The first thing that initially got me in the video was the whole Hollywood tuck and roll thing. But watch the vid a few times and you see staggering in his steps. He may have tripped. And with the stress he was already under, I can understand.

Second, I didn't care for the cursing and swearing out of the kids, but again, now I get where it came from. Doesn't make it right, but he is only human and I challenge any of you to go through his full day and come out grinning.

Finally, he pulled his gun at one point. When I was blinded to the facts by the infectious mob mentality that hits us all, I was astounded. I still don't think he needed to draw the weapon, but I also note that he was outnumbered at least 10 to one (by people rushing him when he had given clear instructions to LEAVE multiple times) before the other officers could move in to back him up. Once the rushers were cleared back, he put his weapon away.

His day: Here is a LINK to the article.  Now to explain directly. The two prior calls before the pool scene were as follows:

Suicide by shotgun in front of children. Do I really have to spell that out for you?

Attempted suicide by a minor girl on a rooftop. So after seeing a man with his face blown all over the room, he had to talk a young girl into living.

Now go to a scene where you're trying to sort out a massive crowd of people who aren't listening, won't follow basic directions, and even rush AT YOU while you're trying to do your job. Explain to me how you would be just peaches and cream and cool as a cucumber in the whole ordeal. Please try. I really want to see that.

It is NOT a matter of race. It is a matter of basic human stress levels. But it doesn't stop there.

Casebolt's family is under constant death threats. He resigned. The family of the bikini clad girl are running a Go Fund Me for a bruise and scrape they want to sue for. David Casebolt doesn't deserve what he's getting. He resigned, leave him the hell alone.

People, I agree that there are bad cops out there. I worry though, that people pulling out the video cameras on every single thing they see involving police is doing more harm than good. It's making us ignore what these officers live with daily. It's making us forget that they risk their lives every day and have to see the worst sides of humanity every day. Any of you who think you can do a better job, are welcome to sign up, I'm sure. We should really know better by now, but no.

So, how would you like to work a job where your every move is being dissected by someone with a video phone? How would you handle that pressure on top of everything else you have to do in one day? Have people just itching for the right time to make your whole life go viral?  And while you're doing that, you still have to get the guy with gun in his mouth to try and live again. You still better protect and serve or die trying. Because you know, you're a public servant and all.

Facebook commentor says autistic children deserve incineration

First, you need to see this story about the Tigard family and how they were forced off a plane because of a child with autism. Oh and language warning for the quote below.

Link HERE.

Get Mrs. Tigard's full explanation of events HERE.

I want to point out that the child in question, never harmed anyone. The Tigard family were in an unfortunate set of circumstances that are not possible to fully control. Imagine being that family for just a second. Okay, try for longer than a second. Your child is headed for a meltdown and you are frantically trying to make any arrangements you can to avoid a very embarrassing and public situation. You have a special needs child. But the world doesn't stop for that. Planes still board and expect to take off on time. So when your child is refusing to eat (under the influence of their condition) and you are faced with missing your plane. What do you do? If you just spout off that you would miss your plane, you clearly don't live your life with a special needs person. And how many flights are you willing to miss?  The treatment of this family is appalling, but then you get people Josh.

Josh posted a comment on the second link above and it was as follows:

Josh comments from Houston, Texas. Note the f-bombs for extra class. Note the severe lack of empathy or understanding by calling a child 'it' and using a word like 'deserve'. I don't know where his hatred of disability comes from, but it's quite a shock to the system. It's comments of that kind that show us our job is not done when it comes to awareness for autism. Maybe Josh just likes to be a troll? Hard to say. If you look at his page, you see that he at least cares about police officers being shot.

But clearly, he has no idea what a person with autism struggles with. The lower the function of the person, the greater the struggle. Maybe our schools need to start teaching humanities? Maybe there needs to be special classes?

People like Josh, make life 10x harder out in public for special needs families. Usually because of lack of tolerance for the needs of other human beings. This is why awareness campaigns much continue. The must continue for the education of the steward and captain on the plane and bystanders like Josh.

UPDATE:

Josh's account may be fake! First see it for yourself:  LINK.

Now, if you do an image search you will find THIS. And more because it's a stock photo being used on thousands of websites. How creepy does a person have to be?

Now this is either a stolen photo or actually his face in Wikipedia. Hard to be certain. But there are some interesting things on his FB page.

He likes the Bay City Texas, Police Dept. Which suggests he may live in Bay City instead of Houston. He like Texas A&M University and is on their AG Confessions page. He likes the Eyeworks optometry center?  HERE. Take a look.

The real name of the mug in the photo is apparently Jack Hills. Are the one and the same person. Hard to say

What this does say, is something for the apparent cowardice of people who behave like this online.

Letters that target the disabled are sick

Let me jump right in with the link, because until you've seen it, you won't be as boiled over as I am right now.

FAMILY IN SHOCK AFTER LETTER TARGETING SON WITH AUTISM

Go ahead, it will open in a new window. Then come back, I'll wait for ya.

Now, as an added piece of asshattery, did you read the letter itself? No?

I so very much hope and pray they find this person. Who ever this is, she's the one with the problem, not the autistic boy she's targeting. Anyone who suggests to me that I euthanize my child is likely to lose some teeth. Yes, I'm a weak man, and that would be about enough to make me say "Oh screw this!". 

The person who wrote this letter is a either a hateful idiot or has a whole encyclopedia of her own problems (likely both).  But I tell you what, they are looking for her and really, it shouldn't be that hard to find her.

1. She's close by. Very close in fact. Walking distance judging from the fact she "hears" the autistic boy's noises outside. 

2: She has children as in plural. She even says so in the letter when pointing out that the noises scare her "normal CHILDREN". I'm pretty sure, only a handful of Mom's in the area are going to fit the bill.

Another point. Look at the paper. It's either previously used xerox paper or came from a printer with a toning problem. Either Mommy has a bad printer or uses paper from the recycling bin, or Mommy did this at work with paper form the recycling bin. If that's the case, Mad Mommy works in an office setting. 

Now I'll go out on a limb and say that this isn't the first rager Mad Mommy has been on. I would say, not only does she have her own severe mental illness issues, but may also have a record. No one tells you to off your own child unless they are cruel trolls or severely mentally ill. It's just that simple. 

Now, she's a coward; so she's going to put on a really big "Nice Mommy" act when spoken to. She'll sound just like the parents who really are shocked and disgusted, only with her, it will be fake. 

So, for you folks in the neighborhood manhunt, let's recap:

She has two or more children, is severely stressed out and bad tempered, lives in close walking distance, may have a record (may even be a problem neighbor already), and either works in an office setting or has a really crappy printer and uses scrap paper.  

I'm here to tell you, it would not take me long to find this person. Of course, no one would want me to do this.

What is wrong with people? Because this isn't a rare issue. It's happening in more and more places. People deciding to go all nasty on families who have enough to struggle with. Psycho's who somehow think they are the disability police will leave notes to harass and even threaten.  Earlier this summer I saw a case where someone put a letter on a lady's steering wheel, nagging about parking in the disabled spot. According to the author of the note, the lady didn't "look disabled". Well isn't that nice?  Too bad they're such cowards. Even the jerks in Portland who claim they will out people with disabilities for some psychotic political rampage.  Look it up.

But, people, if you get a threatening letter, don't be weak like me. Call the police and file the complaint. Put them on the news. Press charges. Don't go to jail for them. That's more where they belong.

Haters Gonna Hate, Time to Start Laughing

There are people out there who manage to consistently do one thing above all else when it comes to me. That's the fact that their antics completely blow my mind. They blow my mind because I can't believe they have time to come up with drivel and tripe about other people when they could be simply taking care of themselves. I guess I should be honored that I own so much of that person's brain and attention span, right?

Recently there have been some interesting accusations brought to my attention and I almost blew my iced tea right out my nose. Yeah, I laughed that hard.

Many of you out there are likely trying to build yourselves and make a good life for yourselves. You may be artists, writers, advocates, or any other thing really. What you need to know is that someone is always going to come along and try to take the wind out of your sails. Why do they feel the need? Who or what are you to them? Here's what you need to remember: these are unhappy people. They are jealous of every single thing that anyone else around them  does or succeeds at. They have nothing better to do than spread lies and drama and try to bring other people down. Instead of just living good and taking pride in their own achievements, they have to bring other people down.

Allow me to give you some recent examples but first: I am an advocate for autism education, a writer and illustrator. I have bridged these from time to time in order to show support for people with autism and to educate. Just because I have autism (and yes other medical conditions) doesn't mean I can't do anything.  The same goes for you. Anyway:

Accusation: Never diagnosed as autistic.   This is what made me spew tea today. I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (explained as a high functioning form of autism and still accepted that way by every doctor I talk to today) right after my son was diagnosed. This person is someone that I have never met in person; doesn't live anywhere that I have lived; doesn't know any of my doctors; and has no access what-so-ever to any of my medical history as in the actual medical files. Hello, HIIPA anyone?  They weren't there as I was diagnosed. They witnessed me in real life. Most importantly this person is not a doctor. I think some far out imaginations are at work here. Maybe they dreamed that they talked to all my doctors and got certified copies of everything I was ever diagnosed with. Ah, but then they wake up. How does this person even get close to such a ridiculous leap (other than being a bold faced liar)? Well, here's the main excuse:

- has other medical conditions: Apparently there's a special law in the fabrics of reality that says you can only have one psychological medical condition. Well someone get me a lawyer! I want to sue the universe for not following it's own law! Well, while this seems to be a brand new surprise to my haters, medical science seems to have known about it for decades now. You can absolutely have more than one condition. There are scales of details and factors that go with it, but hey, I'm not the doctor here. You can have bipolar disorder, Asperger's, a TBI and MS all at the same time. I know this, because I live with it. Ah, but this person thinks that if I were seen by a doctor today I would lose the autism diagnosis. What Hater doesn't realize is that I've been under a doctors care (getting MRI's and such) for quite some time. Not only have I not lost any diagnosis but my doctors have no question about them and they have all my records. So that's that. I have been diagnosed officially every step of the way, end of story.

Accusation: Trying to use autism to sell to people:  Say wha? You know, while there are people out there who demand that you pay attention to what they do because of a medical condition, not everyone is like that. The only reason that I point out my autism or my son's with my work (as posted on my blogs) is because what I'm doing now is my way of overcoming my conditions. The message is meant to be that I am not sitting in a corner going "boo hoo, I have medical conditions and I'm helpless in life" rather just the opposite. I don't want anyone to say "well, he has autism so we better buy his books and art". I would hate that. I would prefer people buy what I have for the sake of what it is. Hater seems to think that everyone is affected the same way by autism and that's not true. There are a lot of people who are having a hard time in life who aren't sure if they can make it. My message is for them. Past that, I support autism education and I'm proud of that. I want what I do to always support autism and mental illness and education for it. For every person that I help to find answers or ease their suffering because of what I do... that's a great success to me. I have outright donated my work for free for just that purpose. So I have stuff for sale, big deal. Some of it is for sale for my own use anyway.

Accusation: Trying to use autism to publish books:  Now if I laugh any harder I'm going to have a migraine. But hold on, let me share something about this hater with you. This one has published several books on and through Amazon. I don't want to knock that because who knows, I might try that one day too. But here's the cold hard fact about self publishing through Amazon. Anyone can do it. I mean anyone! No agent, no editor, no acceptance process except maybe for age range, you just put your book on Amazon and make some selections for covers and stuff. Then BANG! you're published. From what I know this is the only way this person has ever published anything (not that it's a bad thing). I would prefer not to go the self publishing route myself but that's just me.  Now, if you go and start researching agents and consider sending them a query about your work, you might notice they want to know if you've been published. I can't tell you how many times I've seen the words "not on Amazon or internet self publishing". That's because anyone and their dog can publish this way with complete abandon. That's also not to say that there are no good authors on Amazon, I actually know of a couple who are pretty good. All that being said, back to the point of the accusation, the idea that I could sway any self respecting agent with "I have autism" is ludicrous at best. For that matter, it's just flat stupid. And yes, this hater likes to bash away at my work as well.

Special note: I have not read any of this writer's work, nor will I. And why should I? Would you feel like buying anything from someone who targets you like this? I wouldn't.

So, there you have it. Now, while I wrote this all out, I want you to know that I've done this for the good of the reader. Your haters don't deserve your time. They'll call you a fraud, smear you, tell lies, and you'll think they must sit up all night long hunched over books trying to dig for dirt and mud. They'll say you have not talent and try with all their might to belittle and degrade you. Don't let them. I think they've read too many tabloids and believe every word. Don't let them stop you. Don't let them become your demon that gets in the way of your goals. Here's a very important note:

You do not owe these people anything. You do not have to prove yourself to some hater who really doesn't know you close enough to be accurate about you in the first place. It doesn't matter if you are a writer, artist, or just an at home parent. It doesn't matter if you have a medical condition or not. If you are an advocate and trying to help others, then help them. You'll be ahead of the game while haters waste obsession on you instead of their own lives. These haters are laughable and don't deserve anything from you.

And one final chuckle. I was called an "avid reader" of one hater's blog. Hilarious. Just because you look at a page (legal documentation reasons) doesn't make you an "avid" anything.

Disabled Advocates, Unworthy?

I've been thinking about somethings that have been said about advocates who are disabled recently. Comments that suggest an advocate isn't worthy of being called an advocate if they are on disability such as SSD.

First let me address this myth: SSD is NOT welfare. Social Security Disability is based on what you pay into it through out your working life. That's right, in order to have SSD in the first place, you have to have WORKED in your life. You have to have held actual JOBS. I didn't get to be on SSD because I whizzed my life away. I got hurt. It happens to lots of good people.

Now there was a comment about people on SSD not being allowed to use their funds for donations or luxuries. Well, first, they don't give you enough money in the month to live in any kind of "luxury" or to afford "luxuries" as most people would see them. So that's counterproductive right there. It just doesn't happen. If I could live in luxury, I wouldn't be on SSD. How much do luxuries cost? What kind of luxuries are we talking about? Should people on SSD just live as hermits and never go out of the house? Should they be grounded in life from going to the county fair or movies? See? Ridiculous.

As for making donations to causes, they have every much the right to make a five dollar donation to a cause as anyone. And if the SSD funds is really that much of a sore spot, consider this: People on SSD are actually allowed to hold a JOB! Yep, there is a limitation of hours and pay amount before we start losing benefits, but it is allowed for us to work. That means we are allowed to make some of our own money we can do what we please with.

Now let's get to the idea, from a quote I saw, that suggested that disabled people are not worthy of being advocates. Well why not? Let me give you a special word for this attitude; DISCRIMINATION. And just what should disabled people do? Sit at home and give up on life? Stare out the window in depression? Or would it be better if they actually do something? And who knows what we live with more than us? Who better to stand up for my rights than me? Who better to stand up for your rights than you?

I'm doing something, with my time and my life. I'm trying to better myself in spite of my disabilities. I should think that's commendable, not the other way around. Of course I know why this comment was made at me, it's because I decided people should be informed on a situation, but that's not what this blog is about. It's specifically about the idea that being disabled makes you unworthy of being an advocate.

And, if the person who says that claims to be an advocate, are they still and advocate? NO. But this person was hidden behind would could have been a false name, so I don't know who they are. But the comments were on another blog that claims to advocate (words will get switched there so I use the term loosely).

So, to recap, because I'm on SSD, I shouldn't write my blogs and educate on living with autism. I shouldn't stand up for others. I shouldn't help families find resources like I have. I shouldn't give any advice on anything. For that matter, I shouldn't spend money on a cup of coffee. I shouldn't have any entertainment in my life either. I should just sit in a room and stare at the walls. I'm being sarcastic, but you get the idea. That's discriminatory and I won't stand for it. Neither should you. Keep living people! Disability is not the end.

Man refused hospital treatment because of autism

Stephen Puckett of Oklahoma City, OK was refused treatment at an emergency room for a seizure because he has autism.

As if that weren't enough, his combination of being in a seizure condition with his autism got a security guard kicked and they put him in jail. During his jail time, he had a front tooth knocked out.

You can see the news broadcast on his condition here.

In that broadcast you will see a photo of him with an untreated head wound and foaming spit coming from his mouth because of his seizure. Not only does this mean he was denied proper medical care under any circumstance, but that he was discriminated against only because he has autism. It proves abuse from the system against this man that his family should be suing really hard over.

The hospital's stance, and that of several area hospitals is that they can't treat autism. This is flawed! They aren't treating autism, the man had a seizure! An epileptic type seizure for that matter! They CAN treat that. And they were legally obliged to do so.

The medical board of Oklahoma needs to take immediate and decisive action and correct this or have the autism community all over their case in a picketing stompathon. The entire system owes Mr. Puckett a huge apology and damages. They need to pay for a dentist to fix his mouth because he's not a criminal and was under the thrall of a medical condition. It's not like he was on drugs, carrying weapons, or drunk. Speaking of which, do the hospitals in OK cater to drunks and drugees who come in all bashed up? I bet they do. I bet they stitch up violent criminals too. Why? Because they have to, they are legally obliged to serve anyone who is in NEED of medical care.

I for one, hope that Mr. Puckett's mother, who is his caretaker, sues their pants off all the way around for this horrible and irresponsible treatment. It's called MALPRACTICE.

Just get over it

Our soldiers are coming home with stress disorders, psychological and physical injuries. I’ve seen them speak out to try and educate our general public, who should listen. They should listen because it’s their freedom those soldiers stand for. The general public says:

“Just get over it. Stop your whining.”

Numbers of child and spouse abuse are climbing in the news. They say that it’s because of the stress from a down economy and extremely stressful living that goes with our current times. Organizations and people who have suffered this abuse try to educate the general public, because you could be next. The general public says:

“Just get over it. Stop your whining.”

Crime has been on the rise which means that victims of crime have been too. Women who get raped sometimes have support groups to go to, but most suffer in silence. The general public’s attitude remains the same when it comes to education on this too. They could be supportive and caring, but instead:

“Just get over it. Stop your whining.”

Disabilities are on the rise as well. In particularly (you know what I’m going to say) autism. Now at 1 in every 110 instead of 150. Our coalitions, organizations, and advocates try to educate the cold general public. A public that believes our autistic kids to be just ‘brats’ or autistic adults to be just ‘psycho’. It’s important to eliminate that belief because it hurts innocent people when they are wrongly judged, no matter what walk of life they are in. What do we get told when we stand up for our ideals? You guessed it,

“Just get over it. Stop your whining.”

NO. You stop! Stop black marking soldiers, victims of abuse and crimes and the disabled. Stop being racist. Stop discriminating against religions. Stop labeling people as something bad or evil just because you don’t know the first thing of what they have to live with. Stop expecting everyone else to be just like you. You can’t stand us speaking out? You get over it and stop your whining.

Understanding and acceptance are not too much to ask.

Destroying Lives

In this post I want to talk to you about stigma and discrimination. These are just words, but they carry the power to destroy lives.

Stigma is a negative attitude toward any given characteristic of a person. This is often a broad and community issue fueled by discriminatory behavior of even a few and belief in untruths about those characteristics. Stigma is considered to be a negative portion of discrimination.

Discrimination is the treatment or consideration of a group by way of class or category rather than individual merit. It is the assumption that all persons of a particular class or condition are the same whether a negative or positive idea. Discrimination follows the ideas of stereotypes created by stigma in society.

There is an assumption that all people with bipolar disorder are dangerous or "crazy". The key to recognizing discrimination for what it is, is the broad and all encompassing assumption. The key is the word "all". It could be substituted with "every" or other similar words. This is how you recognize the falsehood that is discrimination. It is an unrealistic idea and belief in it hurts innocent people.

It just isn't possible for every individual with a medical condition to be the absolute same. Just like we have had to learn for race, religion, sex and age. So when are we going to learn?

I am going to use myself as my own best example once again. I worked in a career I loved dearly. I was an Animal Control officer and I was looked to with great trust and appreciation of my work for five years, until I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Suddenly, I could do nothing right. I was written up and threatened constantly with disciplinary actions. They were even taking steps to have me put before a comittee to have me even more punished and stripped of my rank. They even decided who they were giving that rank too, long before they got there. If you don't think that's ridiculous yet, try this; on my last review, a reason for me not to get a raise was that I was suddenly afraid of dogs. Never mind the hundreds of them that I had taken in regardless of their attitude or demeanor. Never mind that I handled some of the most dangerous animals the city had to offer. Suddenly and out of the blue, being afraid of dogs (which was not any part of city policy) meant I should not get a merit raise.

They lurked over my shoulder on the job and even took complaints they never would have given a thought of, to use against me. They accused me of being sneaky and trying to cover my tracks. Tracks from what? Oh they came up with all kinds of fantastic things. Things that you might take for granted on any given day, but may have been "construable" to appear against the rules.

I went to the Equal Opportunity Commission and it took them a full year past the time I had to give up my job. Why did I quit? Because my Union attorney said I was going to be fired if I didn't. The EOC did very little to actually investigate, they barely considered any paperwork I offered and didn't question a single one of my witnessess. They gave me a right to sue letter though. Very flimsy and gave me little chance of justice. After a year of searching, I found an attorney. We filed suit and after a great deal of paperwork a judge decided he just "didn't like it" so threw it out of court. See how they all line up for the same belief? Don't think so? How about the assumption that all city offices must be honest?

Yep, every single one worked in and lived in the same city and had practically the same beliefs. I was sunk before I even began. Now it's too late. I will never see justice. I suffered an immense breakdown before the discovery that I actually had Asperger's Syndrome which quickly explained everything they thought about me. Not that they cared, they didn't want a crazy person working for them. One of my therapists called what I suffered as "loss of identity". Now, because of them making all of my conditions worse with traumatic levels of stress, I will never work a normal job again.

Did I deserve that? Maybe I deserved a write up here or there, but not permanent disability. No one deserves that. So here I am, at my home in Wisconsin because I couldn't stay in Nebraska. And I can tell you that there are plenty who are treated this way for no justifiable reason who take their own lives. I almost did.

They are in my nightmares, to this day. Do you know that the laws on discrimination for mental disabilities do not accurately cover anyone who has them? You have to show that your condition actually disables you. Otherwise it is considered perfectly legal to discriminate against you and that is what they told me directly and word for word in Nebraska.

It's a good thing they don't do it like that for any of the other categories, otherwise you might have to prove that you are black enough or jewish enough to be discriminated against. Just an example folks. Think about it.

Education, it's the answer.