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 * DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES **

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

Picture this. An elderly man is driving. He had just visited his deceased wife’s grave, and now he is heading home. Suddenly a dog darts in front of his vehicle, and the man accidentally hits the dog with his car. The man pulls over and calls the police to report the incident. When the police arrive they arrest him for being intoxicated while driving.

This man’s name was Gary Palmer and he had cerebral palsy. That caused him to have an uncontrollable shake and a slurred speech, which is why the police mistook him for being intoxicated. The police completely ignored Mr. Palmer’s attempts to explain his condition and hauled him off to jail.

In America today we face many issues regarding the treatment of certain minorities. However sometimes the seemingly more current and pressing issues like racial discrimination, and inequality based on gender or sexual orientation seem to overshadow another significant issue faced by one of the largest minority in America. Individuals with disabilities.

In a social setting individuals with disabilities are often judged and mistreated, based on physical appearance, intellectual capacity, or certain character traits. According to a study called the UCLA Civil Rights Project, 5% of elementary school children with intellectual disabilities like autism were suspended in the years of 2011 and 2012. In secondary school 18% were suspended. Other than suspensions, a large percentage of students with intellectual disabilities could also be punished by being sent to the principal's office, banned from recess, or verbally scolded. Schools continue to use old fashioned punishing techniques backed by minimal scientific evidence to punish children who learn and process information in a much different way for behavioral aspects they may not even be able to control. According to the U.S. Department of Education, complaints about the education department are largely disability related. Out of all the civil rights complaints filed to their office last year, approximately ½ of them were disability related, and included issues like unfair treatment and wanting changes curriculum.

Now let’s discuss economic challenges faced by individuals living with disabilities. It is extremely difficult for an individual with a disability to acquire a job due to the inaccurate stereotypes, which paint them as being unproductive and socially awkward, when in reality it is quite the opposite. Approximately 70% of of individuals with disabilities are unemployed, and the earn $9,000 less than average. In the 1990’s about 50% of of individuals with disabilities are unemployed, and they earn $6,000 less. Individuals with disabilities are often reluctant to get jobs, for it could potentially losing supplemental security income, personal assistance and homecare. They are also reluctant to get married because marriage to someone with a job and savings above $2000 means losing Supplemental Security Income benefits. They often turn to sheltered workshops for employment. On one hand there are those who call it a “Sweatshop” that reinforces poverty, for wages start at around 20 cents an hour and are based on productivity. Curtis Decker from the National Disability Rights Network says that these workshops were originally a good idea for it was a stepping stone for individuals with disabilities which provided initial training and skills in a protective environment. People also argue that it excludes individuals with disabilities from fully participating in society. On the other hand people argue that the opportunity to work in low skilled manual labor is productive and helpful, and that only 25% of individuals are paid less than minimum wage. They argue that some individuals will never be ready for a real world job and need the protection and support.

In Watertown New York, there is a sheltered workshop called Production Unlimited that makes binders, safety equipment and office supplies. When a young woman named Beth Carpenter who worked there for 15 years was interviewed by NPR, she confessed that she wants to work in an integrated setting however she is worried about transportation issues and limited funding. She also believes she would have to hire a job coach, and is unsure if her finances can cover it. Another individual, a gentleman named David Schneider was also interviewed and said that he would like to work into an integrated setting, however he is afraid of ridicule, getting yelled at by the boss, or going jobless. We need to require the workshops to pay at least minimum wage. We also need to open doors of integrated work environments and make them welcoming for it is clear that Mr. Schneider views employers and work in an integrated setting as hostile and frightening.

Finally there is the issue of police brutality against individuals with disabilities. According to a study conducted by the Ruderman Family Foundation ⅓ to ½ of people killed by police during a violent altercation have a disability.

Individuals with disabilities can get be attacked by law enforcement, because they may be unable to fully understand and comply with the police like if they are deaf or have an intellectual disability, or they lack physical control like Mr. Palmer did in the situation I told earlier. Individuals with disabilities are often wrongly arrested and assaulted, even if they were they one who called the police in the first place.

Now it is important to make the distinction between having an intellectual disability and being mentally ill. For many individuals think that those two things are similar, and make faulty conclusions about individuals with intellectual disability, when those two things are completely separate. When someone is mentally ill there are disturbances in thought process and perceptions, they may be affected by their mental illness only temporarily and can take medication to control the symptoms. When someone has an intellectual disability their thoughts are limited by cognitive ability and understanding, and it is a lifelong condition that cannot be controlled by medication. It is often genetic or induced by severe physical trauma. Even the police cannot make a proper distinction between being mentally ill and intellectually disabled, for when accused of unlawful assault, imprisonment etc, they often throw out excuses like a failure to comply is a conscious choice that is automatically paired with malicious intent. They try to paint the individual with disability as violent and disobedient in order to justify their actions. For example when 25 year old Ethan Saylor, a young man with Down Syndrome was caught re-entering a movie theater to watch a second showing of “Zero Dark Thirty” without a ticket. The manager called three sheriff deputies to remove him. His mother who arrived on scene begged the officers to let her handle the situation peacefully, for she properly knew how to defuse the tension, provide him with a sense of familiarity and comfort, while also educating him on how entering a second time without buying a ticket is wrong. The officers refused, confident they could handle the situation themselves. The proceeded to forcefully remove Ethan from his seat, and when he showed the slightest movement of resistance from being handled in such a way, they tackled him to the ground. One of the sheriff's laid on top of him for an extended period of time with such force that it crushed his larynx and killed him. This should have never happened. Ethan Saylor was not a violent offender, he was simply a young man who enjoyed the movie “Zero Dark Thirty” and wished to see it again. He had an intellectual disability which caused him to make a simple mistake, one his mother could have simply resolved by sternly talking to him and paying for the movie. The two incompetent officers clearly show a lack of basic understanding regarding individuals with disabilities and did not handle the situation in a safe and professional manner. They escalated the situation by acting on their preconceived notions about individuals with disabilities that were based on cruel stereotypes. Sure Ethan Saylor may have been stubborn, due to his lack of ability to fully comprehend the situation, however this does not make him a violent criminal or mentally ill.

The incident with Ethan Saylor is not a single isolated incident. There have been articles written about police beating and tasering a deaf individual who communicated through sign language, and an incident where the police busted down the toilet door at dollar general to pepper spray and taser a deaf man with an intellectual disability whose only crime was staying on the toilet for too long, because he was sick. The National Council on Disability Executive Director Rebecca Cokley explains this all perfectly by saying “Misunderstandings, fears, and stereotypes, about disability have led to tragic outcomes throughout U.S. History. During the American Eugenics movement. Pseudo-scientific ‘evidence’ gave way to popular myths linking disability and criminality and the inheritability of both. As a result, people with disabilities were devalued, isolated from the rest of society, prevented from attending school, getting married or becoming active and engaged in their communities.”

In my ideal America, Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) which is training proven to reduce incarceration rate of individuals with both mental illness and disability, while saving the lives and reputations of officers will be required and receive more funding, there will be a greater emphasis on community familiarity allowing officers in CIT training to personally meet and know vulnerable members of community, and America will adopt a quota system which will require that employers employ a certain number of individuals with disabilities in their workplace. This quota system will be modeled off those implemented in the European Union and Japan which are functioning will tremendous amounts of success. For example France has a disability unemployment rate of only 5%. In my ideal America it would be required in school to learn about various disabilities, people would volunteer more for organizations that assist individuals with disabilities, and most importantly people will be comfortable interacting with individuals with disabilities in everyday life, without judgement, and without degrading them. Many individuals often associate having a disability with being helpless, dependent, and incapable when that is certainly not the case. Sure depending on their disability there might be things that are a bit harder for them or require a bit more assistance or effort, but don’t we all need help in one way or another? Individuals often underestimate the character, strength and capabilities of a person for they have this set stereotype in their mind that an individual with a disability is weak. More often than not that is not the case. Individuals with disabilities are some of the most strongest people out there. Just because someone is different from you that does not make them any less of a person than you are.

Sources


 * 1) [|__http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/26/news/economy/americans-with-disabilities-act-problems-remain/__]
 * 2) [|__https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/08/25/people-with-mental-disabilities-get-the-worst-and-least-recognized-treatment-from-police/__]
 * 3) [|__http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/19/deaf-man-arrested-sign-language_n_4811785.html__]
 * 4) [|__http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/opinion/a-chance-to-learn-from-a-senseless-death.html?_r=0__]
 * 5) [|__http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/05/misunderstanding-disability-leads-to-police-violence/361786/__]
 * 6) [|__http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/08/police-are-failing-america-s-disabled.html__]
 * 7) [|__http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lennard-davis/discrimination-doesnt-end_b_7868444.html__]
 * 8) [|__http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/school-discipline-children-disabilities/399563/__]