[Ct-nfb] Gov. Malloy's comments on disability

[Anne West]

Hubby John found this on Facebook.  I can not believe Gov. Malloy said the
below comments.  Am I over reacting?

Anne West


This is reprinted from the Republic
Gov Malloy rankles Disabled Community
Link:
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/9a6acbe2828f465ebc6da914fdb55bce/CT--T
hanksgiving-Message-Disabled/#.Ts-XVq-XuHg.facebook
Conn. disabled community upset with Malloy's Thanksgiving message,
references to
'handicaps'
SUSAN HAIGH  Associated Press
First Posted: November 23, 2011 - 5:15 pm
HARTFORD, Conn. - Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's Thanksgiving message to residents
of Connecticut
on Wednesday was not appreciated by some members of the disabled community
who said
they're offended by the wording, which describes them as "residents
afflicted with
handicaps" who are "hovering on the edges of our society."
Raymond DeBlasio of Norwich, who is blind, said he was stunned when he
received a
copy of the two-page message from an angry friend.
"When I first read it, I thought, 'Is he talking about me? Is this me? It
doesn't
sound like me,'" said DeBlasio, who called the wording insulting and said
Malloy's
message only reinforces the stereotype that "people with handicaps are
helpless,
writhing beings that need to be cared for. And that's not true at all."
In his Thanksgiving email, the freshman governor reflects on the state's
recent challenges,
including the October snowstorm and the remnants of Hurricane Irene, as well
as the
unemployment rate and how members of the military from Connecticut are
serving overseas
during the holiday season.
The particular paragraph that offended DeBlasio and others is near the
bottom, where
it states how "it is bad that some of our fellow residents are afflicted
with handicaps
that make their lives immeasurably difficult, and leave them hovering on the
edges
of our society." It goes on to say that "it is good that we have service
providers
who work tirelessly and selflessly to care for and comfort them. To bring
them hope
where maybe they have only felt hopelessness."
Andrew Doba, Malloy's director of communications, said the governor didn't
intend
for the message to be offensive.
"As someone who was born with a severe learning disability, the governor
certainly
did not mean to insult anyone," Doba said. "He is well aware that being
disabled
does not prevent anyone from living a full and meaningful life. The
sentiment he
expressed is that we should celebrate both people with disabilities and
those that
assist them."Â
"I am alarmed that the governor, who had made such a very good initial
impression
in the disability community - speaking of employment and empowerment and
doing more
with less kind of things - has written something which I would say is out of
character,"
she said, adding how news of Malloy's message was spreading quickly
throughout the
disability community.
Cathy Ludlum of Manchester, who is disabled and uses a wheelchair, has
criticized
Malloy for a recent executive order that could lead to personal care
attendants having
the ability to organize and collectively bargain. She said the tone of the
Thanksgiving
message attempted to invoke pity, something she said she and other people
with disabilities
do not want.
"You know what it reminded me of is Dickens? Tiny Tim lives," she said,
referring
to Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
"I am alarmed that the governor, who had made such a very good initial
impression
in the disability community - speaking of employment and empowerment and
doing more
with less kind of things - has written something which I would say is out of
character,"
she said, adding how news of Malloy's message was spreading quickly
throughout the
disability community.
Ludlum, who is one of the leaders of a group seeking to repeal Malloy's
executive
order, said she believes the governor "has kind of backed himself into a
position
where he is the defender of the helpless rather than seeking to empower
people with
disabilities."
Michelle Tyler of Tolland, a personal care assistant for the past nine
years, said
she was disgusted with the paragraph.
"The only reason people with disabilities live on the edges of society is
because
that's where people make them live, or that's where legislators and
government put
them," she said. "Quite honestly, the people I have worked for have been in
the midst
of society because they employ personal assistants, they live independently,
they
live very active fulfilling lives."
Tyler said she also was uncomfortable with the message's line about how
caregivers
"bring them hope where maybe they have only felt hopelessness."
"I can't tell you how much more these people do for me than I do for them. I
am only
their physical hands and feet," she said. "I do stuff for them that they
can't do,
but they give back so much more to me. They give me hope and courage."