[nagdu] No Jews Allowed

Thu Jan 21 14:45:06 UTC 2010

What I was trying to say (and perhaps failed at) was that an analogy of
Jewish oppression versus discrimination based on guide dog ownership is
invalid and poor. While someone may be a great ally to blind folk and people
with service animals, this article is in poor taste.
I say this as a Jew *and* a guide dog handler.
We cannot compare the experiences of people persecuted because of religion
to our own experiences as handlers. The reason we are denied service is
ENTIRELY different than the reason Jews (or LGBT folk or people of color or
poor folk and on and on and so on and so forth) are/were denied access to
service and public space.
But this is a stickler for discussing privilege, discrimination and
oppression; we are not comparative to other groups yet the *feelings* we
have are very very similar. So how do we talk about what it's like to have
an access challenge as handlers that is both validating and sensacle? i
don't have a good answer. I know that I've been talking with my therapist on
how to handle the day-to-day struggles of access challenges and ignorant
public and compare it to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) without a
post-trauma period.
That's what I'm trying to talk about.
Jeanette

On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 8:29 AM, Marion & Martin
<swampfox1833 at verizon.net>wrote:

> Linda and All,
>   I think these messages miss the point of the article.Though Marc could
> have discussed other groups that were oppressed and the unconscienable
> manner in which they were treated, Marc's family experience was that of
> oppression based upon their ethnic and religious orientation. I would like
> to encourage everyone to understand the analogy of the article written by
> one of our strongest, most competent allies. As an attorney with the
> Department of Justice, Marc has created a great deal of case law that has
> helped define our rights and responsibilities as service animal handlers.
> This is the message of his article.
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Linda Gwizdak" <linda.gwizdak at cox.net>
>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <
> nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 6:26 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] No Jews Allowed
>
>
> Jeanette,
> Great! Hey, did I miss anything from the article???  Funny thing, Marc
> NEVER
> mentioned the thousands of LGBT people who were Hitler's victims BEFORE he
> got around to the Jews.  These people were forced into ghettos as well and
> forced to wear the pink triangle and were killed.  Hitler got to the Jews
> BECAUSE he was allowed to kill off other groups - blind and disabled -
> first!  We STILL get left out as LGBT people even in some of our disability
> organizations!
>
> Lyn and Landon
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeanette Beal" <bealjk at gmail.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 3:41 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] No Jews Allowed
>
>
> While I appreciate the message of disability-as-identity and inequalities
> being lobbied to end, this analogy lacks a giant truth: religious and
> ethnic
> identity does not equate physical/mental/emotional disability. The
> experience of being denied services based on identity (ie. 'we don't treat
> your kind') is a denial of one's humanity. Architectural and other access
> barriers (and ignorance to what would provide legal and appropriate
> accommodations) is an unfortunate inability to accommodate.
> These different experiences may and often result in a shared negative
> experience of denied humanity but that's based on the interpretation of the
> person being affected, not the institution affecting.
> In other words, denying me access because I'm not heterosexual is about
> denying ME the right to exist. Denying me access because I'm blind is
> generally about not having or feeling unable to accommodate me, however
> accurate.
> Jeanette
>
> On Jan 18, 2010, at 4:21 PM, Sherri wrote:
>
>  That is a wonderful article and really puts things into perspective.
>> Thanks for passing it on.
>> Sherri
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marion & Martin" <
>> swampfox1833 at verizon.net>
>> To: "NAGDU List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; "FLAGDU List" <flagdu at nfbnet.org>;
>> "NYAGDU List" <nyagdu at nfbnet.org>; <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 12:09 PM
>> Subject: [nagdu] No Jews Allowed
>>
>>
>>  Dear All,
>>>  I was asked to circulate this message by Marc Dubin, Mr. Dubin is a
>>> subscriber to the email list of the National Association of Guide Dog Users.
>>> Marc is a former Senior Trial Attorney with the United States department of
>>> Justice and currently serves as the Director of Advocacy for the Center for
>>> Independent Living of South Florida, located in Miami, and
>>> Chairs the Florida Bar's Disability Law Committee
>>>
>>> . I hope everyone will take the time to read his comments, as I believe
>>> they will help put our work as advoacates into perspective!
>>>
>>> Fraternally yours,
>>> Marion Gwizdala, President
>>> National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> No Jews Allowed
>>>
>>> By Marc Dubin, Esq.
>>>
>>> mdubin at pobox.com
>>>
>>> Imagine that you sought help from the police after being beaten by your
>>> husband, only to find that you were told that you could not receive their
>>> services because you are Jewish.
>>>
>>> Imagine that you sought the services of the domestic violence program but
>>> are told that you could not receive their services because you are Jewish.
>>>
>>> Imagine that you sought the services of the Red Cross during a Hurricane
>>> but are told that you could not receive their services because you are
>>> Jewish.
>>>
>>> Imagine that you are the victim of rape, and sought the services of the
>>> rape treatment service but are told that you could not receive their
>>> services because you are Jewish.
>>>
>>> Imagine that you desperately need medical care but are told that you
>>> could not see the doctor because you are Jewish.
>>>
>>> Imagine that you went shopping, and are unable to go into a grocery store
>>> because you are Jewish.
>>>
>>> And imagine that you seek out the services of an attorney, and are denied
>>> services because you are Jewish.
>>>
>>> You would be outraged, and hurt. You would find allies to join you in
>>> protest. You would seek to have anti-discrimination laws enforced. You would
>>> consider suing. You would wonder how in this day and age such discrimination
>>> could occur.
>>>
>>> Every day, people with disabilities seek the services of law enforcement,
>>> domestic violence programs, Red Cross Shelters, rape treatment programs,
>>> health care providers, businesses, attorneys, and others, and are denied
>>> services because they have a disability. Architectural barriers that should
>>> not exist remain. Sign language interpreters are not provided. Policies that
>>> should be changed are not changed, and these policies prevent people with
>>> disabilities from using the services they need. Written materials are not
>>> offered in alternative formats. Service animals are excluded.
>>>
>>> If you are a person with a disability, these scenarios are all too
>>> familiar. You recognize these denials for what they are  - civil rights
>>> violations. These denials are as offensive, as hurtful, as harmful as signs
>>> saying No Jews Allowed.
>>>
>>> My family understands this all too well. I am Jewish. When my parents
>>> were growing up, they were kicked out of school, for being Jewish.. Their
>>> parents were no longer allowed to work, because they were Jewish. They were
>>> beaten up by their neighbors, because they were Jewish. They could not shop
>>> in the neighborhood grocery stores, because they were Jewish. And, they were
>>> arrested, along with every other member of their family, because they were
>>> Jewish.
>>>
>>> Yes, it was another time and place. It was Poland, and Hitler was coming
>>> to power. Discrimination was all around them, and grew, and grew.
>>>
>>> I believe that I am well aware of the cost of social injustice and of the
>>> abuse of power,  . My parents instilled in me an awareness of the importance
>>> of public service, the cost of prejudice and abuse of power, and of the debt
>>> I owe.
>>>
>>> Both of my parents came to the United States in 1952, from Lodz, Poland.
>>> My parents were both survivors of Hitler's concentration camps, and were the
>>> only members of their respective families to survive.(They each had 7
>>> brothers and sisters) Before the war, Lodz had the second largest Jewish
>>> community in Europe. As of 1939, there were 230,000 Jews in Lodz. The
>>> Germans moved them all into one area of the city, and walled it off.
>>> Eventually, an additional 25,000 people were brought in (20,000 Jews, and
>>> 5,000 Gypsies). The Germans then systematically starved and killed them.
>>>
>>> Beginning in January of 1942, the Germans began transporting Jews from
>>> Lodz to the Chelmno death camp, at a rate of approximately 1,000 a day.
>>> Within 3 weeks, over 10,000 people had been transported. Between February
>>> and April of 1942, over 34,000 more were taken away and killed. These
>>> deportations continued month after month. In August 1944, the ghetto was
>>> closed, and all remaining residents were transported by train to Auschwitz.
>>> My parents and some members of their families were among this group.
>>>
>>> As of 1944, of the original 250,000 Jews in Lodz, 30,000 were still
>>> alive.. Shortly before the end of the war, on January 18, 1945, the Germans
>>> removed 66,000 Jews from Auschwitz, and in an effort to avoid discovery by
>>> the Soviet Army, which was advancing toward the camp, marched them in the
>>> snow for days, and shot them as they marched, trying to destroy the evidence
>>> of what they had done. My father was on this death march, but escaped by
>>> leading a group of prisoners into the forest, emerging only when the Soviet
>>> Army arrived.
>>>
>>> By the time they were liberated from Auschwitz at the end of the war, in
>>> January 1945, only 15,000 of the original 250,000 jews in Lodz had survived.
>>> An estimated 1, 500,000 Jews were killed at Auschwitz. All of my parents'
>>> families, including their parents, their grandparents, their cousins, their
>>> uncles, their aunts, their sisters, and their brothers, were killed.
>>>
>>> Upon their liberation from Auschwitz, my parents were sent to a Displaced
>>> Persons camp, where they were kept for seven years. My sister was born in
>>> and spent the first six years of her life in the Displaced Persons Camp. In
>>> 1952, my parents emigrated to the United States.
>>>
>>> I tell you this because it is essential that we understand that the
>>> discrimination we address on behalf of people with disabilities is about
>>> civil rights, and about what we as a nation stand for when it comes to
>>> ensuring equal opportunity. When someone in a wheelchair is denied access to
>>> shelter, or access to government services, or access to civic life, they are
>>> experiencing discrimination. When someone who is deaf or hard of hearing is
>>> denied access to health care because a doctor refuses to pay for a qualified
>>> sign language interpreter, they are experiencing discrimination. When
>>> someone who is blind is denied access to written materials in accessible
>>> format, they are experiencing discrimination. Let’s not be unclear about
>>> this. The denial of civil rights is the first step toward seeing people with
>>> disabilities as inferior, and the first step to allowing the kind of
>>> thinking that can lead us down a very dangerous path. When the Nazis came to
>>> power, the first group killed were people with disabilities. It is essential
>>> that we understand the parallels, and that when we see discrimination, we
>>> stand up to it, and that we ally ourselves with its victims. We need not see
>>> signs saying “No People with Disabilities  Allowed” to understand that
>>> discrimination is occurring, and that we need to do what we can, what we
>>> must, to remove those invisible, yet powerful signs. Lack of intent is not
>>> the test. The test is whether the discrimination occurs, and whether we have
>>> the will to overcome the discrimination. I believe we do, if we work
>>> together, and if we have the will to identify the discrimination for what it
>>> is.
>>>
>>> Reproduction of this article is encouraged.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Marc Dubin, Esq.
>>>
>>> Director of Advocacy, Center for Independent Living of South Florida
>>>
>>> mdubin at pobox.com
>>>
>>> Mobile: 305-896-3000
>>>
>>> Fax: 877-731-3030
>>>
>>> www.victimswithdisabilities.org
>>>
>>> Chair, Florida Bar Disability Law Committee
>>>
>>> http://disabilitylawcommittee.blogspot.com/
>>>
>>> Former Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice 1993-2005
>>> www.ada.gov
>>>
>>> Former Special Counsel, Office on Violence Against Women, USDOJ
>>>
>>> www.ovw.usdoj.gov/overview.htm
>>>
>>> Founder & Executive Director, CAVNET    www.cavnet.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ADA Expertise is owned and operated by Marc Dubin, Esq. Opinions posted
>>> are posted in a private capacity, and are not to be construed to be the
>>> opinions of the CIL, its employees, Board, or volunteers.
>>>
>>>      ADAExpertise | Archives | Modify Your Subscription
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
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-- 
Jeanette Beal
MS.Ed Assistive Technology
Independent Consultant
Boston, MA 02115
bealjk at gmail.com
http://twitter.com/bealjk
http://bealjk.tumblr.com/

"Talent is an invention like phlogiston after the fact of fire" - Marge
Piercy