“If we must die, we die defending our rights.” ~Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Sioux
I am having a tough time reconciling some legal stuff lately. No, not the judge’s ruling that I am not allowed near dairy farms without supervision, I mean other things all around us.
I’ve discussed this one … any student has the right to not take an exam, any exam. We don’t have tasers, they just get a failing grade. Pearlsky does not have this right, they “administer” the exam, her or my wishes be damned. Hence, she has fewer rights than all the normal students.
Also discussed, the state has a law that forbids a Durable Medical Equipment (DME) company from selling Pearlsky any parts for her wheelchair until Medicaid approves it. That means a minimum of three weeks, for any part at all. But non-cripples who don’t have Medicaid, can buy any part, anytime. Hmmm, that sounds like equal rights, no?
When you mix the media and the courts, you get reports that either don’t make sense or are missing so much information as to be ludicrous.
Lindsey pointed out this article that basically is about a woman who, while giving birth to triplets was permanently disabled by the doctor doing the delivery. My guess is he was using a pitchfork instead of forceps, neither of which are a good idea. She was left totally disabled, and it is claimed she can only blink “yes” and “no” (which leaves me wondering, wtf? If she can do that, teach her Morse code!) The triplets are fine, the husband divorced her a few years later and lives across the country. He is now in court demanding that the children never see their mother or even her picture, claiming she is “100% not there.” The woman lives with her parents and wants (?) to see the kids. There is no evidence that the kids do or do not want to see their mom.
There is so much missing from the article and so much craziness here. I do wonder what the divorce decree said. Does the custodial parent have the right to “eliminate” the other parent? I wonder why the maternal grandparents are not given visitation rights. I wonder what mom really understands. I wonder what harm could possibly come to the children. I wonder how much their religion is involved. The whole thing is awful, mainly because the reporting is aimed at tugging at your heart, not at passing on information. What are “parental rights” anyway? And then, there is other information not offered unless you dig … mom got an eight million dollar settlement from the doctor, the maternal granddad sees the kids three or four times a year, the dad and maternal grandmother are not very endeared with each other, the dad’s not such a bad guy, etc.
I did find another article, after the judges decision. The judge is insisting on pictures and mementos of mom in the kid’s house (similar to my shrine to Aphrodite, I guess), monthly “Skypes” and a yearly visit. There still is a lot wrong with this picture.
If you read the page of this blog on the menu above called Shoes, you will see another take on the theory of not understanding until you walk in another’s shoes. In Pirkei Avot 2:4 we are told “… do not judge your fellow until you reach his place …” Hillel is not admonishing us not to judge, but to understand how a person came to his place before rendering said judgment.
That leads me to this article. A mother is on trial for attempted murder for withholding chemotherapy from her “severely autistic little boy with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.” The boy died (so why “attempted murder”?). There is no mention of the father or other family members. We are pretty much not told anything so what is the point of the article? Why would a mother do this? Can you imagine? You cannot answer that since who knows what “severely autistic” even means in this situation. Do you not do everything possible to extend your child’s life, to medicate and care for your child? I don’t know the answer to that, and it is not for me to answer. What are the parental rights? Do you HAVE to give all medicines? Is a doctor’s prescription law … do you have to do what a doctor tells you to? Can you refuse to vaccinate but not refuse to medicate?
Whose idea was this whole having kids thing anyway? Oh, and by the way, cow tipping is an urban myth.
“who knows what “severely autistic” even means in this situation.”
The words “mild”, “moderate” and “severe” when applied to disability are so, so loaded and subjective. I despise it. They mean nothing, except that people are going to assume what your abilities or lack thereof are based on your label. Many disabled people don’t fit easily into the “mild”, “moderate” and “severe” stereotypes – me being one of them. If someone wants to know “severely” affected you are, tell them specifically how the disability affects you – don’t say “I have mild CP”, for instance, because it means nothing. I try not to use those words in relation to my disability unless I absolutely have to, because I feel it’s extremely misleading.
If I were you, I’d insist on being there when she takes the test. If they are going to cheat to make the test unfailable, you need evidence that they cheated so Pearlsky doesn’t lose her services. Video if possible. Have you called the ACLU?
It’s all stardust and mojitos until one’s spouse ends up paralyzed and then it’s, “See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya”, is that what the father of triplets was saying? The guy’s a weak, self-serving scumbag IMHO. I pity those kids being brought up by him. They’d better hope they never fall off their skateboards and sustain brain damage or he’ll throw them away, too.
Sartre was right; hell is other people.
As for the “differently abled” (love that New Speak!) being discriminated against they must not have heard about Rosa’s Law. It makes everything all better. Snicker.
Wouldn’t that be a rural myth?
I personally know Abbie Cohen-Dorn’s two siblings. I met Abbie before she was married.
I can not imagine that she wouldn’t want to visit her children – they were much wanted.
I understand there is bad blood on between her parents and her ex-husband. I also understand the burdens he must of felt with newborn triplets and a wife who he was told was going to be profoundly disabled for the rest of her life. He did what he had to do to move on I guess.
No matter what the situation, I think the children should have visitation with their mother. Period. At what line do we say someone is so disabled they can not see their children? How about blindness? ADHD? What is the crossing point? Rights can’t be trampled because our feelings are yucky.
Who says cow-tipping is an urban myth? I grew up in the south and while I never cow-tipped, I certainly knew those who did.
Or did I just miss a colossal joke?
If cow-tipping is a myth, then one of my dreams has just been popped, dang… ::tear::
I personally don’t understand how your daughter can lose her services regardles of how she tests. If she cannot receive a general diploma she is entitled to services until she reaches 22 years of age [at least that’s how it is in nyc]. Testing aside she is not functioning at the same rate as her typically developing peers, and cannot take the same exams even with accomodations and/or modifications [hence the alternate exam] how can she “graduate”? Its crazy to me that anyone would try to shove her out the door on the basis of alternate assessments. This crap is why I stick to elementary
Crystal:
If she “passes” the alternate test, which is possible (since it is rigged), then she is eligible for a diploma and only has to satisfy the school district requirements. All of her classes are marked as “pass.” There is no need, legally, for her to take the same exams as others to graduate. Hence, she can graduate with a diploma at age 18 and lose all services immediately. It has happened, and there are lawsuits.
That is just ridiculous! They are forcing her and other children to “graduate” in order to do what? What complete and total bs! You are going to have to keep fighting and advocating foryour child, but believe me when I say I know you must get tired. I hear that from the parents of my students [and they are only 5 & 6] and I hate having to tell them that it is an uphill battle from here on. I let them know and I don’t sugarcoat it, that now that they have entered the public school system the focus is always going to be, “What can I take away from this child in order to save $? And believe me, as a teacher I know that when a child is receiving all of the services that they need it makes my job easier and more effective. There have been times when I have been told to do some things by administrators, that I did not believe and I fight it as long as I can but when I know I won’t win I make darn well sure the parent knows to fight it as well. I hate the system, and if I didn’t love teaching my students so much I would be gone.