>it didn't help that no one bothered to acknowledgement the
>sad fact that disability rights issues are important. When you belong to a
>marginalized group that even the left doesn't give a rat's ass about and if
>it's a group that people have historically shunned because disabled people
>are "yucky" or it's too bothersome to think about, it's difficult to shake
>the feeling that the left, like everyone else in this country is hopeless
>and maybe even an enemy at times.
and:
> but i don't really have time for this. the notion that you can't even see
> it's absence is fucking irritating me and I suspect that's exactly how
> marta feels: the complete and utter absence of any discussion unless _she_
> brings it up.
>
>
> Bitch | Lab
> http://blog.pulpculture.org
So it's OK with you if I lash out against gays because this list seldom, if ever, tackles Native American issues? I hope not.
I did bother to note that disability rights are important but no one here suggested they were not so why should it be necessary for several people to note something fairly obvious? I also noted that if many leftists feel disability rights are mostly concerned with ramps at restaurants and handicapped parking spaces then anyone wishing to advocate for those rights certainly has a challenge on their hands. Bashing immigrants isn't going to enhance the health-care options for the disabled however.
If I'm frustrated that a topic that is vitally important, a matter of life and death for many, is not being addressed I should do my best to bring it to people's attention and try to educate them on why it is important. Just how often are Native American issues raised on this list in comparison to disability issues or feminism? Am I somehow justified in excoriating people on this list to do something for malnurished children on reservations and suggesting that some on this list don't want to help people on reservations because they hate Indians and think them subhuman? Again, I hope not.
I don't think anyone is feeling Marta shouldn't be angry just that blaming immigrants is not the solution she seeks. Looking to Gilchrist and Cosman for support is definitely going down the wrong path. I don't pretend to know the best path for Marta but I am more than able to see that aligning herself with the right will not win her the gains she seeks.
I believe if someone had done something similar to what Marta did, such as stating that if it were not for the medical services being used by people who commited crimes and are now incarcerated then there would be more money for HIV research or some such argument you would have seen the pretty much the same reaction from the list. How often are prisoners rights discussed on this list? Is it an important metric if we discover that for every 50 times GLBT issues are discussed on LBO there is only 1 mention of prisoners rights?
John Thornton