"Dumb Ass" Discrimination

Whether a person is a disabled worker or a disabled person unable to work, disability discrimination can be defeated. On May 1, 2013, a federal jury awarded $240 million to 32 mentally disabled men who endured decades of discrimination and abuse in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act while working for Henry’s Turkey Service. On April 26, 2013, Governor Mary Fallin signed into law the Oklahoma Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act which takes effect November 1 and is modeled after anti-discriminatory language in federal law. The law, the first of its kind to be signed into law in the United States of America, will prevent health care providers from denying treatment "on the basis of a view that treats extending the life of an elderly, disabled, or terminally ill individual as of lower value than extending the life of an individual who is younger, nondisabled, or not terminally ill."

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is widespread. The New York Times says Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the unemployment rate for Americans with disabilities is 75 percent higher than for those with no disabilities.

A May 2, 2013, "Workers win $240 million verdict from Texas company" Star-Telegram article says about the Henry’s Turkey Service case brought to court by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), "Jurors were told that the men were called “retarded,” “dumb ass” and “stupid,” and were physically struck and kicked. In at least one case, a disabled worker was handcuffed to a bed. Other punishment included being forced to walk in circles lugging heavy weights. One man had been kicked in the groin and was found with “testicles that were quite swollen,” an EEOC psychologist testified. Others were often locked in their bedrooms at night, she said. Moreover, windows leaked during rainstorms, soaking the men’s beds."

All human life is valuable because each one of us, disabled or typical, is designed by God. Exodus 4:11 New Living Translation Bible says, "Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? "

Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms and legs, writes in his book Unstoppable The Incredible Power of Faith in Action, "Over time I spoke more and more about my faith. Evangelism and inspiration became my greatest passions. Speaking about my love of God and the blessings in my life, including my disabilities and the strength they give me, allows me to serve others. It's given my life a purpose, one that I believe God created for me."

God created all human beings as sexual beings. God designed single sexuality and partner-sex for marriage only. Some persons with disabilities celebrate their sexuality in singleness others in marriage. Vujicic, who is of Serbian heritage, is married to Kanae Loida Vujicic-Miyahara, who is of mixed Latino and Japanese heritage. On February 13, 2013, this married couple celebrated the birth of Kiyoshi James Vujicic, their son and first child.

Christian minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr., says, "This is the ultimate tragedy of segregation. It not only harms one physically but injures one spiritually. It scars the soul and degrades the personality. It inflicts the segregated with a false sense of inferiority, while [giving] the segregator...a false estimate of his own superiority." What King said about segregation can be applied to other types of discrimination.

We do not have a federal holiday to recognize the contributions of persons with illnesses and/or disabilities. Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, encouraging border states to outlaw slavery, helped push through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which finally freed all the slaves nationwide in December 1865, led the United States through the American Civil War preserving the Union and battled periods of depression, has some good advice: "I don't like that man. I must get to know him better."

One way the Japanese get to know people better is by enjoying a tea ceremony. Ethiopians do it by enjoying a coffee ceremony. Tea, coffee and other things can be enjoyed by the disabled and the typical on any day especially on February 12, which is Lincoln's birthday.

Instead of a holiday honoring multiple presidents on one day, what about a separate federal holiday recognizing Lincoln whose birthday is February 12, 1809? Write to me about it at:

Michele F. Jackson
P.O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
Also share a tweet @Michelelove30 via the social media Twitter.

Needing a caretaker or some other type of assistance is not shameful. Disabled or typical, we all need help in various ways. Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures. Guangcheng became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Later he endured physical and psychological abuse in jail and in house arrest. Eventually he escaped to the United States and testified before Congress on April 9, 2013, regarding human rights abuses in China.

Defeating disability discrimination and other types of discrimination is godly. Disabled or typical God desires a good life for us. Jesus Christ says in John 10:10 Amplified Bible, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."