So, my netbook decided to start hating the hotel wireless and Atlanta and I never had the time or inclination to buy the wireless service when I moved on to DC, so here I am back in MI wanting to say something at least about the final 2 days of the Atlanta ADAPT action!
Tuesday was, by far, the most intense of the 3 days of direct action. We assembled in the ballroom, as it was still raining, before venturing forth to the Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights regional headquarters.
Our aim was to start an authentic conversation about enforcing the Olmstead supreme court decision in Georgia and the surrounding south eastern region. Complying with this ADA case law would mean providing long term care services to people with disabilities in the least restrictive setting, namely, not an institution. The case was decided a decade ago, in 1999, but there are not mechanisms in place for the government to hold itself accountable to the ruling. ADAPT showed up in force to raise this issue in a way that a few local “advocates” cannot do on their own with polite phone calls and letters. This is not to diminish the efforts of those in Atlanta working every day to free our people. However, there comes a time when power is so unbalanced that direct action is the only way to create the tension necessary to force dialogue…..
No comments:
Post a Comment