tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post2344610336960922477..comments2024-03-29T03:43:45.977-04:00Comments on Of Battered Aspect: Bias, Bigotry and My LifeDave Hingsburgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11918601687946534172noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-82898621611952592072014-10-06T12:27:12.948-04:002014-10-06T12:27:12.948-04:00For those who want more information about the issu...For those who want more information about the issue, please visit Toujours Vivant-Not Dead yet, either on our facebook page or at our website, tvndy.catigrlilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10498609958543007252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-79662411421734968532014-10-06T09:56:46.815-04:002014-10-06T09:56:46.815-04:00Hi Dave: After a long, hectic week and weekend I f...Hi Dave: After a long, hectic week and weekend I finally had the time and energy to devote to your blog entry. We missed you in Ottawa, but your words made (and will continue to make) an impact nonetheless.<br /><br />The best aspect of the event was in giving members of parliament a perspective they hadn't heard before, and your comments represent all the best of the disability rights opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia. Many MPs said they had just intended to stop for a minute, but remained for the full 90 minutes.<br /><br />We're hoping the event will help propel people with disabilities into the debate. Your blog will certainly be an important ongoing contribution to that debate on behalf of people with disabilities. Thank you so much for your unique participation in the event.tigrlilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10498609958543007252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-70928879712573221052014-10-03T09:38:27.767-04:002014-10-03T09:38:27.767-04:00"I guess what I don't fully understand is..."I guess what I don't fully understand is how that prejudice would end up leading to wrongful deaths? <br />Is it just doctors pressuring disabled people to use the assisted suicide option?"<br /><br />That's part of it, but it goes further.<br />I have heard of doctors putting DNR orders on someone without asking, just assuming they'd (or their parent/caregiver) want it. I have also heard of cases where, even without a DNR order, medical professionals decided not to resuscitate someone because of their disability.Ettinahttp://abnormaldiversity.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-79930570262570205002014-10-03T05:14:32.672-04:002014-10-03T05:14:32.672-04:00Shaya, try reading this
youneedacat got hir feedi...Shaya, try reading <a href="http://youneedacat.tumblr.com/post/46816346769/the-weirdness-of-being-told-that-the-death-alternative" rel="nofollow">this</a><br /><br />youneedacat got hir feeding tube, but only after a campaign of hir allies contacting the hospital to demand it. Sie says sie'd be dead by now without it.<br /><br />Oh, and there was the young British rugby player who, still in the grieving stage of paralysis, was taken by his parents to commit suicide at a Swiss clinic. The Attorney general decided it wasn't in the public interest to prosecute. Which public's interest?<br /><br />Dave: as always, well said. Of course, I object to the other extreme, too, the idea that "Mentally ill people's wishes to die are automatically invalid".Bite Twonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-31471414166668407792014-10-03T03:03:39.270-04:002014-10-03T03:03:39.270-04:00Hi Shaya
I can't answer for Dave but I can an...Hi Shaya<br /><br />I can't answer for Dave but I can answer for myself.<br /><br />I've been disabled for about 10 years now. I enjoy being alive.<br /><br />The prejudice and bias and bigotry, the experience of being a second-class citizen, is depressing. It really is.<br /><br />There are times - it's not nice to talk about them - when due to that immersion, it becomes hard to focus on the positives and the thoughts start to creep in. If pain and prejudice is all I have to look forward to for the next few decades, do I really want to carry on living? Am I really a net burden instead of a net contributor, and if so, am I a less worthy person because of it?<br /><br />Like Dave, I'm lucky and I'm well-supported. When those thoughts creep in, people remind me of my value and I perk up again. But depression is a risk and there have been close brushes over the years.<br /><br />I want to know that if I go to my doctor with that depression, those damaging thoughts, that low-self-opinion, that my doctor will try to *help*. I want her to refer me for counselling, maybe prescribe anti-depressants, give me a number for a crisis hotline, ask questions to establish whether these feelings are related to abuse at home, etc, just as she would for a non-disabled person.<br /><br />The idea that one day, rather than helping me, she might say "well, you're right, your life is terrible and you're basically a burden, here, have a leaflet about assisted suicide," thus validating and reinforcing my negative thoughts at the time when I am most vulnerable and most prone to making poor decisions, scares the wotsits off me.Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11639094548415759560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-85494449569848300822014-10-02T23:27:03.676-04:002014-10-02T23:27:03.676-04:00I have the same fears.
I flat-out refuse to say ...I have the same fears. <br />I flat-out refuse to say whether or not I'm an organ donor in front of any medical professional in case something happens and they find yet another reason it's "better" for me to die... so someone "more deserving" can live. I'm not saying I'm against donation. I'm not, but I choose life until all avenues are exhausted.Jennifer Ruth Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04699005759754946494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-13169537119421717652014-10-02T22:24:14.737-04:002014-10-02T22:24:14.737-04:00Yup. Thanks, Dave. Yup. Thanks, Dave. B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-16215759285915613022014-10-02T22:07:43.639-04:002014-10-02T22:07:43.639-04:00Amen.Amen.wheeliecronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10570378001102933660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-79655762187904714592014-10-02T16:54:59.274-04:002014-10-02T16:54:59.274-04:00Wow Dave, such a powerful piece of writing. I hipe...Wow Dave, such a powerful piece of writing. I hipe that those who shoukd have heard it at least get the opportunity to read it. This is such an important message to get out there, and you have done it so well. This is a post I will be "favouriting" to come back to in the future. Tamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06127724900472716057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-60223384668327624312014-10-02T13:21:47.767-04:002014-10-02T13:21:47.767-04:00Well said! Thanks to the link you provided on FB,...Well said! Thanks to the link you provided on FB, I will be sharing. <br /><br />You rock, Dave.Kris S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-84820787973186822422014-10-02T12:58:48.799-04:002014-10-02T12:58:48.799-04:00Dear Dave:
Well said!
ColleenDear Dave:<br /><br />Well said!<br /><br />ColleenColleennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-68477717148700204962014-10-02T12:37:35.586-04:002014-10-02T12:37:35.586-04:00Bravo, Dave. Thanks for sharing.
--LittlewolfBravo, Dave. Thanks for sharing.<br /><br />--LittlewolfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-17198403857776185282014-10-02T11:22:47.227-04:002014-10-02T11:22:47.227-04:00Hi Dave, I love your blog and have been reading fo...Hi Dave, I love your blog and have been reading for about 6 months now. This post is really powerful and I found myself nodding along to all of it. <br /><br />I'm trying to square the images of people who feel like they're at the end of their life and talk with their doctor about assisted suicide with what you're describing. I totally agree with you that doctors are not free from bias and are frequently ableist. I guess what I don't fully understand is how that prejudice would end up leading to wrongful deaths? <br />Is it just doctors pressuring disabled people to use the assisted suicide option?Shayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05203461040320994125noreply@blogger.com