tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post6239063727017466559..comments2024-03-16T19:36:23.953-04:00Comments on Of Battered Aspect: What Were We Thinking?Dave Hingsburgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11918601687946534172noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-12339361206796352152012-09-15T20:15:46.432-04:002012-09-15T20:15:46.432-04:00I second the sentiments of so many earlier comment...I second the sentiments of so many earlier commenters, especially Belly, who described what you wrote as poetry. Poetry with a poignant point. Belindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09251920708783268740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-27480098606031425572012-09-15T01:24:32.081-04:002012-09-15T01:24:32.081-04:00Having entered the field as the institutions were ...Having entered the field as the institutions were closing, my experience has been in group homes and individual living. It sickens me to watch what happens in group home and for agencies to cover it up. There needs to be more accountability.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-3282561305285674912012-09-14T22:43:43.736-04:002012-09-14T22:43:43.736-04:00Dave. Oh, Dave. This is poetry - raw and unbearabl...Dave. Oh, Dave. This is poetry - raw and unbearably sad, but...beautifully so, if that makes sense.<br /><br />"He walked captive to freedom, I walked a captor to apology."<br /><br />Gives me shivers. Just yesterday, I posted an article on FB - I'm sure you've read about the 12-year-old boy who was snatched from CDRI and brutally beaten by a DSW.<br /><br />To say that this is horrific would be an understatement, but I was also aghast to realize that institutions do still exist, in this province, despite all that we know now, in 2012.<br /><br />I am so very pleased to know that the man you wrote of here is free and -hopefully - thriving. And please know that there are many of us out here, learning from you and from others to ensure that the first half of his life will not be the reality for others in the future.<br /><br />I hope.Belly (Liz McLennan)https://www.blogger.com/profile/12185843639648333419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-43262252148034902602012-09-14T17:52:57.297-04:002012-09-14T17:52:57.297-04:00I do hope what I am going to say doesnt in any way...I do hope what I am going to say doesnt in any way justify institutions or the way they treated people. I too remember working in group homes - not the huge institutions that existed before that but still institutions, where else is it reasonable to expect 20/30 adults to live together? Many many times I had converations with staff and "service users/clients/customers" about moving on to independent living. It was pre-community care, moving on was an occasional celebrated happening, it was considered not to be something for all, something to be discouraged if you were not "able."<br /><br />But 20 years before even those conversations didnt happen, 50 years before the institutions were huge monstrosities housing hundreds in places the public couldnt see - out of sight, out of mind.<br /><br />It took too long, so many lives lost but there must have been something going on Dave that allowed the conversations of the right to independent living to happen and attitudes to start to change.<br /><br />I hope that makes sense, if you and many others hadnt worked in those environments you wouldnt have had the drive to see things change.<br /><br />Sorry for the length of this post but one more thing. Over 20 years ago I worked in a home and there was a young man who was considered "ready" to move on but his family wouldnt let him. I know he is in the community now because the home closed down. <br /><br />Anyway I was sitting in a cafe a few days ago and without really looking I asked the guy sitting behind me if I could borrow the salt and he passed it. It was then I recognised him and I was so glad I had called him sir.Myrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-20844896460437955042012-09-14T10:58:33.011-04:002012-09-14T10:58:33.011-04:00GirlWithTheCane:
Amanda Baggs has also written ma...GirlWithTheCane:<br /><br />Amanda Baggs has also written many very powerful posts about institutions, as someone who has experienced them, at <a href="http://ballastexistenz.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow">http://ballastexistenz.wordpress.com</a> I would encourage exploring and perhaps linking to a few of these.<br /><br />One of her important points that she raises again and again is that we should not speak of institutions as if they are a relic of the past. These are still with us today and many are still terrible places to be. Which is why the organization, Disability Rights International, has a campaign to end all institutionalization of children: <a href="http://www.disabilityrightsintl.org" rel="nofollow">www.disabilityrightsintl.org</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-51269916954129335042012-09-14T10:11:55.972-04:002012-09-14T10:11:55.972-04:00GirlWithTheCane ... absolutelyGirlWithTheCane ... absolutelyDave Hingsburgernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-9637778320246671322012-09-14T08:57:33.347-04:002012-09-14T08:57:33.347-04:00May I link to this post on my blog? I've done ...May I link to this post on my blog? I've done a couple of posts about institutions, trying to get the point across about what they were like and why they need to be closed...this gets it across much more viscerally than anything I've written.<br /><br />GirlWithTheCanehttp://www.girlwiththecane.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-20030913951526175852012-09-14T06:24:48.520-04:002012-09-14T06:24:48.520-04:00You are such a good word artist Dave. Thank you f...You are such a good word artist Dave. Thank you for painting the pictures for us. We have much to reflect on, much to learn and much to be thankful for.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com