Seeing the president quickly claiming that disabled workers and diversity, equity and inclusion programs played a part in the fatal Jan. 29 Washington D.C. air collision, when investigations were barely underway and no one knew anything for sure, was certainly a batten-down-the-hatches moment. Especially when it was soon apparent that there is a long record of close calls between military and civilian air traffic in that area, and even now the NTSB is looking at several possible causes including equipment malfunction that may have led the military aircraft to fly too high in the air space. Yet the knee-jerk response was to go after people with disabilities. Then, it’s not surprising from someone who publicly mocks the disabled for a laugh line.
Obviously DEI is this
season’s political bogeyman. However, there are practical reasons why DEI
programs came about. Yesterday I learned about a paraplegic who works for the
government developing emergency response protocols to cover people with
disabilities, because who is going to know how to handle the needs of people
with disabilities better than other people with disabilities? And since professionals
in the field want to better their knowledge, they actually want to learn how to
best help people with disabilities from people with disabilities. Does
that follow? It’s hardly a nefarious scheme. Many times I have been asked, as
someone who is disabled, for ideas on how to set things up in ways that are
better for people with disabilities, from architectural details to technology
questions and even the shapes of tables. This week I was hired for a job
because they need someone who has experience with disability because some of
their clientele have disabilities. I hadn’t thought of it until now, but I
guess that makes me a “DEI hire.” Egad. I feel so dirty.
What’s interesting is seeing how quickly the broad-based
corporate support for DEI fell like a tree, affecting not only the disabled and
minorities but women too. But I understand that corporate America doesn’t want
a fight with authorities — it wants stability and predictability, and so its
support was always as thin as a dollar bill. Take note of that time you see a
commercial tugging at your heartstrings about how much the advertiser cares
about you. But it’s also wrong for me to paint with too broad a brush, when
plenty of big names are standing
behind their principles, like Apple, JPMorganChase, Delta Airlines, John
Deere, Costco, Ben & Jerry’s and e.l.f. Cosmetics.
Add in that Medicaid — a major insurer of the disabled and the
guarantor of services that keep people living in their own homes instead of
(and for cheaper than) nursing homes — is a likely target for cuts after the U.S.
House of Representatives passed a budget resolution this week calling for a
massive $2 trillion in cuts.
Also, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1977, a major
piece of accessibility law that led to the Americans with Disability Act, is being
challenged by the attorneys general of 17
states. Some of those bringing the suit claim that the challenge is limited to recently
amended parts of the law that cover transgender people, but the language of the suit specifically
targets the entire accessibility law.
Taken together, the disability community is definitely on
edge. Rather than sit and squirm over the news though, long-time disability
advocacy leader Bob Kafka’s advice is “don’t mourn — organize.” For instance, the
House would have to go through many steps before any proposed Medicaid cuts
would become a reality, so it’s a good time begin calling your rep (Capitol
Switchboard 202-224-3121) and let them know what you think about how they voted
this week and how Medicaid cuts would affect you or those you know. You can
likewise chime in on the Section 504
case and tell your attorney general how important accessibility is to you,
the voter. These policies and provisions were hard won, and once they’re
diminished or gone, they’ll be extremely hard to claw back.
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