In the early 1970's, I operated three different food service
facilities under the Business Enterprises Program(BEP). The Office of
Services for the Blind, made what some of us believed to be erroneous
assumptions. For example, it was held that a totally blind person
could not operate a full service cafeteria.
Training materials were not provided in any format other than print,
and the selection and promotion of venders was not shared outside the
BEP staff. As a blind vender and as president of the state blind
organization, the Washington State Association of the Blind(WSAB), I
approached the 23 other operators in the program and suggested that we
should call a meeting for the purpose of exploring the formation of a
bargaining unit.
Between our campaign to establish a Commission for the Blind,
organizing the Blind Vendors, sponsoring the White Cane legislation as
well as a bill demanding the right of the blind to serve on juries,
and running the first cafeteria operated by a totally blind person, my
plate was full. Did I mention that I was also newly remarried and
raising a family?
Anyway, during all of this excitement, we organized a demonstration in
front of the Office of Services for the Blind's Seattle building. It
was the tenth anniversary of the opening of this facility, billed as
the most advanced training center for the blind West of the
Mississippi River. The WSAB claimed that the programs were stagnant,
repressive, and failed to develop employment opportunities for blind
clients.
We organized a demonstration to coincide with the publicity the Office
had lined up. When the news cameras and reporters arrived, they were
met by a large group of blind people carrying signs denouncing the
quality of Vocational Services.
I recall the chief of the Office, Doctor Jerome Dunham, bringing out
a big plate of cookies to be passed among the picketers. But the one
that got me most of all was the administrator of the BEP, Frank
Hoppes. Frank asked me to stop by his office and chat. When we were
seated Frank leaned forward and said, in his smoothest purring voice,
"Carl, let's don't make waves."
In Frank's mind, everything was going just fine and dandy until some
rabble rouser rocked the boat. The establishment always wants to have
things calm and orderly and under control. What amazes me is how long
the oppressed folks wait around, hoping things will improve, before
they finally take all they can take. And you can always bet that as
soon as the first rock is thrown or the first car is tipped over, the
mayor or governor or police chief will jump in front of the cameras
and call for peace.
My advice to these silly geese is, "You can do something to prevent
this from happening again. All you have to do is to include these
people in your job description. Take care of their needs and they'll
give you the peace you want."
Carl Jarvis
On 4/29/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
>
> Coates writes: "Officials calling for calm can offer no rational
> justification for Gray's death, and so they appeal for order, nonviolence,
> and compliance."
>
> A protestor on a bike in Baltimore. (photo: Jim Bourg/Reuters)
>
>
> Nonviolence as Compliance
> By Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
> 28 April 15
>
> Officials calling for calm can offer no rational justification for Gray's
> death, and so they appeal for order.
>
> Rioting broke out on Monday in Baltimore-an angry response to the death of
> Freddie Gray, a death my native city seems powerless to explain. Gray did
> not die mysteriously in some back alley but in the custody of the city's
> publicly appointed guardians of order. And yet the mayor of that city and
> the commissioner of that city's police still have no idea what happened. I
> suspect this is not because the mayor and police commissioner are bad
> people, but because the state of Maryland prioritizes the protection of
> police officers charged with abuse over the citizens who fall under its
> purview.
> The citizens who live in West Baltimore, where the rioting began,
> intuitively understand this. I grew up across the street from Mondawmin
> Mall, where today's riots began. My mother was raised in the same housing
> project, Gilmor Homes, where Freddie Gray was killed. Everyone I knew who
> lived in that world regarded the police not with admiration and respect but
> with fear and caution. People write these feelings off as wholly irrational
> at their own peril, or their own leisure. The case against the Baltimore
> police, and the society that superintends them, is easily made:
> Over the past four years, more than 100 people have won court judgments or
> settlements related to allegations of brutality and civil rights
> violations.
> Victims include a 15-year-old boy riding a dirt bike, a 26-year-old
> pregnant
> accountant who had witnessed a beating, a 50-year-old woman selling church
> raffle tickets, a 65-year-old church deacon rolling a cigarette and an
> 87-year-old grandmother aiding her wounded grandson ....
> And in almost every case, prosecutors or judges dismissed the charges
> against the victims-if charges were filed at all. In an incident that drew
> headlines recently, charges against a South Baltimore man were dropped
> after
> a video showed an officer repeatedly punching him-a beating that led the
> police commissioner to say he was "shocked."
> The money paid out by the city to cover for the brutal acts of its police
> department would be enough to build "a state-of-the-art rec center or
> renovations at more than 30 playgrounds." Instead, the money was used to
> cover for the brutal acts of the city's police department and ensure they
> remained well beyond any semblance of justice.
> Now, tonight, I turn on the news and I see politicians calling for young
> people in Baltimore to remain peaceful and "nonviolent." These
> well-intended
> pleas strike me as the right answer to the wrong question. To understand
> the
> question, it's worth remembering what, specifically, happened to Freddie
> Gray. An officer made eye contact with Gray. Gray, for unknown reasons,
> ran.
> The officer and his colleagues then detained Gray. They found him in
> possession of a switchblade. They arrested him while he yelled in pain. And
> then, within an hour, his spine was mostly severed. A week later, he was
> dead. What specifically was the crime here? What particular threat did
> Freddie Gray pose? Why is mere eye contact and then running worthy of
> detention at the hands of the state? Why is Freddie Gray dead?
> When nonviolence begins halfway through the war with the aggressor calling
> time out, it exposes itself as a ruse.
> The people now calling for nonviolence are not prepared to answer these
> questions. Many of them are charged with enforcing the very policies that
> led to Gray's death, and yet they can offer no rational justification for
> Gray's death and so they appeal for calm. But there was no official appeal
> for calm when Gray was being arrested. There was no appeal for calm when
> Jerriel Lyles was assaulted. ("The blow was so heavy. My eyes swelled up.
> Blood was dripping down my nose and out my eye.") There was no claim for
> nonviolence on behalf of Venus Green. ("Bitch, you ain't no better than any
> of the other old black bitches I have locked up.") There was no plea for
> peace on behalf of Starr Brown. ("They slammed me down on my face," Brown
> added, her voice cracking. "The skin was gone on my face.")
> When nonviolence is preached as an attempt to evade the repercussions of
> political brutality, it betrays itself. When nonviolence begins halfway
> through the war with the aggressor calling time out, it exposes itself as a
> ruse. When nonviolence is preached by the representatives of the state,
> while the state doles out heaps of violence to its citizens, it reveals
> itself to be a con. And none of this can mean that rioting or violence is
> "correct" or "wise," any more than a forest fire can be "correct" or
> "wise."
> Wisdom isn't the point tonight. Disrespect is. In this case, disrespect for
> the hollow law and failed order that so regularly disrespects the
> community.
> Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not
> valid.
>
> A protestor on a bike in Baltimore. (photo: Jim Bourg/Reuters)
> http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/nonviolence-as-complianc
> e/391640/http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/nonviolence-as-
> compliance/391640/
> Nonviolence as Compliance
> By Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
> 28 April 15
> Officials calling for calm can offer no rational justification for Gray's
> death, and so they appeal for order.
> ioting broke out on Monday in Baltimore-an angry response to the death of
> Freddie Gray, a death my native city seems powerless to explain. Gray did
> not die mysteriously in some back alley but in the custody of the city's
> publicly appointed guardians of order. And yet the mayor of that city and
> the commissioner of that city's police still have no idea what happened. I
> suspect this is not because the mayor and police commissioner are bad
> people, but because the state of Maryland prioritizes the protection of
> police officers charged with abuse over the citizens who fall under its
> purview.
> The citizens who live in West Baltimore, where the rioting began,
> intuitively understand this. I grew up across the street from Mondawmin
> Mall, where today's riots began. My mother was raised in the same housing
> project, Gilmor Homes, where Freddie Gray was killed. Everyone I knew who
> lived in that world regarded the police not with admiration and respect but
> with fear and caution. People write these feelings off as wholly irrational
> at their own peril, or their own leisure. The case against the Baltimore
> police, and the society that superintends them, is easily made:
> Over the past four years, more than 100 people have won court judgments or
> settlements related to allegations of brutality and civil rights
> violations.
> Victims include a 15-year-old boy riding a dirt bike, a 26-year-old
> pregnant
> accountant who had witnessed a beating, a 50-year-old woman selling church
> raffle tickets, a 65-year-old church deacon rolling a cigarette and an
> 87-year-old grandmother aiding her wounded grandson ....
> And in almost every case, prosecutors or judges dismissed the charges
> against the victims-if charges were filed at all. In an incident that drew
> headlines recently, charges against a South Baltimore man were dropped
> after
> a video showed an officer repeatedly punching him-a beating that led the
> police commissioner to say he was "shocked."
> The money paid out by the city to cover for the brutal acts of its police
> department would be enough to build "a state-of-the-art rec center or
> renovations at more than 30 playgrounds." Instead, the money was used to
> cover for the brutal acts of the city's police department and ensure they
> remained well beyond any semblance of justice.
> Now, tonight, I turn on the news and I see politicians calling for young
> people in Baltimore to remain peaceful and "nonviolent." These
> well-intended
> pleas strike me as the right answer to the wrong question. To understand
> the
> question, it's worth remembering what, specifically, happened to Freddie
> Gray. An officer made eye contact with Gray. Gray, for unknown reasons,
> ran.
> The officer and his colleagues then detained Gray. They found him in
> possession of a switchblade. They arrested him while he yelled in pain. And
> then, within an hour, his spine was mostly severed. A week later, he was
> dead. What specifically was the crime here? What particular threat did
> Freddie Gray pose? Why is mere eye contact and then running worthy of
> detention at the hands of the state? Why is Freddie Gray dead?
> When nonviolence begins halfway through the war with the aggressor calling
> time out, it exposes itself as a ruse.
> The people now calling for nonviolence are not prepared to answer these
> questions. Many of them are charged with enforcing the very policies that
> led to Gray's death, and yet they can offer no rational justification for
> Gray's death and so they appeal for calm. But there was no official appeal
> for calm when Gray was being arrested. There was no appeal for calm when
> Jerriel Lyles was assaulted. ("The blow was so heavy. My eyes swelled up.
> Blood was dripping down my nose and out my eye.") There was no claim for
> nonviolence on behalf of Venus Green. ("Bitch, you ain't no better than any
> of the other old black bitches I have locked up.") There was no plea for
> peace on behalf of Starr Brown. ("They slammed me down on my face," Brown
> added, her voice cracking. "The skin was gone on my face.")
> When nonviolence is preached as an attempt to evade the repercussions of
> political brutality, it betrays itself. When nonviolence begins halfway
> through the war with the aggressor calling time out, it exposes itself as a
> ruse. When nonviolence is preached by the representatives of the state,
> while the state doles out heaps of violence to its citizens, it reveals
> itself to be a con. And none of this can mean that rioting or violence is
> "correct" or "wise," any more than a forest fire can be "correct" or
> "wise."
> Wisdom isn't the point tonight. Disrespect is. In this case, disrespect for
> the hollow law and failed order that so regularly disrespects the
> community.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blind-Democracy mailing list
> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
> https://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>
No comments:
Post a Comment