Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Smart Ass Cripple Is Beautiful, Part A Million

I love when a story leads you somewhere unexpected.

What he's talking about has never happened to me. Maybe it's because I don't use a wheelchair. Or, maybe because I live in a fairly small town, where if people don't know me, they probably know my face and form. That kind of charity only really happens with strangers, I think. People can imagine the perfect recipient, but those illusions crumble as soon as they get to know the person a bit, and find out how complicated they really are.

Workshop or Sweatshop?

School for Disabled Accused of Running Sweatshop
ABC News / Associated Press - June 12, 2013

Whatever else it's doing for good or for ill, once again it is good to see the Justice Department aggressively pursuing meaningful disability cases.

So, what's the difference between a disgusting "sweat shop" and one of those charitable "sheltered workshops" people in your neighborhood raise money for? Lets just say it's an awfully a slippery slope ... between non-profit and for-profit, between a work training program and just plain work, between a safe environment with lots of extra help and supervision, and a closed-off, segregated place for people with disabilities to be hidden away while their every moment and movement is regulated and micromanaged.

Lots of people have jobs that suck. Sheltered workshops suck in a unique and particular way, whether or not their indignities rise to the level of criminality.