Who Killed Tyler Clementi?

By Javier Robles

America is becoming the country we use to point fingers at, a place were intolerance of others is commonplace. Where we do not think twice about using someone’s sexuality or sexual preference for our own comic relief. We put people like Rush Limbaugh on a pedestal and go out of our way to make a point of showing what we don’t like about other people. As the polarization of these “United States” continues so will tragedies like the suicide of Tyler Clementi a freshman at Rutgers University. Tyler was outed as being gay after his roommate Dharan Ravi, and Ravis friend Molly Wei, taped him and another man engaging in sexual acts. Rhavi and Wei face invasion of privacy charges, and may also be charged with bias intimidation. Tyler, however, will never see justice served as his body was found floating on the Hudson, September 29th, according to the Wall Street Journal. The 18 year old’s last message to the world posted September 22nd, on Facebook, read, that he was going to jump off the George Washington Bridge.

This young man saw no other way out but one, suicide, why? Because many times we learn from our parents, clergy, media, family and “Friends” that being gay is bad. It is not “normal” and in the religious case, “it is a sin against God”. We as a society tolerate intolerance. We sit back in the house of the lord while a person of this Earth riles on about the sin of being homosexual. We tolerate the imposition of laws and lawmakers who believe they can legislate sexuality, morality and personal choice. In fact, we leave the television and radio on while the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Pat Buchanan educate our toddlers about hate and fear mongering. These same people also lambaste certain television shows as too violent, sexual or “non-American”. There is an indifference towards those not in the mainstream, the gays, disabled, immigrants, and poor. Yet, we tolerate!

It is this tolerance for ignorance and intolerance for people different from us that should have the spotlight shined on it. Do not get me wrong, the two perpetrators in this incident Ravi and Wei, deserve what ever is coming to them. However, we deserve a collective blame. Parents, who allow their child to believe it is all right to dislike others, simply because “they are not like us”. Pastors, who preach love in one, breathe only to stigmatize and hate in the other one. Politicians, so afraid of their base or blinded by their “family values”, that they cannot open their mouth against legislation or laws that continue to oppress our men and women in uniform. Media, that promotes hate like a sporting event, that actually pay commentators to profess their dislike of (according to them) those so morally corrupt that they cannot possibly be “Real Americans”.

It is our tolerance of anti gay, racist, anti disabled and lack of empathy for the poor in this country; that make, a bright young man like Tyler, think the only solution to his sexuality is death. That is a low-point in our Countries history. Just like the murders of Mathew Sheppard in Texas, Frank Rodde’s in Chicago, and Jorge Steve Lopez Mercado in Puerto Rico; were all committed by others, we just supplied the ammunition.

For more information on organizations and websites providing services and positive messages on gay issues visit:

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
http://www.thetaskforce.org/

Gay Men’s Health Crisis
http://www.gmhc.org/

GLBT National Help Center
http://www.glnh.org/

To Talk to a Live Person

GLBT National Hotline
1-888-843-4564

GLBT Youth National Hotline
1-800-246-7743

What Now for NJ DDS?

By Ed Heaton

Recently, I was reading the biography of George Steinbrenner, by Bill Madden. The more I read, the more familiar the character of Mr. Steinbrenner seemed to me. The ego, the incessant demands, the never admitting of a mistake, blaming either his manager, general manager or players on the field for his failures. George Steinbrenner actually fired someone once because it was raining.

After reading the book, I realized why Mr. Steinbrenner seemed so familiar to me. I had the unfortunate experience of working for the George Steinbrenner of NJDDS: Joseph Amoroso.

I would have probably never written this column except for the action of Mr. William Ditto, recently retired director of the Division of Disability Services. Mr. Ditto named Mr. Amoroso Acting Director of the Division. In so doing, he took a cold and turned it into influenza.

Besides Mr. Amoroso’s questionable people skills, there are questions surrounding him concerning figures and facts. According to a document written by Mr. Ditto in December 2008, DDS’s Information and Referral Area (led by Mr. Amoroso) receives 1,700 calls per month. What Mr. Ditto did not state was what types of calls are being received. How many of the 1,700 calls are new requests for information, repeat calls, or follow-up calls?  Both Mr. Ditto and Mr. Amoroso like to point to the amount of calls received as an indicator of the success of the I & R Area. Without outcomes attached to the calls, the number of calls received is not a true indicator of the effectiveness of the I & R Area. In fact, without a report of outcomes, an evaluation of the I & R Area’s effectiveness in assisting consumers cannot even be determined.

While interpretation of data can be debated, facts cannot. In my June column, I noted that Mr. Amoroso was found guilty of a discrimination complaint by the Chief of Staff of the Department of Human Services. Since then, I have discovered that the Merit System Board denied Mr. Amoroso’s appeal of that complaint. The thing is, if Mr. Amoroso had admitted he was wrong and just accepted his punishment, I would have never found out about the complaint. Instead, by always needing to be right, Mr. Amoroso filed an appeal, which became a matter of public record. It also bothers me that a person found guilty of a discrimination complaint, not once, but twice (because of the review), was named Acting Director.  Given this, wasn’t there anyone better qualified?

A search committee has been formed to find Mr. Ditto’s replacement. In his final column in the Able Newspaper of August 6. 2010, Mr. Ditto states, “We have recruited several people from outside of state government to serve on the committee to make it as fair and impartial as possible.” What Mr. Ditto does not mention, by limiting his comment to “state government”, is that all members of the committee that I know of are directly connected to government in one way or another: either county, academic, or retired state government employees. There is no one from the disabled community or the non-profit provider community to assist this committee in making their choices. My recommendation would be to name a CIL director (Eileen Goff) and a person from an advocacy organization (Lowell Ayre), to the committee to expand its outreach.  It is my sincere hope that a replacement for Mr. Ditto is named quickly.

The people I feel most sorry for are the current employees of DDS. I have served my time in hell. Theirs is just beginning.

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ROLLING PROUD by Andrew Levinson

Budget Cuts Threaten the Livelihood of All Nassau County Residents

April 12th, 2010. Sadly, it could be a day to remember.

On that date, Able-Ride, the MTA-administered paratransit bus service for disabled residents of suburban New York’s Nassau County, is set to basically disappear. People will lose their freedom to go to work, to see their doctor, to obtain an education, to engage in leisure activities, and to visit friends and family. This is personal for me, I might add, as I am talking about my neighbors who cannot drive or do not have access to a vehicle of their own, due to a disability or financial constraints. 

 The MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority in long form), which runs bus and train service for New Yorkers in the New York City metro region, is ending door-to-door parantransit service in the suburbs and is only keeping Able-Ride in existence as a connector to the fixed route bus line.  The MTA is citing large costs, as its weak excuse for the cuts.

There are those who would say that the MTA is experiencing budget crisis. They would ask why is it not the case that such people can effectively use their local fixed bus routes to stay employed and involved in their community? Firstly, fixed-routes simply do not exist in certain communities such as Syosset and Bayville, meaning that there would be no transit service at all for some county residents. Secondly, even if fixed-routes do exist, the passenger cannot live more than three-quarters of a mile away from the nearest bus route, in order to get transported to that route via Able-Ride. Lastly, even if someone is lucky enough to already be living within the appropriate radius to still have some Able-Ride service, inclement weather can be especially hazardous to the health of someone with a medical condition. 

All right, Andrew, I have a solution. Try your nearby subway. Subway use is not only a good logistical option, but it’s also environmentally-friendly.

Unfortunately, in Nassau County, there is no subway nearby. If only my neighbors had ended up in the suburbs of Washington, DC and not New York City…

After all, the Metrorail system exists in many areas outside of Washington,  it’s wheelchair accessible, and it protects against the elements outside with its underground location. Perhaps, this is why similar concerns among Washington-area policymakers, about the cost of paratransit, do not cause as much concern among local disability advocates. It’s not the end of the world in suburban Washington without paratransit service, and maybe it’s even for the best after all of the snow that piled up this winter.

I wonder what the MTA would think about extending subway service via new stops in the suburbs. Unfortunately, I think it’s safe to say that the discussion of any expensive ideas are for a later date. All I can say now is that Able-Ride is too essential to the well-being of all Nassau County residents to be cut, even in a budget crisis. Let’s remember that currently employed people would lose their jobs and everyone else could see further budget cuts due to a smaller tax base. In other words, this cut has broader-reaching effects than just those that concern Able-Ride passengers.

Do Politicians Take the Disabled Vote Seriously?

Part I
By Javier Robles

Am I invisible?  Is the group of people that I belong too a mere mirage?  Are we as people with disabilities only good for photo ops and feel-good stories?  How can it be that we do not seem to count when counting votes.  We as a group become non-existent.  So much so that when Barack Obama won the Presidency and mentioned people with disabilities in his speech; it caused a stir with people with disabilities. Amazing! Yet, not surprising.  Why?

Here is what I think.  There are two simultaneous issues going on between politicians and people with disabilities.  The first issue, concerns a historical struggle for survival by individuals who to this day are second class citizens.  The second issue,  surrounds political strategist and their clients (politicians) who are unable or unwilling to realize the potential of this group.  Let me explain.

Historically, the “struggle” has been about housing, institutionalization, discrimination, access and more recently jobs.  While this list is not exhaustive it offers a glimpse of some major struggles. The point is that we as a group are in a constant battle with society to maintain our independence. We push for laws to de-institutionalize (Olmstead) and laws for greater Access (Americans with Disabilities Act) and we fight for every dollar.  We are in an eternal state of chaos.  Fighting so hard to be free that we forgot all about the politicians we put in office.  Not that politicians have done nothing.  There has been progress in the last 100 years for people with disabilities.  However, as a group we progressed with  small victories, and many times specific to our particular disability. Like the Randolph-Sheppard Act of 1936 which was passed to allow blind vendors access to Federal buildings.  There have been numerous registry laws state to state on Autism, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, etc.  But at the end of the day we continue to be ignored on a global scale.  Our power is reduced to statistics which point to one thing; people with disabilities do not vote.  Therefore, their overall needs are unimportant during election time.  Or are they?

Part II Next Week