I find it ironic that this administration is peppered with elderly individuals with physical and dare i say mental/memory challenges and they are, of all people creating policies that disregard individuals with disabilities. We Americans must support policies that support the vulnerable, be it individuals with disabilities or the elderly. Any of us is one accident away from a possible disability, temporary or permanent. And if we're lucky will reach elderhood, hopefully with dignity.
Remember when Trump said being around disabled Veterans was "not a good look" for him? What "leader" can't look the people who paid the price for his "leadership" in the eye? The hardest thing to do as a military leader is visit your Troopers in the hospital for here you see the price of freedom paid. Then again, we elected a guy with 5 deferments to get out of Vietnam, so why are we shocked? Wonder if bone spurs are a disability and could land him in an institution?
I don't agree with the new DoJ guidelines, but this new policy certainly changed some of the dynamics in the reproductive right war.
For a long time, anti-abortion right argued that disability is not a curse or really debilitating, and shouldn't be grounds for abortion. And yet, I suspect states with the most restrictive abortion laws will also be the states most eager to institutionalize the disabled.
Thank you Catherine. I urge you to investigate the HOPE for Florida program (I think that is what it is called) Casey DeSantis’ pet project that had some shady financial issues.
We received and invitation for a special program to help people who are on the medwaiver waitlist.
I have an adult daughter who is profoundly disabled and received an invitation as did some of my friends who also have adult disabled children. We walked away with the same feeling: they are trying to institutionalize our family members.
Would love to see a reporter do a deep dive on that program, especially now.
I think folks have been unfair to Trump about his mocking of the disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski. Kovaleski’s birth defect is a hand that is statically malformed. Trump put on a “spastic” act to make fun of Kovaleski, as if Kovaleski had a disease like cerebral palsy, but that is not Kovaleski’s problem, as one can clearly see if one watches video of him.
So I don’t think Trump was making fun of Kovaleski’s disability, and we shouldn’t fabricate stories to make him look bad when there are so many true things he’s done to earn our opprobrium. I knew one friend who lost trust in American media, and gained trust in Trump, during the 2016 campaign over this story.
What Trump did do was still ugly, of course. He was implicitly making fun of everyone who has diseases like cerebral palsy. I’m just unhappy that most people haven’t gotten the story straight, and that this has led to additional mistrust of mainstream media by Trump voters.
What? I don't understand your story at all. It makes no sense - so Trump made fun of this reporter (which is 100% verified) but got his disability wrong, so your friend gained trust in Trump and lost trust in American media over this specific incident? That is completely non-sensical and if true - I'd ditch that friend, fast.
The loss in trust was due to the deceptive photo editor who chose a still image of Trump that made it look like Trump was imitating the misshapen hand of Kovalevski, when on video it is clear that was doing no such thing. I believe that was a disingenuous and manipulative thing for the photo editor to do.
Do you really think the story here was merely “Trump made fun of a reporter, and that reporter was disabled, so it was wrong to make fun of him”? I don’t. I think it was more specific: “Trump made fun of the reporter’s disability.” And it is this version that I claim is clearly wrong if we examine the video footage.
Suppose Trump made fun of something that has nothing to do with a disability, such as a reporter with dwarfism who he makes fun of for his overuse of capital letters (oh, the irony of Trump were to make fun of this). Then I claim nobody should reasonably get angry with Trump for making fun of a writing quirk by someone who happens to be unusually short, but it would be cruel to make fun of the person for being short due to a genetic condition.
I’m disappointed that you think my point of view makes no sense. I do, in fact, no longer talk to that friend, because many of his arguments were painful and upsetting to me. But I still think his argument was correct in this instance.
How ironic (and maddening!)! trump is clearly one of the absolutely most mentally disabled people in this Country--and always has been! (Physically too: let's not forget about those bone spurs and cankles.) Please tell me none other than RFKJ will be personally ushering his boss to some faraway institution, locking him in his room and throwing away they key. Or maybe, they ought to bunk together. They're equally suited to the treatment they're proposing.
Don't get me wrong, RFK is a tool of the highest level. Ignorant, addled, drank every kind of Kool-Aid there was to drink, and he's terrible for people with disabilities and people with autism. But I do want to point out that his remarks about autistic people who won't marry or hold a job or live independently have been taken out of context. They were not meant to denigrate people with autism. I actually think he meant for them to create sympathy for a large amount of people with autism, maybe 40%, who will absolutely struggle to live independently and get married. Many of these people don't speak, can't dress themselves, or cook for themselves, and in fact need a tremendous amount of help, which this administration is totally opposed to giving. In fact, a huge amount of the cuts in the national Institute of mental health budget we’re cut that would’ve gone to studying and learning about exactly this population of people with autism. This is a group of disabled people who have been singularly unable to advocate for themselves. And even though Autism research is funded at a much higher level now than it was 25 years ago This group is still extremely neglected. I think RFK deserves all the opprobrium one could possibly give him, but he was taken out of context on this one quote .
You don't think they're actually planning on putting people in mental institutions to study them? They're putting them away because they're a part of society the purist nationalists don't want to see.
They have cut almost $100 billion from autism studies.
Let’s not forget that it was a Kennedy who created the Special Olympics. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, inspired by her own sister’s developmental disability, wanted dignity and inclusion for those who at the time were hidden away in institutions. RFK, Jr wants to return to that horrific era.
What the hell is wrong with these people that makes them so hateful and intolerant? Stephen Miller's family came from immigrants; he's supposedly Jewish; he had a middle class upbringing; he's married and has several children. Where did his moral empathy, present in most people (I hope) in him go? I would not be surprised that, if this trend continues, we will be seeing "disappearances" of people with disabilities, not to mention most immigrants and people of color. Yet so many of our so-called leaders profess to be such good Christians. Somehow I doubt Christ would recognize them as such.
Over 20 years ago I was a casemanager in an elder home care program. I don't know where the Trump administration got the idea that institutionalizing people is less expensive than having them live at home with assistance a few hours per week. Families do the lion's share of caregiving and these few hours benefit them too.
I now work at a university and Dining Services hires a group of developmentally delayed people to clean tables and stock utensils etc. They love to work and talk with us. Why does the administration want to hide them away?
*Another Kennedy, Eunice Shriver, founded the Special Olympics in remembrance of her sister Rosemary.
Who exactly will be running these "institutions"? My guess is that they will be privatized and run by the same companies that are running the detention centers.
This is a story that can influence people to turn away from Trump. Not everyone certainly but the perfunctory republican who says I vote republican because the party’s pro business. The horror of eugenics is horrific to most - yes even the “other” side.
Complacency “oh he is just saying it “ or “it will never happen “ must be confronted. This is truly intolerable.
First he came for the immigrants now the disabled. It will continue to roll downhill like some grotesque snowball. Share everywhere!
Thank you for this column, Catherine, which is full of compassion for people with disabilities. Also: their approach to people with disabilities says so much about the inter-generational difference between RFK, Jr., and his father and uncles. JFK and RFK owning the tragedy of their sister by trying to do something about it; RFK, Jr doubling down on the mentality that led to her mistreatment.
I find it ironic that this administration is peppered with elderly individuals with physical and dare i say mental/memory challenges and they are, of all people creating policies that disregard individuals with disabilities. We Americans must support policies that support the vulnerable, be it individuals with disabilities or the elderly. Any of us is one accident away from a possible disability, temporary or permanent. And if we're lucky will reach elderhood, hopefully with dignity.
Remember when Trump said being around disabled Veterans was "not a good look" for him? What "leader" can't look the people who paid the price for his "leadership" in the eye? The hardest thing to do as a military leader is visit your Troopers in the hospital for here you see the price of freedom paid. Then again, we elected a guy with 5 deferments to get out of Vietnam, so why are we shocked? Wonder if bone spurs are a disability and could land him in an institution?
I don't agree with the new DoJ guidelines, but this new policy certainly changed some of the dynamics in the reproductive right war.
For a long time, anti-abortion right argued that disability is not a curse or really debilitating, and shouldn't be grounds for abortion. And yet, I suspect states with the most restrictive abortion laws will also be the states most eager to institutionalize the disabled.
I think you are right about that, and it should be called out over and over.
Thank you Catherine. I urge you to investigate the HOPE for Florida program (I think that is what it is called) Casey DeSantis’ pet project that had some shady financial issues.
We received and invitation for a special program to help people who are on the medwaiver waitlist.
I have an adult daughter who is profoundly disabled and received an invitation as did some of my friends who also have adult disabled children. We walked away with the same feeling: they are trying to institutionalize our family members.
Would love to see a reporter do a deep dive on that program, especially now.
I think folks have been unfair to Trump about his mocking of the disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski. Kovaleski’s birth defect is a hand that is statically malformed. Trump put on a “spastic” act to make fun of Kovaleski, as if Kovaleski had a disease like cerebral palsy, but that is not Kovaleski’s problem, as one can clearly see if one watches video of him.
So I don’t think Trump was making fun of Kovaleski’s disability, and we shouldn’t fabricate stories to make him look bad when there are so many true things he’s done to earn our opprobrium. I knew one friend who lost trust in American media, and gained trust in Trump, during the 2016 campaign over this story.
What Trump did do was still ugly, of course. He was implicitly making fun of everyone who has diseases like cerebral palsy. I’m just unhappy that most people haven’t gotten the story straight, and that this has led to additional mistrust of mainstream media by Trump voters.
What? I don't understand your story at all. It makes no sense - so Trump made fun of this reporter (which is 100% verified) but got his disability wrong, so your friend gained trust in Trump and lost trust in American media over this specific incident? That is completely non-sensical and if true - I'd ditch that friend, fast.
The loss in trust was due to the deceptive photo editor who chose a still image of Trump that made it look like Trump was imitating the misshapen hand of Kovalevski, when on video it is clear that was doing no such thing. I believe that was a disingenuous and manipulative thing for the photo editor to do.
Do you really think the story here was merely “Trump made fun of a reporter, and that reporter was disabled, so it was wrong to make fun of him”? I don’t. I think it was more specific: “Trump made fun of the reporter’s disability.” And it is this version that I claim is clearly wrong if we examine the video footage.
Suppose Trump made fun of something that has nothing to do with a disability, such as a reporter with dwarfism who he makes fun of for his overuse of capital letters (oh, the irony of Trump were to make fun of this). Then I claim nobody should reasonably get angry with Trump for making fun of a writing quirk by someone who happens to be unusually short, but it would be cruel to make fun of the person for being short due to a genetic condition.
I’m disappointed that you think my point of view makes no sense. I do, in fact, no longer talk to that friend, because many of his arguments were painful and upsetting to me. But I still think his argument was correct in this instance.
Honestly, this is so disgusting, and all because Trump is afraid of disabled people.
How ironic (and maddening!)! trump is clearly one of the absolutely most mentally disabled people in this Country--and always has been! (Physically too: let's not forget about those bone spurs and cankles.) Please tell me none other than RFKJ will be personally ushering his boss to some faraway institution, locking him in his room and throwing away they key. Or maybe, they ought to bunk together. They're equally suited to the treatment they're proposing.
Don't get me wrong, RFK is a tool of the highest level. Ignorant, addled, drank every kind of Kool-Aid there was to drink, and he's terrible for people with disabilities and people with autism. But I do want to point out that his remarks about autistic people who won't marry or hold a job or live independently have been taken out of context. They were not meant to denigrate people with autism. I actually think he meant for them to create sympathy for a large amount of people with autism, maybe 40%, who will absolutely struggle to live independently and get married. Many of these people don't speak, can't dress themselves, or cook for themselves, and in fact need a tremendous amount of help, which this administration is totally opposed to giving. In fact, a huge amount of the cuts in the national Institute of mental health budget we’re cut that would’ve gone to studying and learning about exactly this population of people with autism. This is a group of disabled people who have been singularly unable to advocate for themselves. And even though Autism research is funded at a much higher level now than it was 25 years ago This group is still extremely neglected. I think RFK deserves all the opprobrium one could possibly give him, but he was taken out of context on this one quote .
You don't think they're actually planning on putting people in mental institutions to study them? They're putting them away because they're a part of society the purist nationalists don't want to see.
They have cut almost $100 billion from autism studies.
Let’s not forget that it was a Kennedy who created the Special Olympics. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, inspired by her own sister’s developmental disability, wanted dignity and inclusion for those who at the time were hidden away in institutions. RFK, Jr wants to return to that horrific era.
What the hell is wrong with these people that makes them so hateful and intolerant? Stephen Miller's family came from immigrants; he's supposedly Jewish; he had a middle class upbringing; he's married and has several children. Where did his moral empathy, present in most people (I hope) in him go? I would not be surprised that, if this trend continues, we will be seeing "disappearances" of people with disabilities, not to mention most immigrants and people of color. Yet so many of our so-called leaders profess to be such good Christians. Somehow I doubt Christ would recognize them as such.
This article brought tears to my eyes.
Over 20 years ago I was a casemanager in an elder home care program. I don't know where the Trump administration got the idea that institutionalizing people is less expensive than having them live at home with assistance a few hours per week. Families do the lion's share of caregiving and these few hours benefit them too.
I now work at a university and Dining Services hires a group of developmentally delayed people to clean tables and stock utensils etc. They love to work and talk with us. Why does the administration want to hide them away?
*Another Kennedy, Eunice Shriver, founded the Special Olympics in remembrance of her sister Rosemary.
Who exactly will be running these "institutions"? My guess is that they will be privatized and run by the same companies that are running the detention centers.
This is a story that can influence people to turn away from Trump. Not everyone certainly but the perfunctory republican who says I vote republican because the party’s pro business. The horror of eugenics is horrific to most - yes even the “other” side.
Complacency “oh he is just saying it “ or “it will never happen “ must be confronted. This is truly intolerable.
First he came for the immigrants now the disabled. It will continue to roll downhill like some grotesque snowball. Share everywhere!
Thank you for this column, Catherine, which is full of compassion for people with disabilities. Also: their approach to people with disabilities says so much about the inter-generational difference between RFK, Jr., and his father and uncles. JFK and RFK owning the tragedy of their sister by trying to do something about it; RFK, Jr doubling down on the mentality that led to her mistreatment.
Your Substack on Rockwell from December last year was one of the most interesting and thoughtful ones I’ve ever read.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/norman-rockwell-museum-magafication-trump-culture-dhs?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Is it possible that this is really just a way of sweeping homeless people off the streets of our cities?