Jeanne Assam Dealt Charlie's Angels Treatment

I don't know why I even bother turning on the television anymore, seeing as how the morning news has a tendency to pulverize an otherwise affable mood. I probably should have flipped the switch on Tuesday's interview with Jeanne Assam, the born again security guard who shot Colorado's megachurch gunman on Sunday.

According to Assam it was God who guided her hand in the fatal shooting of 24 year old Matthew Murray shortly after he'd opened fire on parishioners of the expansive New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Murray killed two teenage girls in the church's parking lot before entering the building where he was apprehended by Assam and killed. The shooting followed on the heels of Saturday's incident at a youth mission center in nearby Arvada in which two were killed and others wounded. Murray is thought to be responsible for both attacks.

I don't believe in God, but if I did I 'd hope It wouldn't favor the micro-managerial style fundies often attribute as a divine presence dictating their actions. Does God really have to tell you to disarm a murderous gunman? This kind of rhetoric suggests that nothing short of a belief in God can inspire selfless acts like Assam's. Hearing people talk about their relationship with God is like listening to someone describe their own alien abduction, for me anyway. It's cool if you believe in that sort of thing but listening to you talk about it is just going to make me a little afraid of you.

It's sickening that more people have been killed in this manner- that goes for everyone including the gunman. Mainstream media's handling of these crimes is frequently cringe- worthy, but Tuesday's GMA interview with Assam was the most excruciating 30 seconds of programming I've witnessed in quite some time. A review of the facts of the church shooting were followed by questions about Assam's faith and how she came to be a member of the church (Assam stated that, like so many, she'd come to God "after hitting rock bottom"). As if that weren't painful enough the reporter turned the screws on Assam by delving further into her personal life. In a sing- song voice one might use on a kid he cooed something like, "And I hear that you've been looking for something...?"

Assam hesitated as if shocked before taking the bait, regrettably.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a good man. I know God will reveal him to me in His time."

Did the reporter set out to make Assam look foolish? I may not agree with her ideology, but there's no denying that she acted heroically in a horrible situation and should be commended for her level- headed marksmanship. What saving hundreds of human lives has to do with her dating prospects I'll never know. The 9/11 firefighters wouldn't have been subjected to discussions of their match.com accounts, so why was Assam considered fair game? I suspect it had something to do with the need to defuse a fine example of female spiritual power. Because it's much easier to reduce a woman to her sexuality than to form a portrait of her character in the space of time of a soundbite. ABC producers took the low road capitalizing on the (easily consumed) titillation afforded by casting Assam as a hot, gun- slinging ex- cop who kicks ass- AND she's single!!

IIt kind of freaks me out to learn that megacurches have security guards (though I'm not entirely surprised). The church did state that its security force is made up of volunteers, not hired mercenaries as some had suggested. Interesting.y, Christian fundie blogs were among the first to report that heightening church security had been Assam's idea following the Arvada attack.

As usual scant commentary has surfaced on the fact that the current epidemic of shootings are carried out by people who are MENTALLY ILL. Suggesting that such crimes might be preventable just doesn't make for good infotainment (best stick to good old fashioned woman bashing). Certainly extending blame to include anyone but the shooters is met with derision. I fear that the subliminal message being sent is that the sick and disenfranchised must always act alone, preferably with an eye towards a violent flourish.

Violent criminals are just that- regardless of the severity and scope of their destructiveness. Lone shooters have ample access to fire arms and limited exposure to psychiatric treatment options. Getting connected to useful mental health care supports is very often a long and complicated process that demands sustained motivation on the part of the individual seeking care, the collaboration of trained professionals, not to mention personal skills like patience, assertiveness and planning. A patient that can make that level of effort and commitment to her mental well- being is probably farther from the types of extreme emotional states that precede deadly shooting sprees.

Americans still cling to the idea that unfettered access to health care is somehow unamerican, the hallmark of mamby- pamby governments that coddle their citizens with soft core "socialist" perks. Want to be healthy? Here in America we still gotta work for it.

My thoughts on all of this sort of landslided into a slushy heap of disgust. I have to admit, I feel a little guilty about criticizing fundie rhetoric given the timing, but Tuesday's newsbite was all about dueling cliched rhetoric.

Last night I dreamed that Jeanne Assam had been drafted by the CIA to work in Lisbon under the cover Excessive Shoe Shopping. Diabolical.

Jennifer Justice, Works on Paper on View Now in Denver

My work is on view at VSAC in Denver. Hope some of you will head on over to this unique exhibit.

It's All About Touch
A juried show of tactile artwork from across the country. This show is all about artwork that is accessible through the sense of touch. National and local artists have contributed pieces to make this a memorable show including Ann Cunningham, Paul Bouchard, Jennifer Justice, Tina Blatter, Pam Cooke, Naomi Marrow and special musical guest – Eddie Salcido.

Featured Artist: Michael Naranjo is a recipient of the Life Time Achievement Award from the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts. Mr. Naranjo has pieces of work in the collections of the Vatican, the White House, and Phoenix’s Heard Museum.

Opening Night Reception, Friday, October 19: Close Your Eyes and Open Your Mind. The entire gallery will be darkened so patrons can experience the art tactually. Hosted by The National Federation of the Blind of Denver and the Colorado Center for the Blind with food provided by Little India.

Family Art Day, Saturday, October 27, 11am-1pm: Making your own tactile art, Ann Cunningham, author and nationally know tactile artist, and Pam Cooke will lead this workshop. Free and open to the public.

First Friday, November 2, 6-9pm: Hosted by The National Federation of the Blind of Denver and the Colorado Center for the Blind with food provided by Jose’s Restaurant. Special Musical Guest: Eddie Salcido.

Gallery Talk, Wednesday, November 7, 11:00am-1:00pm: A workshop for educators, arts administrators and designers facilitated by experts in the field Ann Cunningham and Buna Dahal on how to make shows more accessible for people who are blind or have visual impairment. Space is limited so please rsvp to vsaco@earthlink.net.

Lately

I've been pulled away from blogging due to a couple of self- imposed deadlines concerning vague academic ambitions that I'd rather not get into in detail just yet. Let the record show that personal statements are loathesome exercises in self- doubt. It's not that I have a problem with self- promotion, but I hate having to represent myself to an audience I know nothing about- save the fact that they are a shadowy ring of academics perhaps installed in a bunker atop the Alps. It's a daunting task. What do the high priests of intellectual taste want to know? Probably they'd like to know if I'd be any fun at a faculty party, but the zombie dialect of academic writing bars me from mentioning the time I was bitten on the knee under a bar table by my very inebriated and otherwise gay advisor.

The best I can do is mention this site, so that maybe someone will click on over on break from reviewing applications.

The nature of the work I want to do necessitates that I talk about my disability. Again, it helps to know your audience. Have they been educated on the rights of people with disabilities? Do I have some 'splainin' to do ? Or will revealing too much offend some one's need to perceive herself as politically correct and "supportive of diversity?"

Personal statements are a crazy maker.

I'll follow up on this thread soon.

She's the epitome of Asian eyes

Words spoken by one young Tammy on the train from Naperville.

Notes on How to Draw a Pile of Rocks

When drawing a pile of rocks it is wise to start
at bottom, sisyphean this three flat walk up once day dreaming of all God's houses-

to believe would have been so much easier,
coughed up at Normandy, spitting ember sand pelt
hairline fissures issue soothsayer.

Visions would be embracing waves
and this would not be happening.
For it is necessary to build one's house on the rock

or so it was written before anyone bothered to write
things down, recollecting cataclysm best
thrown back on the limey ransomed shores.

Thought the Romans recycled their soldiers
in aftermath of Pomepie ticker- tape parade
reckoned all art was dead carbon, was okay with it.

Statues scrapped from quarries runners turned to ash
ancients forever spinning mannah, you could blame alchemy.
Mummy was a god was saint and monster

inlaid with ossuary cobbles.

Naysayers

"Ernesto" runs the cafe at the agency where I work. I noticed that my colleagues weren't encouraging E to do his job independently. I'd had some prior experience teaching cooking classes to blind teens, so I began working with him on grinding and brewing the coffee using nonvisual techniques. It's been a couple of months and he's completed training. He no longer needs our assistance to do his job. In fact, he's really great at it. He's a natural salesman, which I really envy.

My colleagues's have responded to all this not with encouragement as you would think but by grumbling about his "non- compliant behavior-" which I translate to mean that: they (the sighted staff) are made uncomfortable by the fact that Ernesto is doing his job independently- why? because said job involves handling hot liquids? And in what bizarre universe does wanting to do your job on schedule mark you as non- compliant?

Ernesto has come to me complaining about how these same staff members continue to tell him how to do his job. I suggested that he could go on strike on the days these folks' interferance becomes too much, but he has chosen to take the high road and negotiate, calling on a winning combination of charm and humor in dealing with these naysaysers.

I really don't care what they think. Ernesto loves his job and does it well. His social skilss are better than mine. End of story.

Blog Carnival #23- Consider It Brought

Simply the Best My friends are forever promising (or is it threatening?) to write a comic based on the antics of Jennifer Justice. I can live with it- kids need as many positive role models as they can get. But some of us are way too modest! I thought I would encounter more grandstanding, more swagger from our ranks. Not so!

True, we have good reason to recoil at terms like inspiring, amazing and heroic. But it is ironic that while so many of us work to reverse harmful Super Crip stereotypes, Able- Bodied America clamors at the high alter of shameless self promotion. For better or worse, our culture has decided that success should bare an uncanny resemblance to fame- mongering egotism.

We are an aggressive people inhabiting impossibly fragile bodies,

I don't believe in excessive modesty. But then again, I'm not sure I want to take on our megalomaniac culture, not all by myself. From what I've been reading, that culture ain't pretty. Maybe I'll just stick to being a snob who practices passive resistance in her spare time. And I'll rely on your words when I need to be inspired or need to be reminded of the dangers of thinking in superlatives.

Anti- heroes- the New Black I can certainly relate to this Top Ten List from The Blind Bookworm's poison pen, er, keyboard? Apparently, not all blind people are gifted musicians! Some of us even require an intervention. Thanks to Evil Kestrell for saying what I so often think! I too am bored by the whole "bad blind person" debate!

Critical Bogle explains why it's not easy being green when you have a disability and the "dolphin killing" big box stores are the only ones with accessible aisles and parking. And if you're in the mood for a more scholarly read, you can head on over to peer review Super Crips, Disabled Anti- heroes and the Women Who Care for Them, wherein Bogle examines gendered relationships in films like My Left Foot.

I love the premise of Thailand Gal's blog, on planning a move to a new country. Submitted for our reading pleasure a Theravada oasis of a sparsely populated forest far from ego. She encourages us to "tell someone else in your life what he or she does that matters to you."

Forget about inspiring others. We have better things to do. To quote Goldfish, "Impairment is something that happens to you or the way you happen to be, not something you take on." We look to our own friends and allies for affirming words. I know that when I feel like shit, the last thing I want to hear is how strong everybody else thinks I am. I'd much rather get someone else's take on a difficult experience, someone who shares a bit of my own philosophy (I'd be a fairly lousy existentialist).

What happens when an autistic kid saves a life? Is he twice as heroic as NTs who have found themselves in similar situations? Or is this an example of one cliche amplifying another?

Hidden Talents? "Stay tuned for the launch of my next website: The 19th Floor After Dark. it's sure to be your one-stop location for all things naked and disabled and lawyerly." Why does lawyerly sound so dirty? Better ask Mark.

Consumer Reports For a Wheelie Catholic, Ruth has some choice words for Medicare, sung to the tune of If I Had a Hammer.

On a happier note, Zuska and Mom offer their rave review of the funkadelic beach wheelchair.

Unsolicited Advice from "the Experts" Wow, we should consider ourselves lucky to have so many experts on our side. So many noble souls consulting on on our behalf. They claim to know what is best for us. Many of them work pro bono and they are remarkably persistent. Miraculously, they seem to know everything about us regardless of prior acquaintance, from what clothes we should wear to the type of medicines we should be taking. Ruth explains.

Thailand Gal discovered this week that the pharmacists at Target are more than eager to dispense life coaching in addition to scripts.

Snake Oil Celeb Now I have one more reason to despise Jenny McCarthy- just what I need. It took a D List Celebrity to find a cure for autism!

Best Explored Shilo examines the sensitive topic of guardianship for the Council on Developmental Disabilities- an engrossing topic and one that doesn't get anywhere near the amount of attention it deserves.

I received several reports on the disturbing child services case involving Fran Lyon in England.

Shaheen Lakhan at Brainblogger celebrated ADD Awareness Day by losing her car keys.

Stephen at Planet of the Blind offers scathing satirical commentary on the Defective People Industry. I can't believe I'd never heard that term before.

Finally, Emma reflects on the people who have come into her life as a direct result of having CP.

Eat Your Vegetables Robert embarks on one of the sacred rites of parenting. Check out that adorable Baby Afro!

Best of Show I was originally introduced to Creativity Explored by way of Michael Bernard Loggins, whose poem Fears of Our Lives was featured on This American Life a few years ago. Well known for their ambitious exhibitions and roster of talent, the folks at CE recently launched a new website where you can buy/ license original artwork, browse the events blog and get to know studio artists. Penny notified me of their upcoming show Super Heroes Super Villains.

Jodi at Reimer Reason just held a contest to come up with a "cool" alternative title for her son's new respite worker. Looks like they have a winner.

Best All Around I'm fast becoming addicted to Dave Hingsburger's blog Chewing the Fat, but it's hard not to when one encounters passages like this:

It came clear to me that 'choice' could only be made where there was both self-esteem and assertiveness. I saw a definition of choice for people with disabilities that helped me think this through. Choice is uncoerced selection.

Most agencies are concerned about the opportunity for an increased number of 'selections' but have not put much emphasis on the 'uncoerced' part. There is only choice where there is no fear of punishment. Where there is safety to select. Where the word 'REALLY' as in, "Do you REALLY want dessert?" "Do you REALLY want to buy that blouse?" does not exist.

Also, Dave wants you to label him- that's right. Hang a handicapped parking sign around his neck, folks, he's done. Here's your reward. Sorry we can't offer you a virtual beer buzz what with the limitations of current technology. A picture will have to do for now.


Thanks to Penny for calling my attention to some fab posts for this topic. The next disability blog carnival will be held at Disability Studies.

Visual Description: At top, a blue ribbon in closeup lying on its side. At bottom, Dave's "virtual beer" is a six pack of Pabst of course!

Tyra Banks, America's Moral Compass

Last week as America railed against national tragedy (no, not that icky war stuff! I'm talking about our fallen mouseketeer- where are you priotities people?!), Tyra Banks was back in the talkshow studio tending to the thankless job of saving America's youth from themselves. Here's a brief recap of Wednesday's Teenville episode:

Brave kids from various races and backgrounds spend time in a fabricated community, where they are faced with making quick decisions based on their first impressions of each other. From assigning occupations such as garbage man, mayor and prostitute to deciding who to marry and even who should be exiled, the outcomes reflect stereotypes that still exist in society today.

Wow, I feel safer knowing that Tyra is tackling this insidious social problem. I mean who knew that teenagers were succeptable to shallow, stereotypical behavior? What a scoop!

Tyra's mystified and outraged at some of the teens' mean choices, though a glimpse at the reasoning fueling her indignation is what's most appalling. In an interview with GMA, she talked about the groups' appointment of an overweight teen as the "Homeless Person." Tyra's noted that she herself had interviewed homeless people for a previous show and had observed that the homeless tended to be thin as they were in fact hungry. Deconstruct these words for yourselves, folks. I'm too tired.

Tyra's troubled not by the groups' cruel stereotyping so much as by what she views as its inaccuracy. Perhaps if her casting crew had pulled in a couple of disabled teens one of them could have lent the role more authenticity?

In reality, casting crews won't touch disabled people with a ten- foot pole. I throw up a little imagining the conversations that went on during production meetings for Teenville.

"Hmmm, let's see- garbage man? homeless person? Ooh, we'll need to pull in some uggos for those jobs."

"Are we looking for tv ugly or really ugly?"

"TV ugly, of course! This isn't Maury! Now, be a dear and get me headshots of some fat chicks..."

Am I too cynical? No, no I'm not.

For in the bizarro language of television, the fat girl is trotted out as a stand- in for ALL undesirable body types.

As for the girl the teens' decided was wearing too much eyeliner, she is SO NOT a prostitute! She looks beautiful, so don't even go there! Except that they did go there, coming down as hard on excessive makeup as they did on weight.

The thing I find most sad about the experiment is that none of the teens elected to reject or modify the occupations they were given, printed on dopey board signs. They followed the rules of the exercise, letting the group determine who they would be based on first impresions.

Tyra's clearly addicted to her own self righteousness, as evidenced by her two shows' preoccoupation with chiding perfectionism. The psychological landscape of Tyra's entertainment enterrprise should be studied. And I love the Dungeon of Self Absorption that is the Tyra Banks Show's website with links like Tyra's World.

Visual description: Five sad teens onstage at the Tyra Banks Show each with a white plaquard sign hanging around their necks. The two male Caucasian kids signs read Religious Leader and Mayor. The two African American girls' signs read Secretary and Garbage Man. The slightly heavier teens' sign reads Homeless Person.