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ljwritesPolitics and Justice
Unfit for Work: The startling rise of disability in America
I found this article a fascinating and balanced look into increasing disability payments in the U.S. The author addresses both the understandable skepticism (back pain makes you unfit for work? Really?) and the counterarguments (if every job you qualify for requires heavy lifting, possibly). I thought the most valuable parts were the ones that explained the impetus behind the increase in federal disability payments, including welfare reform and burden-shifting by cash-strapped states. It's part of an ongoing conversation about basic issues--how should a society treat members who are unable to provide for themselves? How should a government balance its obligation to its citizens with financial responsibility?
Broken Shield: Police Force Fails to Protect the State's most Vulnerable Residents
This series of articles about the failures of law enforcement at California's centers for the developmentally disabled was the finest example of investigative reporting I have seen in recent years. It was a finalist for public service in journalism for the 2013 Pulitzer Prizes, and I'm sorry it didn't win. Be prepared to be heartbroken at accounts of sloppy investigations leaving abuse of the developmental center residents unsolved, basic police work being ignored in a suspicious death case, questionable taser assaults on disabled patients, the police force at these care centers racking up overtime while doing vital work such as patrolling empty facilities, and, perhaps more rage-inducing of all, how police ignored and mishandled cases of sexual assault at these centers. I admire the investigative journalism work in this series and am glad these issues came to light, but man was it depressing reading.
Joe Arridy was the happiest man on death row
This one was about an execution that took place in 1939 of a man, Joe Arridy, who was convicted of murder and rape of a 15-year-old girl. The problem was, the evidence was full of inconsistencies and it appears Arridy, who had an IQ of 46, made confessions without understanding the import what he was confessing to. To the end it seems Arridy was unaware of what was going on, and was happy playing with his trains on death row.
His story is nothing new, of course, and even worse, nothing old, since the execution of intellectually disabled individuals is still an issue in the U.S. See also Rolling Stone's article The Shame of Three Strikes Laws, which mentions that 40% of Three Strikers are mentally retarded or mentally ill. With a badly failing mental health care system, it seems prisons have stepped up to become an expensive and cruel alternative.
Sports
The One-Legged Wrestler Who Conquered His Sport, Then Left It Behind
A profile of Anthony Robles, a collegiate wrestling champion who left the sport to be a motivational speaker when he was at the top of his game. Get this, he was so good that some fans argued that his disability--Robles was born with one leg--constituted an advantage over his able-bodied opponents. Now I'm tempted to write a fic about Toph in which disgruntled Earth Rumble fans argue that her blindness is an unfair advantage.
Garrett Holeve, an MMA Fighter with Down Syndrome, Is on his Way to Changing the Sport
This is a bit of a misleading title in my opinion, since it seems unlikely Holeve will ever be a professional MMA fighter. Still, the story is interesting for a couple of different reasons: Mostly I like how Holeve's portrayal gets away from the stereotype of the innocent, asexual disabled person, That's kind of hard to hang onto when you take a whiff at Holeve's room, rank with B.O. and unwashed clothes, its walls covered with sports memorabilia and pictures of bikini-clad bottoms. Maybe it's the idea that disabled individuals should be safe and protected that makes the thought of someone with Down's Syndrome being an MMA fighter controversial.
And maybe Holeve will never get the UFC contract he wants, but it seems martial arts training has been a positive in his life: It's great to see how he came to accept himself and his disability through training. Garrett Holeve might or might not change the sport but he certainly has changed himself, which I think is the real victory in anyone's life.
Blind Ambition
Captain Iv´n Castro lost his sight in Iraq and has since competed in marathons and even some triathlons. The story takes place during last year's Boston Marathon, his third, and I wonder if he was there in this year's. I love Captain Castro's sense of humor, telling his guide he's looking sexy, jokingly threatening to take his clothes off during the race when it got too warm. The article doesn't sentimentalize his choice--his lifestyle cost him his first marriage, for instance, and the article portrays him at times earnestly asking himself why he does what he does. He refuses to quit, though, and there's something admirable about that.
Unfit for Work: The startling rise of disability in America
I found this article a fascinating and balanced look into increasing disability payments in the U.S. The author addresses both the understandable skepticism (back pain makes you unfit for work? Really?) and the counterarguments (if every job you qualify for requires heavy lifting, possibly). I thought the most valuable parts were the ones that explained the impetus behind the increase in federal disability payments, including welfare reform and burden-shifting by cash-strapped states. It's part of an ongoing conversation about basic issues--how should a society treat members who are unable to provide for themselves? How should a government balance its obligation to its citizens with financial responsibility?
Broken Shield: Police Force Fails to Protect the State's most Vulnerable Residents
This series of articles about the failures of law enforcement at California's centers for the developmentally disabled was the finest example of investigative reporting I have seen in recent years. It was a finalist for public service in journalism for the 2013 Pulitzer Prizes, and I'm sorry it didn't win. Be prepared to be heartbroken at accounts of sloppy investigations leaving abuse of the developmental center residents unsolved, basic police work being ignored in a suspicious death case, questionable taser assaults on disabled patients, the police force at these care centers racking up overtime while doing vital work such as patrolling empty facilities, and, perhaps more rage-inducing of all, how police ignored and mishandled cases of sexual assault at these centers. I admire the investigative journalism work in this series and am glad these issues came to light, but man was it depressing reading.
Joe Arridy was the happiest man on death row
This one was about an execution that took place in 1939 of a man, Joe Arridy, who was convicted of murder and rape of a 15-year-old girl. The problem was, the evidence was full of inconsistencies and it appears Arridy, who had an IQ of 46, made confessions without understanding the import what he was confessing to. To the end it seems Arridy was unaware of what was going on, and was happy playing with his trains on death row.
His story is nothing new, of course, and even worse, nothing old, since the execution of intellectually disabled individuals is still an issue in the U.S. See also Rolling Stone's article The Shame of Three Strikes Laws, which mentions that 40% of Three Strikers are mentally retarded or mentally ill. With a badly failing mental health care system, it seems prisons have stepped up to become an expensive and cruel alternative.
Sports
The One-Legged Wrestler Who Conquered His Sport, Then Left It Behind
A profile of Anthony Robles, a collegiate wrestling champion who left the sport to be a motivational speaker when he was at the top of his game. Get this, he was so good that some fans argued that his disability--Robles was born with one leg--constituted an advantage over his able-bodied opponents. Now I'm tempted to write a fic about Toph in which disgruntled Earth Rumble fans argue that her blindness is an unfair advantage.
Garrett Holeve, an MMA Fighter with Down Syndrome, Is on his Way to Changing the Sport
This is a bit of a misleading title in my opinion, since it seems unlikely Holeve will ever be a professional MMA fighter. Still, the story is interesting for a couple of different reasons: Mostly I like how Holeve's portrayal gets away from the stereotype of the innocent, asexual disabled person, That's kind of hard to hang onto when you take a whiff at Holeve's room, rank with B.O. and unwashed clothes, its walls covered with sports memorabilia and pictures of bikini-clad bottoms. Maybe it's the idea that disabled individuals should be safe and protected that makes the thought of someone with Down's Syndrome being an MMA fighter controversial.
And maybe Holeve will never get the UFC contract he wants, but it seems martial arts training has been a positive in his life: It's great to see how he came to accept himself and his disability through training. Garrett Holeve might or might not change the sport but he certainly has changed himself, which I think is the real victory in anyone's life.
Blind Ambition
Captain Iv´n Castro lost his sight in Iraq and has since competed in marathons and even some triathlons. The story takes place during last year's Boston Marathon, his third, and I wonder if he was there in this year's. I love Captain Castro's sense of humor, telling his guide he's looking sexy, jokingly threatening to take his clothes off during the race when it got too warm. The article doesn't sentimentalize his choice--his lifestyle cost him his first marriage, for instance, and the article portrays him at times earnestly asking himself why he does what he does. He refuses to quit, though, and there's something admirable about that.
