I am old enough to remember when the Americans with Disabilities Act was the big political battle of the moment. It passed by a huge margin in Congress, something next to impossible to imagine in these times.
A lot of people benefitted from it. However, there were a lot of people who seemed very upset by it. The right was angry about it, especially fundamentalist Christians because it included verbiage to help their biggest target at the time, people with AIDS. Businesses were furious because, well, anything that cuts into profits even if it is about human decency angers some business folks. I also recall that several Rush Limbaugh enthusiasts in my office were mad about it because Rush was mad about it. This was due to Rush being an awful human being who other awful human beings related to because he expressed resentment about things like disabled people being able to open doors and not struggle to get their wheelchairs over curbs.
Of course, today it seems like we have millions of Rushes on the Interwebs, spreading their venom. One leader of the New Rushes is Christopher Rufo, who led the charge against critical race theory and trans people and has a helluva lot of influence within the Republican Party. If you read this blog you likely know who he is.
He has now set his sights on the disabled:
i don’t understand how, psychologically, a person gets to a place where they interpret sign language as some kind of attack or imposition on their life. like, what the fuck is wrong with you?
This is couched as politics because the guy is living up to his reputation as right-wing, but if basic decency is now political, we are in even more trouble than some realize.
Jamelle Bouie is correct here. I also do not understand why they look at tens of thousands of people losing their homes, as many or more fearing they will be next, people dying/getting injured trying to save homes (both as firefighters and regular citizens), etc. and THIS is where they go. Aimed at people so about themselves and full of hate that sign language interpreters are upsetting because it looks “weird” to them, or whatever is running through their lizard brain.
Not to mention, for someone like Rufo and his ilk, they demonstrate over and over that this is not really about things like better communication methods for the hearing impaired, it’s something malevolent. This is just part of setting the stage for that malevolence.
And all the “we are so divisive that is the REAL problem” people – if you want to ping me for this, go ahead. But please know that is part of their game, get “moderate” people to defend their extremely divisive words and actions by claiming any criticism of their extremely divisive words and actions is in fact, divisive. In this case, simply stating that going after hearing-impaired people during a nightmarish disaster is not good. Which is just, well, something I hope such folks think about.
No one should, as part of their “political beliefs” support stuff like this, which affronts basic humanity, because it really should be something we agree on – the most vulnerable parts of our society, no matter their number, deserve support. That’s true unity.
The last word is from Simon and Garfunkel, a song that might enrage today’s GOP and be declared woke or something.
Rufo doesn’t like sign language, because he keeps seeing single upraised fingers directed toward him, and he knows EXACTLY what it means.