A nation of nations, as Lyndon Johnson once said — a vast land of contradictions so deep we struggle to believe they can live under the same roof. Yet that is what we have witnessed for decades, since the United States became the unavoidable reference point for everyone, in both positive and negative ways (not necessarily as alternatives). Light and shadow have surfaced even in these complicated days. On one hand, Netflix presents us with the story of a moment that marked contemporary history — when people finally began to think that civil rights belonged to disabled people too. On the other hand, when the Covid-19 crisis struck, all the injustices and discrimination that thrived quietly (or nearly quietly) within the US erupted again. Think of the poor, disabled people, African Americans, the homeless.
It is Carlo Cinus who introduces the film Crip Camp (2020), set at a ramshackle summer camp for young disabled people that — on the road to Woodstock — sparked an unparalleled historical process. Still unfinished, but well underway nonetheless, a model (in countless variations) for many other countries.
A few weeks ago, when Covid-19 struck the US, there was considerable uproar over a report — covered by Elena Molinari in Avvenire — about intellectual disability thresholds that roughly ten states included in their guidance criteria for doctors deciding who should receive a ventilator. In short: facing scarce resources and overwhelming demand, disabled people would get no care. The outrage was immense (some US politicians later voiced their opposition), and where Laura Coccia — who regularly meets students in schools — expresses hers, she does so by adding a strategy for action to the anger. Yet there remains a bitter awareness of how the ten states' decision aligns with the policies the US has long pursued toward disabled people. Organ transplants are a case in point — as Giulia Galeotti tells us — where disabled people consistently end up at the very bottom of recipient waiting lists, if they are fortunate enough to land on them at all.
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Toward a Better Present — "Never more than now have we recognized the privilege of living in this place." With Covid-19 came weekly dispatches from Il Carro, a group home in Rome. There are no universal recipes for navigating the daily life of a crisis like this. Yet while we watch with anxiety for news from facilities serving disabled people, the reflections born from Il Carro's lived experience of community life offer real wisdom for building a better present.
From Home — Discarded items around the house become raw material for small creations: these are the suggestions offered by Giada Di Vecchio, including ideas like giving cork caps a second life. Then there is the #intantofaccioqualcosa initiative from Uovonero, Autismo è, and Spazio Nautilus — puzzles, crosswords, home workouts, and readings in AAC. When two educators and a special education teacher launched a YouTube channel with stories and curiosities in facilitated communication, Federico also shared his thoughts.
Benedetta's Blog
Giuseppe Conte Called Me
Giuseppe Conte called me. He was wearing a jacket and tie and had his hair exactly like on television. He said these exact words to me: "Dear Benedetta, how are you? Is everything okay?" Read more...
Before we go, good news: among the seventeen experts named by Conte to plan Italy's recovery, Giampiero Griffo is one of them — coordinator of the technical-scientific committee of the National Observatory on the Condition of People with Disabilities. Griffo will be a guest on Ombre e Luci soon.