Rally2013

 

Introduction/Definition/etc Body Video/Photos Files scanAdvNAMI.pdf Conclusion Discussion Page History Page Statistics Page Views:  since creating on 20130122

 

Introduction/Definition/etc

 

On Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.  (MLK) Day,

the Virginia State Capital is open for lobbying,

which I've done a few years before,

this time with a little different reception...

 

 

Body

 

While the President was being sworn in Again,

(once the day before, and another time for show,

not to mention the initial one(s) in 2008),

MLK was being remembered, people with disabilities,

still don't have the basic rights and respect that

others have lost lives for...

 

A cold day in hell, it seems, as visiting the cafeteria could have predicted,

going in a door someone else went, unposted got a cold reception, you need

to go the other way, wish Republicans or whatever her problem,

would have told others, back behind the patio, another door,

and could not even leave trash...

 

Most disabled seemed interested in the police sniffing dog,

the Capital Police Horses, and later the bunny rabbit,

and owl, since we are treated like animals, it makes sense

we would relate to animals more than humans (at least in

my case, animals are friendlier than most legislative aids,

one set of young men, boys, I'll call them, seemed to be

threatening me, "Show you what Legislative Power Can Do",

"we don't like your site" (this NoVAPeers),

 

"I don't think you understand", I said ,they didn't seem to

be listening, heard it all before, but in their young years,

don't seemed to have lived it, like People With Disabilities,

bugs in the kitchen, another that morning,

mice/ rats, authoritarian abusive housing/ food distribution,

ridiculing all over, from teachers past, to providers that

were supposed to help, instead of using us for funding,

even those handing out NAMI packets seemed to

want to dictate what we did, while there was nothing in

the packets about Peer Run Services, VOCAL was

part of the Coalition, we were not to have our own ideas,

opinions, most probably didn't even read the packets, I tried,

it was in legalese/ budget speak, most listed bills,

without even saying what they were, we support,

x,y,z, which is get Providers Paid, which may or may

not help the intended audience, Consumers/ People

With Disabilities, sometimes multiple, I qualify

for all three major groups, Major Depression,

is considered Mental Health,

Asperger's considered Intellectual / Developmental Disability,

though I'm not formally diagnosed,

I have many of the characteristics and am self diagnosed,

which like Substance Abuse  (SAARA was listed on the

Coalition blue sheet) is about all it takes...

 

Substance Abuse has affected me and my family too,

and one of the reasons I use Jerry W., to respect anonymity,

but the Aids didn't want that, they wanted full name,

address, and the other Aid/ Secretary said they only

cared about affiliation/ company, perhaps for donors,

and mass numbers, they don't care about individuals,

I had to look at the Elmer Fudd type hat from years past,

(we just call it the "Coalition" for short)

I was later Told to use current khaki color,

not the safety orange, the gun lobby which uses MLK

to promote their "freedoms" has taken over,

confusing some, one woman with man present,

gave me the gun rally handout,

which I will try to parse as well...

 

It started out social enough,

building to the usual "strip search" (belt had to come off)

like thing to get in the building,

you see I'm used to it, former DOD, we went in and

out of security a lot, but I'd forgotten, I had packed lighter

than usual, despite forecasts of rain (30% a day or so before,

which meant a heavy big messenger bag, a grocery store

snooty clerk thought was disgusting/ Velcro holds hairs/ etc)

this time I was wearing blue Help The Homeless t shirt,

that hospital staff threatened me in years ago, at a Peer Services

training in Charlottesville, nothing was done about that either,

"let's kill the guy in blue" or very similar, two women as they

were standing up at a table...

 

I had to use the bathroom quickly, so went in the visitors center,

cups of warm stuff pre-dawn departure and needed to keep from

hypothermia, vending machines had ButterFinger flavor,

some chocolate, likely, not sure about caffeine,

some sugar, and packages of candy, Cow Tails,

and Caramels, filled with powdered sugar, and then

some hard candy, forgot to take them out and they go microwaved/

x rayed in security, as well as other interesting things...

Scanning personnel were polite and friendly,

I'm usually entertaining to them, clip on the cell phone holder,

is metal, and have to watch your words,

"are you carrying?" one officer later asked outside,

and the tone I didn't really hear it when he wanted me to,

but talking/ joking about the dog and candy in the bag,

wish I could have shared it, but not likely allowed to have it,

not chocolate which is bad for canines, IIRC,

joking about sled dog help him get up the hill,

he said he was getting older and needed the help...

I was later thinking of how bloodhounds were used in decades/

centuries past, later on the PBS MLK shows of Abolishonists

and Peons (forced labor, likely trumped up charges

in the south following the Civil War, sometimes

60 years later, put an end to it by 1943 and the World War,

as the Feds wanted people to have their rights respected,

otherwise the war effort would not be taken seriously?

 

Anyway, risk life and limb to get there, buses not an option,

I can't be around people that much, blaring headphones

would be the only solution, and well people could not get

buses in NoVA for Arc people to show up, so they go

back Feb 6, or 7th, Lobby Day they call it, or don't want

to be associated with others?  A recent GMU Broadside

listed Lobby Day and how to support the school...

 

And I advocated for a $7 Million dollar building for Welding Lab

space, briefly, and a few thousand dollars for two shipping containers

for a student group project, like the Trailer Park "Modules"

some local colleges (4 year GMU) and likely high schools and others

waiting on Capital Funds for buildings encounter,

not sure how long that will take,

but we can't even see the large flat panel monitor,

a projector is needed, IT Support says a SmartBoard, but

how long will that take?, too late for this semester,

we are in a wasteland for Science and Tech, the new buildings

are other departments, and well, it M$ Windows only,

and not Moodle, say for department servers,

Linux for learning process control, Semi Automatic Welding,

and might learn something in the class room,

before the lab, microcontrollers can and do run Linux

(GeekingOutWithRaspberryPi2012  though updates needed,

after got some cheap $100 HDMI / TV monitors in December,

700 Mhz ARM chips are slow, but at $35 each network them

and MultiProcess so HDMI is readable instead of

Composite Video Out, maybe that is one project for Welding,

make a RPi box, AdaFruit.com has probably open hardware specs

for their hard case...),

or driven by Linux (Arduino. RepRap.org , etc)

 

 

Video/Photos

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/102844625019554131696/Rally2013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIChlNOL-_KONQ&feat=directlink

 

(Videos need to be labelled, as speakers names

Cuccinelli (sp?) Virginia's Attorney General were in the previous video clips,

or missed entirely, see the News (Channel 12/ ABC) but

most news outlets probably did the Inauguration instead...)

Only one speaker had the sense to repeat her name

in the beginning of her speaking, instead of just the introduction

from others/ rally organizers, finally someone who understands

memory issues/ name issues, maybe she has family or somebody

who is disabled, actually cares..., probably a freshman/woman?)

 

Files

 

scanAdvNAMI.pdf

 

scanArcVA2013.pdf

jpg of above

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

Summary of experience or similar

 

The winds of Politics are fickle, and two young Legislative Aids probably

need to be fired / retrained, put to real work,

instead of ridiculing and abusing constituents/ lobbying disabled...

 

But we will see what you can do, so far I'm not impressed,

you seem like glorified secretaries, two males in this case,

too young to know what it's really like in the real world,

despite your self claimed tours with the legislator

beyond the 7th floor of the legislative building in

Richmond, VA, try being homeless, living with 5 other guys

in a room about the size of that office, bugs in the showers,

hatred all over , from the providers/ shelter staff at the front desk

(not all were hateful, but many, to the lack of sleep going to day

programs for a year, wondering if you would survive, two others

in that program didn't one committed, another copy cat,...)

You see the tours legislators get are cleaned up,

and visiting unannounced, like the lawyer who popped in an

day he wanted my trust, I'm a zoo exhibit for anybody

who wants to harrass, the paid staff aren't protecting us from

much of anything including their own sabotage and

snickering...

 

Others in the Capital Building I amused,

some I probably baffled, some old acquantances

I caught up with (I've greyed a lot, he had left fly down),

others ignored me or avoided me, one Professional Consumer

said I was disturbing, and he is paid with money others advocated

and died for, so well, as long as you get paid, most of my friends

are dead (David O'Brien, Patrick Snow, ...

and even friendly non combatants (radicalizing term a bit) in society

Bill of Bill's Place in Little Orleans, Maryland

from the Bike Tour to Cumberland, MD

On Our Own of MD state Conference recently passed...

http://times-news.com/obituaries/x2056575795/WILLIAM-J-BILL-SCHOENADEL-Cumberland

(Bill really deserves his own page, just extremely low mood and needed to add it now...)

On a very warm day near Memorial Day 2006?

Bill was afraid I was going to use the rope he was selling

from the Bar/ Grocery/ Tackle/ General Store

to hang my self or something in the woods,

really just to tie up the luggage on the bicycle trailer)

 

So build up the expectations, and forgot the fight, the seriousness

of the lobbying, wearing HTH t shirt and a beggar outside the capital

building brings it back to reality, he's still hungry and waiting for his

time, his 15 minutes of fame, of a handout, that you see it the

original meaning of HandiCap, Cap in Hand, asking for money,

some do it in suits, some are paid to do it, (Pay To Play vs.

Paid To Play) but most are just trying to survive, one day at a time,

despite the hatred we daily face, some worse than others,

some can "Pass" for Normal others just look well,

like me, so basically shit on by politics...

 

Discussion

 

A place for feedback on the page presented

 

How would you explain to young Legislative Aids

or glorified Pages, the way it is for disabled these days?

 

Like African Americans before 1960 in the Deep South?

 

Or have them do surprise visits to facilities,

and community services, their bosses, the legislators

probably would get noticed by the Powers That Be,

but the Aids, unless someone was lobbying probably wouldn't.

 

StreetSense had in January people come out and

live on the street for 24 hours or so, trying to get

money selling papers, (which went to the vendor

Sponsor/ rep/ trainer/ instructor/ security guard),

a sort of cultural immersion...

 

Most people in suits would attract attention of the Providers,

as someone not needing say Food Distribution, or Mental Health Services,

is it possible that Invisible Disabilities are actually invisible,

instead of hunted and dead, like the Gun Rally smokers

around the perimeter probably would have liked?

 

I saw at least one guy with Dual Membership, so to speak,

both Disabilities/MH and Gun's Save Lives stickers

 

Yeah, it's a challenge to get off your high horse,

and get down with the people you are intended/

paid or volunteering to serve...

 

 

Page History

 

20130122 Jerry

• Jerry created this page to do self therapy after another disturbing day at the Capital ...

 

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