4:32pm April 11, 2014

“
* Many of the good people in the VR system are concerned, much like anyone facing obsolescence/layoffs/downsizing, that they will lose their livelihood/tenure/retirement/position/protected civil service status. This is human but not necessarily humane to their primary customers: to those whose lives are perpetually on hold. What we ultimately end up with is a conflict between values and self-interests.

* I have found that, unlike scientific or other fields, the helping professions do not value debate. Instead, we witness thin-skinned systems that retaliate or demonize anyone that dares to disagree. And VR does not have an exclusive on this phenomenon.

* Many “advocacy groups” who rely on the largesse of governmental agencies are frequently setting aside core values for political and financial reasons. Worse still are state-level “consumer groups” who are totally underwritten by state agencies. When the rubber hits the road, who will they advocate for–their jobs or the people they represent?

* Certain tactics employed at the state and national level could almost be classified as a clever “divide and conquer conspiracy. By pigeonholing funds by disability label or arbitrary definitions, it keeps various groups in constant competition against one another. As long as everyone is spending their energy competing for limited dollars, they cannot address the real problems of the day.
”

— Irene M. Ward, letters section of the Disability Rag, July 1996

Notes:

as small as a world and as large as alone