As we knew they would, the events of last week at Northern Illinois University have generated concerns and stereotypes in the media about people with psychiatric disabilities. No doubt we will continue to hear negative comments and ideas in the media in light of this and other recent happenings. I actually think the interview given by Steve's girl friend is well done and thoughtful. She mentions that he was normal and more or less himself.

From National Public Radio's All Things Considered, February 17, 2008 ∑ Murlidhar Devidas Amte, better known as Baba Amte, was a follower of Ghandi, who dedicated his life to restoring dignity to lepers, the disabled and the marginalized. He died Feb. 9 at 93. Andrea Seabrook talks with a volunteer at Anandwan, Amte's ashram in central India.

Visit this page on the NPR site to learn more. Click the listen button to hear the story.

An update on the wheelchair dumping incident from a few days ago from CNN. TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- A sheriff's deputy who was videotaped dumping a paralyzed man from a wheelchair onto a jailhouse floor has been charged with abuse of a disabled person, a sheriff's official said. Hillsborough County Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones, 44, turned herself in and was booked into the Orient Road Jail early Saturday, jail records show. She was charged with one count of felony abuse of a disabled person and released after posting $3,500 bail.

For the past year, KGO TV in San Francisco has been investigating the local public transportation provider in that city because of repeated complaints about transit operators. They had to take the city and MUNI to court and were able to force them to release well over 100 videos and documentation of violations by over 20 different drivers. The violations range from endangering the safety of passengers to being verbally abusive to bus riders, including people with disabilities.

Click the link to read about or watch a video highlighting an organization that is providing wheelchairs to disabled children in Iraq.

Watch the video here from CNN.

Video of a deputy dumping a man out of his wheelchair.

After I viewed the Pepsi response to their commercial being featured on the Super Bowl (see previous post), I got so hung up on them patting themselves on the back and the over the top nature of their self-promoting response that I missed the obvious. Patricia E. Bauer points out that the representation of deaf people in this advertisement is negative as well.

You've probably already heard about the Pepsi Super Bowl spot that features an inside joke from the deaf community. (The spot isn't described so I don't totally get it myself). In any case, if you've not had a chance to see it, take a look at this video.

I don't know, I think those crutches give these guys a competitive advantage. And, as with the case of The Blade Runner and his ban from the Olympics, they use less energy to do this. Its still cool though!

What do people in wheelchairs see?

This week, the ABC News magazine 20/20 featured three different stories focusing on the experience of people living with disabilities. All three were interesting and positive for the most part. However, the story of Kevin Connolly caught my attention. Kevin, who is a photographer, traveled the world and photographed people staring at him because of his disability. His web site features photos of his journey and the people who stared. Kevin says that he is attempting to capture the impressions that people of different cultures have about him.

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