Nazis among us

The following is an excerpt from Asperger Square 8:

Minna Mettinen- Kekalainen, a 42 year old autistic woman with ALS has been denied services she needs to continue living. Apparently, the nursing agency that served her through the North East Community Care Access Centre in Sudbury, Ontario has reported harassment by Ms. Mettinen-Kekalainen since she threatened to report them for not following her doctor’s orders. The agency has said that they would not deny services to anyone, as long as their workers were “safe.” Meanwhile, the many forms of assistance she needs, listed by her as “basic hygiene, communication, mobility, and administration of medications, food and water” have been denied for forty days. It is hard to imagine that she could be much of a threat to anyone. No, she is being punished for speaking up for her rights. Judged as unworthy of care.

Read more about her story here and here and here and here.

Here it is. It is happening again, more slowly, no less inhumane.

Please help spread Minna's story. If you have a blog, post a line or two about Minna. Contact one or more of the people listed here. Unworthy? She is a human being, and that should be enough.

Sudbury MPP Rick BartolucciConstituency Office email: rbartolucci.mpp.co@liberal.ola.orgMinistry of Community Safety & Correctional Services email: rick.bartolucci@ontario.caMinister of Health & Long-Term Care David Caplan: ccu.moh@ontario.ca

North East Community Care Access Centre (the centre that is refusing care to Minna)Head Office/Sudbury Branch1760 Regent StreetSudbury ON P3E 3Z8(705) 522-3461 or 1 (800) 461-2919 (Sudbury)

Maison Vale Inco Hospice (the place Minna hopes to gain admittance to)(705) 674-92521028 South Bay Rd. Sudbury, ON P3E 6J7Website: http://www.maisonsudburyhospice.org/Resident Care Coordinator Elaine Klym: elaine@maisonsudburyhospice.orgExecutive Director is Léo Therrien

David Butler-Jones, Chief Public Health Officer; (613) 954-8524



If you think that's bad, read the other part:

Have you heard the story of Barry Baker? On November 29, Baker, a disabled man in Sussex, England, called for an ambulance. He recognized that he was having a heart attack. He wanted to live. The dispatcher stayed on the line with him, waiting for help to arrive. Before it did, he collapsed, but the dispatcher kept the line open. When the ambulance arrived, the two EMT workers opened the door to Mr. Baker’s house. They saw a messy house. A very messy house. They saw a very large man, a man with a disability, a very large man with a disability, collapsed on the floor of a very messy house. They talked about him. They talked about his house. Expressed disgust at the way he lived. They talked about whether or not he was worth saving, agreeing to report that he was dead when they got there. The dispatcher heard it all, and turned the tape over to authorities. The EMT workers were arrested, and are free on bail until late in February.

It happened on November 29, it’s an old story. It was quite a bit later when I heard it. Late in December, the company charged with cleaning the house chose to release photos of Baker’s home, allowing all the world to see and comment upon and judge the state of Baker’s living room. People like to see the evidence, decide for themselves. Worthy or unworthy? Barry Baker was left to die in this living room. It is too late for him.

Just over a week ago, Dave Hingsburger posted a blog in memory of Baker at Chewing the Fat. He promised to tell people the story, to keep it alive. Now, I am telling it here. Baker’s story, on its own, is important for many reasons. It demonstrates the occasional failure of agencies sworn to help, of people paid to help, to remember that they are not endowed with the authority to decide who lives and who dies. People who are disabled, people who are “difficult,” are equally worthy of life and dignity.

In his post about Barry Baker, Hingsburger wrote: I hope you will join me and bring Barry's story to others, begin a conversation of the dangers of disphobia and the need for us to be alert to the fact that those who are supposed to save us, may indeed kill us, that those who are supposed to care for us, may indeed hate us, that those who we are supposed to trust - can't be.

This is a truth that has once again been called into question.





Fact: Although euthanasia is technically illegal, those who kill disabled people often receive no jail time.

Fact: The law supports zero rights for the disabled.

Fact: In this society I am considered a second-class citizen.

Fact: Disabled people everywhere are danger of losing everything - even their life.

Fact: This isn't news.

The Guide To Aspies

1. Do not touch an Aspie suddenly. They will become defencive.
2. Do not feed Aspie. Many are on diets.
3. Do not try to speak for Aspies. Let them say what they have to say.
4. Do not worry about eye contact. They are probably listening.
5. Do not force an Aspie to do something he/she doesn't want to do. That's just asking for trouble.

I hope that clears up a few things! Also, scroll down to the bottom of the page to follow this blog! Come on! Don't be shy!

Pet Peeve of the Day: Schoolwork

Why yes, I do have an assignment overdue. How did you guess?

Ennio Morricone continued...

I'm not going to tell you how terrific these songs are, simply because you would get jealous. However, I plan to upload the songs to YouTube, so everyone can enjoy Morricone's best!

And no, I am not stealing from my favourite artist. I am stealing from the publishing company. Somebody's got to take 'em down.

ENNIO MORRICONE!!!!!!!!!

YES! 60 songs! A delayed birthday present! The best of the best!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pet Peeve of the Day: Sorry

Sorry.

This word alone is often mistaken for or used for an apology. In reality, it means nothing. An apology is a sincere take back, an admission of guilt, that you messed up. That you hurt somebody. One word cannot heal was has been hurt. One word is nothing, an incomplete idea. I am not talking about grammar, but the fact that we are adrift in insincerity.

If you are to apologize, then apologize! Make it long, make it honest, give reason why. 'Sorry' is an insult, an attempt to repair damage while saving face. The logic behind an apology is to lose face, to lower yourself so you are down with who you hurt. And an apology does not stop at words. Show you are regretful. Only then can wounds fully heal.

We all need to apologize at some time, and we all need to forgive. Everything should be forgiven, regardless of an apology, but everything should be apologized for, regardless of forgiveness. All must be healed.

Oi

I have changed the blog title to Oi. Sock Monkey was just a spur of the moment thing, and I think Oi is a much better title. Such a multi-purpose word!

And no, I do not promise not to change the title again.

Pet Peeve of the Day: I watched a bad movie!

You never know when they will turn up. Bad movies have a habit of blindsiding you. This one went under the name The Sum Of All Fears, one of the Jack Ryan movies. I liked the others, but this one was just goofy. It supposedly took place before the others, but it got to be so ridiculous, an atomic bomb exploding in the US, Russia and the US were at war for a while, but everything turned out all nice and happy for the end. Right.

Pathetic. Other bad movies I've seen include Timeline (horrible, just plain horrible), Jurassic Park (seemed okay, but truly an insult to the novel), The Forgotten (simply stupid, cool music though), The Core (but Stanley Tucci was good), and all the Harry Potter movies (well the books suck, so you kinda expect the movies would too...).

I know I can't stop bad movies from coming out, but I can still whine about it right? Please comment with your bad movie experience! Then take some umbrage at the badness:

Pet Peeve of the Day: New Year's Day Sucks

A year is arbitrary, right? But that doesn't stop people from celebrating another one, or to be more specific, the evening before one. New Year's Day isn't the affair people make it out to be. Sure, for the first few minutes there's fireworks, partying, but then everybody goes home. And New Year's is mostly hangovers.


The hype over this holiday is just sickening. People talk airily of resolutions, but few are kept, or even remembered for more than a few months. So don't wish me "Happy New Year's", the words are hollow and empty. It's just one more party.

Sorry for posting this late. If you have a problem with the post, voice all complaints here: