PLATFORM : A Backlash of Hate
BARBARA FAYE WAXMAN, a disability policy consultant and wheelchair user, believes that some crimes against the disabled should be classified as hate crimes. She told the Times:
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We are hated for a few reasons. We are symbolic of mortality and vulnerability. The way that (able-bodied) people separate themselves from that symbolism is to behave in a way that places them in a physically superior position. We look different. That creates anxiety.
It will get worse in terms of more overt acts of hatred. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a unique piece of civil-rights legislation. The ADA will enable us to integrate in a way that we never have before. We will have choices and become economically and politically empowered. The question is how the ADA will impact not just disabled people but those who are threatened by disabled people. Those who are threatened by our very existence will react to the economic and social consequences created by this law. The competition for jobs and social resources could inspire a backlash.
Local communities all over the country must begin to collect data on hate crimes. Disabled people need to educate themselves as to what hate crimes are.
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