Disabled

* In response to “Minimally Disabled Have to Move Aside,” by William T. Bolt, Commentary July 7: I am saddened and disturbed that someone as intelligent as Bolt would write such divisive, inaccurate, and hateful trash.

He seems to believe only “severely disabled” people should be protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). That’s like saying the Civil Rights Act of 1964 should cover only darker-skinned blacks! Let’s be clear: The ADA does not give “special protections” to anyone! It simply mandates civil rights for people with disabilities, bringing discrimination based on disability into parity with other forms of discrimination.

Have there been abuses of the law? Of course. But the solution is not to play “who’s more disabled”? I happen to be more severely disabled than Bolt, and his essay seems particularly irresponsible now, as ADA critics are gathering to weaken or dismantle the law.

BEN MATTLIN

Los Angeles