[Applause]
so last month I competed in my and I
would not consider myself a healthy
person whatsoever but my boyfriend is a
former professional athlete so somehow I
ended up training for a half marathon
and for those of you don’t know a half
marathon is 13.1 miles that’s really
freaking far
I hate driving 13 miles cause it takes
forever
so imagine blowing that car Weeksville
body anyone who puts in the hard work
and dedication to train for half
marathon is absolutely incredible at
light walk so when I finished in less
than two and a half hours I was pretty
tired myself I told my family I put my
friends like what like tasks and
everyone else would listen I put it on
social media and I was really excited to
brag about it
but the next day when my friend hacked
me in a Facebook post on a stranger’s
wall my excitement left me there was a
stranger’s post of a video and it was
captioned some amazing inspiration could
be found on the course of the Rochester
Half Marathon yesterday we want the
video with up it was with me and my
boyfriend pushing up a hill and this
upset me first because a stranger
decided to follow us up a hill and
record the whole thing and didn’t think
to ask if this was okay or tell us that
they were doing it but also upset me
because this is a video of me and my
boyfriend pushing up the hill not on the
other 1318 people participating
the half-marathon that day and people
were commenting on this video about how
inspired they were one reasons that she
cried what sold the video so I was
except that we were being objectified
and hopefully a little exploited so I
put a comment on the video and I wrote
calm down everybody it’s just a help and
I felt like that was pretty calm for how
I was feeling and what I really wanted
to say but do you wonder what happened
I got backlash for it some lady
commented back and said it’s just a hell
until you have to do it the way they did
nobody knows how hard they worked on
that that’s not true I know how hard
work does that mean in the video and
that’s a problem it’s a problem to be
inspired by disabled people doing
something that you wouldn’t be inspired
by if a non-disabled person did inspired
that I did a half marathon because 13.1
miles is really freakin far and he would
never dream of doing that then thank you
I really appreciate that but if you’re
inspired that I did it in a wheelchair
so we need to reevaluate that together
because my disability shouldn’t be a
part of your inspiration equation see
disabled people are usually put in one
of two categories the pity category or
the inspiration category and both of
these categories full list pretty low
expectations so the pity gotta break or
something like this a non-disabled
person meets a disabled person and
automatically feels bad they should I
pray for that they probably can’t work
or do anything for themselves that’s
pretty low expectations and then there’s
the inspiration category me pushing up
the hill
how amazing no or maybe you’ve seen a
new serrated stable girl making that
surely isn’t that incredible
know why we will disable people to such
low expectations that it’s considered
inspirational when we do something that
not disabled people do every day see
disabled people we’re not inspirational
but we’re also not pitiful simple people
we’re um we’re kind of sleek you that’s
it boring that’s it we’re just like you
and we want the same things that you
want we want the American dream we want
lines of Liberty we want our freedom in
Independence you want to live where we
want to live and we want to go out to
eat but unfortunately many disabled
people can’t do these things that most
people take for granted we don’t live in
the community or go out to eat because
our freedom husbands for real people
just like me and you have their rights
taken from them because they’re disabled
did you know that disabled people are
regularly forced into nursing facilities
our other Vista two shows just because
they’re disabled now you probably knew
this you didn’t think of it that way
when you probably thought 13 homes are
for old people if Colby people need help
when they have two governors and home
because that’s how you get help and it’s
okay that you thought this because
that’s what society has raised us to
believe and that all those back to these
harmful stereotypes of being pitiful or
inspirational we are taught that
disabled people are just like everybody
else and should have the same rights as
everybody else and because of this
people of all ages from babies to your
great-great-grandmother are stuck in
nursing facilities they’re stuffed
because we’ve been lied to
we’ve been told that the disabled person
doesn’t do something amazing like push
up a hill or do something most other
people can do then they must be pitiful
I need help and you know what a lot of
disabled people do need help but it’s
not the kind of help that most people
think of a lot of disabled people we
don’t need help with of changing God’s
or keeping out of these states a lot of
disabled people need help with basic
stuff like getting undressed or getting
into the shower getting into bed or
maybe some help cooking or a reminder
like hey you shut off the stove not as a
medical health most of the kind of help
that you would get from a friend after a
rough night out so you get help from a
friend but we are forced into nursing
homes we’re forced there because
Medicaid which is the largest insurance
company for disabled people at our
nation is required by law to pay for
nursing home services but only has the
option of paying for home services so
even though we don’t need medical help
we just need help from a friend Medicaid
by law it’s required pay for us to go to
a nursing home and only has the option
of legs
so it’s in the next room that we need to
you know that it’s much cheaper and
we’re happier in our homes for example
in New York State on average it costs
three hundred and thirty seven thousand
dollars to keep one person and
understand facility for what here help
that same person in their own health and
give them all the same sports and
services it cost sixty nine thousand
dollars on average now I went to law
school not mad school but three hundred
thirty seven thousand dollars versus
sixty nine thousand dollars that seems
like a huge difference to me but let’s
go one step further according to the CDC
there is 1.3 million people in nursing
homes across the United States long term
and a hundred thousand of them are in
nursing facilities in New York State so
again let me do the numbers on this but
to me it sounds like our country is
spending millions of dollars to steal
the freedom of disabled and elderly
Americans we’re spending millions to
take away the freedom of Americans now
you might be thinking that this is
outrageous and someone should do
something about it and I’m with you and
I am proud to tell you that someone is
doing something about it
disabled people are doing something
about it I’m having a group called adapt
and this is our logo it says free our
people because that’s exactly what we
want to get one of free our people from
these isolating institutions that
segregate us where we can’t choose what
to eat or what to watch on TV
we get to take a shower today we want to
free our people and let them live in the
community like everybody else
now adept used to stand for America
disabled for accessible public
transportation and this is us and by us
I mean adapt because this was over 30
years ago and I’m not that old that
fighting for accessible public
transportation and I am proud to tell
you that because of our work accessible
public transportation became the law of
the land in 1990 when the Americans with
Disabilities Act passed so now we’re
just the – we don’t really stand for
anything I mean we do stand for
something and sometimes – and we sit and
stand for the rights of disabled and
elderly the Americans believe in freedom
and we do all the things that society
tells us were supposed to do we talked
to Congress we try to educate society we
asked nicely for people to respect our
rights to life liberty and we even wrote
a bill it’s called the disability
integration act it was introduced by
Senate Minority Leader Schumer and that
book says that an insurance company
cannot force a person into a nursing
facility without also offering them the
same supports and services in their own
home a bill that recognizes the rights
of disabled and elderly Americans to
live in freedom what a novel idea
now when anybody thinking that this is
pretty basic but there are a lot of
people who plan against this idea and
when they fight against us adapt fight
back so this is adapt fighting for the
rights of Americans with Disabilities
and you know we played for our rights
and we play for our lives
and when I say we’re fighting for our
life I
you know it’s a Asian but when I say
we’re fighting this we want to live I
don’t mean just read though we really do
want to breathe
I mean we’re fighting for the right to
live in the community to have a job to
raise a family to have a kind of task of
it keeps our roles endlessly like I do
to live an ordinary life we fight so
that we can live in freedom like all of
you do because I can’t just sit by and
watch as people who are just like me and
you have their freedom stolen from them
because they’re disabled
so I fight and this is the result of me
fight this is me getting arrested for
fighting for afraid of Americans with
Disabilities and I fight with hundreds
of people who say and feel the same way
I and here’s the feel that many of them
used to live in nursing homes they are
victims of the same lies that we have
all been told they were told that they
are too afraid to live in the community
to disables to live on their own now not
only do they live in the community but
they travel to Washington DC and other
places to fight for the freedom of other
disabled people who are still stuck in
nursing facilities they fight for people
that they have never met but that they
know all too well I want to be clear
that everybody and all these pictures
has the ability to move on their own the
police are not helping us because they
think we’re disabled need help they are
arresting us but remember when I told
you that we fought for accessible public
transportation I’m happy to tell you
that because of that we are now able to
be arrested
so these people there are proud people
you’re not capable people these are
normal people we are normal people so
don’t it is but don’t be inspired that
we’re disabled people doing something he
inspired that normal people who are just
like you are out there doing something
normal people who are just like you are
out there everyday demonstrating and
getting arrested to help their fellow
Americans they’re putting their bodies
and their criminal records on the line
to make this country a better place for
all of us and when I say all of us I
mean all of us because I don’t make the
rules but I’ve heard that if you could
old you get a disability that’s how it
works you age you have more uncle likely
become disabled and therefore you will
also be at risk of going to the nursing
home too
so be inspired by the work that we do
but don’t be inspired by our
disabilities our disabilities aren’t
what make us inspirational don’t say
that the disabled person can do it then
so can I say if someone who is just like
me is out there trying to make this
world a better place then why aren’t I
and then go do something thank you you
so last month I competed in my and I
would not consider myself a healthy
person whatsoever but my boyfriend is a
former professional athlete so somehow I
ended up training for a half marathon
and for those of you don’t know a half
marathon is 13.1 miles that’s really
freaking far
I hate driving 13 miles cause it takes
forever
so imagine blowing that car Weeksville
body anyone who puts in the hard work
and dedication to train for half
marathon is absolutely incredible at
light walk so when I finished in less
than two and a half hours I was pretty
tired myself I told my family I put my
friends like what like tasks and
everyone else would listen I put it on
social media and I was really excited to
brag about it
but the next day when my friend hacked
me in a Facebook post on a stranger’s
wall my excitement left me there was a
stranger’s post of a video and it was
captioned some amazing inspiration could
be found on the course of the Rochester
Half Marathon yesterday we want the
video with up it was with me and my
boyfriend pushing up a hill and this
upset me first because a stranger
decided to follow us up a hill and
record the whole thing and didn’t think
to ask if this was okay or tell us that
they were doing it but also upset me
because this is a video of me and my
boyfriend pushing up the hill not on the
other 1318 people participating
the half-marathon that day and people
were commenting on this video about how
inspired they were one reasons that she
cried what sold the video so I was
except that we were being objectified
and hopefully a little exploited so I
put a comment on the video and I wrote
calm down everybody it’s just a help and
I felt like that was pretty calm for how
I was feeling and what I really wanted
to say but do you wonder what happened
I got backlash for it some lady
commented back and said it’s just a hell
until you have to do it the way they did
nobody knows how hard they worked on
that that’s not true I know how hard
work does that mean in the video and
that’s a problem it’s a problem to be
inspired by disabled people doing
something that you wouldn’t be inspired
by if a non-disabled person did inspired
that I did a half marathon because 13.1
miles is really freakin far and he would
never dream of doing that then thank you
I really appreciate that but if you’re
inspired that I did it in a wheelchair
so we need to reevaluate that together
because my disability shouldn’t be a
part of your inspiration equation see
disabled people are usually put in one
of two categories the pity category or
the inspiration category and both of
these categories full list pretty low
expectations so the pity gotta break or
something like this a non-disabled
person meets a disabled person and
automatically feels bad they should I
pray for that they probably can’t work
or do anything for themselves that’s
pretty low expectations and then there’s
the inspiration category me pushing up
the hill
how amazing no or maybe you’ve seen a
new serrated stable girl making that
surely isn’t that incredible
know why we will disable people to such
low expectations that it’s considered
inspirational when we do something that
not disabled people do every day see
disabled people we’re not inspirational
but we’re also not pitiful simple people
we’re um we’re kind of sleek you that’s
it boring that’s it we’re just like you
and we want the same things that you
want we want the American dream we want
lines of Liberty we want our freedom in
Independence you want to live where we
want to live and we want to go out to
eat but unfortunately many disabled
people can’t do these things that most
people take for granted we don’t live in
the community or go out to eat because
our freedom husbands for real people
just like me and you have their rights
taken from them because they’re disabled
did you know that disabled people are
regularly forced into nursing facilities
our other Vista two shows just because
they’re disabled now you probably knew
this you didn’t think of it that way
when you probably thought 13 homes are
for old people if Colby people need help
when they have two governors and home
because that’s how you get help and it’s
okay that you thought this because
that’s what society has raised us to
believe and that all those back to these
harmful stereotypes of being pitiful or
inspirational we are taught that
disabled people are just like everybody
else and should have the same rights as
everybody else and because of this
people of all ages from babies to your
great-great-grandmother are stuck in
nursing facilities they’re stuffed
because we’ve been lied to
we’ve been told that the disabled person
doesn’t do something amazing like push
up a hill or do something most other
people can do then they must be pitiful
I need help and you know what a lot of
disabled people do need help but it’s
not the kind of help that most people
think of a lot of disabled people we
don’t need help with of changing God’s
or keeping out of these states a lot of
disabled people need help with basic
stuff like getting undressed or getting
into the shower getting into bed or
maybe some help cooking or a reminder
like hey you shut off the stove not as a
medical health most of the kind of help
that you would get from a friend after a
rough night out so you get help from a
friend but we are forced into nursing
homes we’re forced there because
Medicaid which is the largest insurance
company for disabled people at our
nation is required by law to pay for
nursing home services but only has the
option of paying for home services so
even though we don’t need medical help
we just need help from a friend Medicaid
by law it’s required pay for us to go to
a nursing home and only has the option
of legs
so it’s in the next room that we need to
you know that it’s much cheaper and
we’re happier in our homes for example
in New York State on average it costs
three hundred and thirty seven thousand
dollars to keep one person and
understand facility for what here help
that same person in their own health and
give them all the same sports and
services it cost sixty nine thousand
dollars on average now I went to law
school not mad school but three hundred
thirty seven thousand dollars versus
sixty nine thousand dollars that seems
like a huge difference to me but let’s
go one step further according to the CDC
there is 1.3 million people in nursing
homes across the United States long term
and a hundred thousand of them are in
nursing facilities in New York State so
again let me do the numbers on this but
to me it sounds like our country is
spending millions of dollars to steal
the freedom of disabled and elderly
Americans we’re spending millions to
take away the freedom of Americans now
you might be thinking that this is
outrageous and someone should do
something about it and I’m with you and
I am proud to tell you that someone is
doing something about it
disabled people are doing something
about it I’m having a group called adapt
and this is our logo it says free our
people because that’s exactly what we
want to get one of free our people from
these isolating institutions that
segregate us where we can’t choose what
to eat or what to watch on TV
we get to take a shower today we want to
free our people and let them live in the
community like everybody else
now adept used to stand for America
disabled for accessible public
transportation and this is us and by us
I mean adapt because this was over 30
years ago and I’m not that old that
fighting for accessible public
transportation and I am proud to tell
you that because of our work accessible
public transportation became the law of
the land in 1990 when the Americans with
Disabilities Act passed so now we’re
just the – we don’t really stand for
anything I mean we do stand for
something and sometimes – and we sit and
stand for the rights of disabled and
elderly the Americans believe in freedom
and we do all the things that society
tells us were supposed to do we talked
to Congress we try to educate society we
asked nicely for people to respect our
rights to life liberty and we even wrote
a bill it’s called the disability
integration act it was introduced by
Senate Minority Leader Schumer and that
book says that an insurance company
cannot force a person into a nursing
facility without also offering them the
same supports and services in their own
home a bill that recognizes the rights
of disabled and elderly Americans to
live in freedom what a novel idea
now when anybody thinking that this is
pretty basic but there are a lot of
people who plan against this idea and
when they fight against us adapt fight
back so this is adapt fighting for the
rights of Americans with Disabilities
and you know we played for our rights
and we play for our lives
and when I say we’re fighting for our
life I
you know it’s a Asian but when I say
we’re fighting this we want to live I
don’t mean just read though we really do
want to breathe
I mean we’re fighting for the right to
live in the community to have a job to
raise a family to have a kind of task of
it keeps our roles endlessly like I do
to live an ordinary life we fight so
that we can live in freedom like all of
you do because I can’t just sit by and
watch as people who are just like me and
you have their freedom stolen from them
because they’re disabled
so I fight and this is the result of me
fight this is me getting arrested for
fighting for afraid of Americans with
Disabilities and I fight with hundreds
of people who say and feel the same way
I and here’s the feel that many of them
used to live in nursing homes they are
victims of the same lies that we have
all been told they were told that they
are too afraid to live in the community
to disables to live on their own now not
only do they live in the community but
they travel to Washington DC and other
places to fight for the freedom of other
disabled people who are still stuck in
nursing facilities they fight for people
that they have never met but that they
know all too well I want to be clear
that everybody and all these pictures
has the ability to move on their own the
police are not helping us because they
think we’re disabled need help they are
arresting us but remember when I told
you that we fought for accessible public
transportation I’m happy to tell you
that because of that we are now able to
be arrested
so these people there are proud people
you’re not capable people these are
normal people we are normal people so
don’t it is but don’t be inspired that
we’re disabled people doing something he
inspired that normal people who are just
like you are out there doing something
normal people who are just like you are
out there everyday demonstrating and
getting arrested to help their fellow
Americans they’re putting their bodies
and their criminal records on the line
to make this country a better place for
all of us and when I say all of us I
mean all of us because I don’t make the
rules but I’ve heard that if you could
old you get a disability that’s how it
works you age you have more uncle likely
become disabled and therefore you will
also be at risk of going to the nursing
home too
so be inspired by the work that we do
but don’t be inspired by our
disabilities our disabilities aren’t
what make us inspirational don’t say
that the disabled person can do it then
so can I say if someone who is just like
me is out there trying to make this
world a better place then why aren’t I
and then go do something thank you you
Please follow and like us: