[Sca-cooks] I quit

[Steve]

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Move to Caid, we'll take you and make sure you can get wherever you need to
go at events.

Æduin

At 08:39 PM 03/27/2002 -0600, you wrote:

>As you may know, I use a wheelchair to get around.  I have been in the SCA
>for a little less than a short year.  During that year, I have encountered
>many obstacles to my participation at events.  Event sites not being
>accessible to me, and other people with mobility impairments is part of the
>problem.  The bigger part of the problem is the attitude found nearly
>everywhere that it doesn't really matter if a site is not accessible.
>
>Excuses are made.  "It's too expensive".  "We rent the site, we have no
>control".  "We can't afford it".
>
>When offers to help identify solutions are made, they are too often plain
>ignored.  That is, when I'm not simply told to my face "there are not
>enough of 'you' [read people in wheelchair], we don't have to be
>accessible".  Imagine telling someone they can't go in an event because
>they are African-American?  How well would that go over?  Yeah, plain and
>pure discrimination.
>
>You also hear: "The SCA is a private club, we dont' have to comply with the
>law".  Screw the law, just think of the concept of society...  You are
>supposed to make people feel welcome!  That being said, the SCA is NOT
>excempt from complying with Title II of the ADA, or any number of other
>state and local laws and regulations.  If you question that affirmation of
>mine, I would be glad to provide you with excerpts taken from the text of
>the law and technical manuals concerning the law.
>
>What's worse, the BOD, and apparently several Kingdoms, don't give a shit
>either.  A group that only had access to one accessible site in their town
>was told by BOD not to force the hall to comply with the law.
>
>No sanctions were taken against some people that openly discriminated
>against me around a fairly recent 12th night event.
>
>So, you win.  The angry gimp is going away.  You won't have to deal with me
>anymore.  I'll join the growing ranks of the disgruntled.  But there might
>be someone behind me that will get angry enough to file a lawsuit, and when
>that happen, don't act too surprised.
>
>To those of you, my friends, who have made efforts to find solutions, to
>plan ahead, I thank you.  I shan't forget you, I just can't deal with the
>pervasive sense of not being wanted at events anymore.  Too many people,
>too many times.  I have enough of that in my real life, everyday.  When I'm
>going to a recreational group, I don't want to have to constantly fight.
>
>Have fun.
>
>Nicolas Steenhout
>was
>Gorgeous Muiredach
>Rokkehealden Shire
>Middle Kingdom
>"You must deal with me as I think of myself" J. Hockenberry
>
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>

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