[Sca-cooks] I quit

[Mark Zawadzki]

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Interestingly enough , the Middle Kingdom has a site addressing this issue
....
http://www.midrealm.org/disabilities/

Note # 6 in the following (off a subpage)
http://www.midrealm.org/disabilities/RulesoftheOffice.html :
----------------------------------------
Duties of the Office of the Deputy Seneschal

1.To encourage all event sites to be ADA approved.
2.To Coordinate services and resources between members
of the populace with disabilities and autocrat staff of events, upon
request.
3.To connect those who need special services with those who can provide
them.
4.To incorporate new ways to make reasonable accommodations for individuals
with disabilities.
5.Keep updated list of services for the Kingdom.
6.To investigate complaints about site accessibility or injury of a gentle
due to site
conditions

----------------------------------------

I have fwd Gorgeous Muiredach missive to the deputy sennescal
(Keidale1 at aol.com) .

> -----Original Message-----
> From: sca-cooks-admin at ansteorra.org
> [mailto:sca-cooks-admin at ansteorra.org]On Behalf Of Gorgeous Muiredach
> Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 9:40 PM
> To: SCA Disabilities List; alysk at ix.netcom.com;
> sca-cooks at ansteorra.org;
> directors at sca.org; seneschal at midrealm.org
> Subject: [Sca-cooks] I quit
>
>
> 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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