THE SILENCING OF THE BROKEN

NO REPRESENTATION WITHOUT THE LAW'S EQUAL PROTECTION: THE SILENCING OF THE BROKEN. BY MATTHEW LUCAS BECKETT “And with that vote, The So Called 'Right of Disabled People to vote' as a nation wide matter is now left up to each state,” said The Speaker of The House, bringing down his gavel. I groaned. I knew my state, Texas, would be one of the first states to take that right away from people like me. “You disabled people always vote democratic,” one of my very few close Republican friends once told me. “You can't be totally surprised a red state like this would want to limit access, as it should be limited.” “Well,” I had retorted. “If you Republicans weren't doing everything you possibly can to limit our access elsewhere, saying only Federally Owned PUBLIC buildings should have to be A.D.A. compliant, fighting tooth and nail against anything to enable blind people to know when a traffic light is green, not wanting to invest in public transportation and mass transit so that those of us who are unable to drive could still get around independently, maybe we wouldn't aLways vote as we typically do, since they do support those issues.” My friend had, of course, failed to understand this at all. But, I later reflected, what could one expect from someone who willingly completely extracted and completely destroyed his own brain in order to register to vote. So now every state could make up its own mind about the rights of people with disabilities. I knew that George, my friend, I suppose, would be happy. But I, being wheelchair bound with two paralyzed legs, a completely paralyzed right arm and a left arm with only very limited use, was not. And the worst of it was, I could not even express my displeasure in November, since it was specifically the right of people with disabilities to vote that was being taken away. Not surprisingly, with this news arriving on the 6:00 National News, the 10:00 Local News reported that our state government had already taken brail ballots out of the mix, which I knew would make any of my blind friends, of which I have a lot, unable to vote, and get rid of private booths with recording devices, which is the only option for people like me. Not surprisingly, a few days later, they said that the entrance to the building did not even HAVE to be A.D.A. Compliant, which took away any hope I still had for True Justice for those of us with disabilities. Over the next two months, I noticed a lot fewer major changes than I was expecting. Access is more limited yes, but not as limited as I was expecting and worried it would be. I cannot get into the library, for instance, without someone carrying me up the steps, or get into the movies on my own, as I once could, but I can still get into the grocery store, my job's building, the doctor's office and other essential places, it is more entertainment and other commodities that I have lost access to. On election day, however, I am determined to at least cast a ballot in spite of them. When I reach my precinct polling place, however, I look in bitter disappointment. The Ramp is blocked, and looking in to the building I see that even if I KNEW if some of these people might carry me inside, there was no possible place for someone like me to vote, so I guess that I really will not vote in this election. I turn and pass on towards the bus across the street to my usual haunts, since Conservatives made it impossible to vote early or at all. So I guess Conservatives will just keep screwing those of us with disabilities since they've made sure our voice will never be heard a. . . I look up at the sudden squeal of ties, see the truck right on top of me, and then everything is gone and the world goes black.