This may be a very tricky topic and I am sure that there are going to be a plethora of thoughts, suggestions, and feedback on this. However, I am going to venture out into the wide open ocean and for better or for worse I’ll share my thoughts.
There is definitely a very small minority that is willing to speak up and I am one of those. Why do I speak up? Because I am not afraid to do so. For me, it is most important that we do our best to speak up to help protect the future of our kids. To let society know that more needs to be done to protect, recognize, and legitimize the rights of persons with disabilities. To speak up whenever others need to be reminded that we matter and that we are part of the important equation.
There are those however who are afraid and for very sound reasons. They are afraid that if they speak up, their social support programs will be taken away from them. That the vital financial subsidies that they receive from Federal and Provincial governments would be taken away.
There are many who would agree in private that federal and provincial entities should be paying us for our services but alas! They prefer to sit on all kinds of advisory groups choosing not to voice their opinions on the above in public. Instead they choose to continue to give their expertise away for free because they believe that it brings them prestige and that maybe some day they would be compensated for their expertise.
I humbly submit that as long as this trend continues, the above will not change for after all! Why should government entities pay us if we do not protest? They are the big winners and we are the big losers. They continue to benefit from our expertise and at the end of the day we are still waiting for meaningful change and broken promises to be fulfilled.
Then there are those who are genuinely afraid to speak up because they were always taught not to do so. Unfortunately, the majority of governmental entities use these circumstances to continue to stifle the opinions of persons with disabilities. They are definitely aware that persons with disabilities are afraid to speak up and they use this to their advantage.
Just my two cents for today.
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