When Othering Reduces us to Monsters to be Slain

[davidgillon]

Horrific story in the Guardian with three deaf women in Haiti murdered for allegedly being 'lougarous'. Trigger warning for a horrific disability hate crime.

Link to story

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

My mental health bids me to say, "thanks for keeping a watch on this issue for us all."

I just watched "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2111478/
which explores the depth, breadth, and long history of teachers sexually abusing students in residential schools. The first people to kick up a fuss in the US were students from a Catholic deaf school in my state. They were truly bold: While the priest was holding a fundraiser, the young men slipped "wanted" posters with the attacker's face under windshield wipers in the parking lot.

As per always, disabled people are the easiest to exploit: while Deaf kids in Milwaukee were being assaulted, there were Deaf kids in Italy going through the same experience.

[davidgillon]

Oh, love the wanted poster thing, though not that it was needed.