OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020
A4
EDITOR’S DESK
We need to talk about ableism
A
s we’ve lived through a
global pandemic together
these past few months, the
strange new situations it has cre-
ated have prompted us to
think more deeply about
some aspects of our
society.
For me, one of those
topics I have been pon-
dering is the ways our
Jade
society is failing our
McDowell
NEWS EDITOR
members with disabili-
ties and chronic illness.
We talk about racism. We talk
about sexism. But when is the last
time you heard someone considered
able-bodied use the term “ableism”?
Speaking for myself, I think I
have paid less attention to this “ism”
because the problems I encounter
tend to manifest as more of a sys-
temic issue than personal prejudice.
I have never heard someone com-
plain that there are too many peo-
ple who use wheelchairs moving
into their community, but how many
times do I visit a building without
thinking twice about the fact that it
would be inaccessible to someone in
a wheelchair?
During the pandemic, though,
those prejudices have become more
easily spotted. I have seen far too
many comments on social media
about how COVID-19 is not cause
for concern because it is “just” kill-
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
A sign marks accessible parking near the
future site of the new Funland Playground,
which is being designed to be more
accessible to children with disabilities.
ing the elderly and those with under-
lying health conditions.
One of my friends from college
who has Type 1 diabetes posted on
Facebook that she was getting worn
down by all of the people volunteer-
ing her to die as a sacrifi ce to the
economy. When I interviewed Sara
Barnett of Hermiston about her expe-
rience being hospitalized with a
severe case of COVID-19, she said
she had been hurt by how dismis-
sively some people had been talking
about people with underlying health
conditions.
“I’m 53, and yes I have some pre-
existing conditions, but to my fam-
ily, to my friends, to my church, I am
very valuable,” she told me.
For decades, sections of Hermis-
ton’s city hall have not been accessi-
ble to people who can’t climb stairs,
reducing access not only to city resi-
dents but also to potential employees.
Other buildings around town are also
inaccessible, as are the large number
of sidewalks that have no wheelchair
ramp or safety features for blind
people.
In pop culture, movies such as
“Me Before You” often portray peo-
ple with disabilities as having a life
not worth living. Websites that make
money off of viral clickbait love
“inspiration porn” that objectifi es
and exploits people with disabilities,
sometimes by stealing their personal
photos to use without their consent.
I personally know multiple people
who have pretended that they have a
disability so they can receive accom-
modations, such as having a pet in a
pet-free apartment.
According to the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention, in 2017
only 35% of people with disabili-
ties were employed. Research on
the topic, including a study by Rut-
gers University that involved send-
ing out 6,000 fake applications for
real accounting jobs, has found that
employers are less likely to interview
COLUMN
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Rural Oregonians need to be at
the center of their own recovery
M
ore than 35 years ago,
tion, and more confusing or less
Oregon’s rural commu-
trusted information sources. The
nities experienced an
COVID-19 pandemic, the asso-
economic downturn of epic pro-
ciated economic impact, and the
portions when the timber economy current social and political cli-
collapsed. While state and federal
mate combine to create a situation
governments responded
on a scale that may eclipse
with signifi cant resources
anything we have known.
and support for almost a
In this moment, we can
decade, it was not enough.
clearly see the bad —
The 2008 Great Reces-
inequities in our systems
sion, again, hit rural places
and the lack of resiliency
hard. Now, the COVID-
of our local economies;
19 crisis will likely affect
and the good — shared
Oregon’s rural and tribal
values from which we can
Heidi
Khokhar
economies dispropor-
build.
tionately and have reper-
Rural Oregonians are
cussions for years to come. Our
working hard to recover; sleeves
history tells us we have yet to
rolled up, helping each other.
invest the needed resources, pro-
Their resilient spirit leads them
vide the needed support, or allow
to look for opportunities to act
the needed time for rural recov-
locally, connect to one another,
ery after these major economic
and access resources and support.
downturns.
However, they cannot do it alone
In the past, we failed to cre-
— and this time, they shouldn’t.
ate an environment where rural
Rural Development Initia-
areas could propel themselves to
tives and many other partners
an equitable, inclusive and resil-
have been with rural communi-
ient economy. Then we moved
ties through it all. For decades, we
on, leaving them behind and on
have worked to understand their
their own — with adverse impacts needs, support their work, provide
to the entire Oregon economy
access to models and resources
and our ability to work together
that work in rural, and help them
toward common goals.
set and achieve their goals. We
In Oregon, rural places face
stand committed to listen, support
the same complex challenges as
their economic recovery, and play
larger population centers, in more an active role in connecting pol-
geographic isolation, with scarcer icy makers and resources to their
fi nancial resources, fewer peo-
efforts.
ple to do the work, rarer mod-
Together, we can ensure
els designed to fi t their situa-
that Oregon moves forward to
become better and more resil-
ient than before. Right now, we
have an opportunity to choose a
path forward that creates a stron-
ger future for all Oregonians.
This includes investing resources
to better understand the specifi c
needs of rural Oregon — focus-
ing on the further disproportion-
ate impact on rural indigenous,
black, and other communities of
color — and to develop solutions
in partnership with rural people
and the rural organizations that
support them.
Oregon’s legislative leaders
must make proportionate invest-
ment in rural Oregon to address
not only the immediate COVID-
19 needs, but also the larger eco-
nomic struggles felt by these com-
munities for decades. We implore
our state leaders to ensure Ore-
gon’s economic recovery specifi -
cally includes rural communities,
and that rural people and orga-
nizations be included in the pol-
icy decisions that ultimately affect
their own recovery.
RDI is committed to advanc-
ing these priorities, and we look
forward to being an active part-
ner with our elected leaders, and
others, in making sure all of Ore-
gon recovers to become better and
more resilient than before.
Heidi Khokhar is the execu-
tive director of Rural Development
Initiatives, an Oregon nonprofi t
focused on strengthening rural
communities.
Old quips ring true
To the editor:
I’ve come across some witticisms made decades ago that seem
appropriate for today.
Politics — it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you place
the blame.
Congress is so strange. A person gets up to speak and says
nothing. Nobody listens. And then everybody disagrees. (Boris
Marshalov)
Power is a drug in which the politicians are hooked. They buy it
from the voters, using the voters’ own money. (R.J. Needham)
Accusation: You point the fi nger of accusation at someone and
three fi ngers are pointing back at you. (My mother)
Dorothy Lee, age 89
Hermiston
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP
STATE REP. GREG SMITH,
DISTRICT 57
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
whitehouse.gov/contact/
———
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Email: Rep.GregSmith@state.
or.us
———
U.S. SENATORS
RON WYDEN
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691
•
Printed on
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VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 25
Chris Rush | Publisher • crush@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2669
Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
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STATE SEN. BILL HANSELL,
DISTRICT 29
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Email: Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
———
JEFF MERKLEY
313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton offi ce: 541-278-1129
———
CORRECTIONS
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or hire someone that they know has
a disability, even when the person’s
disability would not prevent them
from being able to do the work.
People with health challenges can
also face physical and social barriers
to education, dating, medical care,
transportation and more.
Since we don’t talk enough about
these issues, many of us still have
a lot to learn. A while ago some-
one emailed me to gently remind me
that instead of saying the subject of
a story “suffers from” a certain dis-
ability I should have said she “lives
with” it, as it is not for me to assume
that anyone with a disability is auto-
matically leading a life of suffering.
There are areas we are making
progress. When Hermiston builds its
third iteration of Funland Playground
this year, it will be designed to pro-
vide more accessibility than previous
designs. The same is true of designs
for a new city hall.
As Darrin Umbarger, CEO Of
Clearview Mediation and Disabil-
ity Resource Center in Pendleton,
once told me, everyone is one acci-
dent away from having a disabil-
ity. If “it’s the right thing to do” isn’t
enough incentive for all of us to think
more deeply about how we can make
our community more accessible to
all, then the thought that someday we
could be the one facing these barriers
should be.
It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as
soon as they are discovered. Incorrect information will be
corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on the Opinion page
will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in
the online versions of our stories.
Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com or
call (541) 564-4533 with issues about this policy or to report
errors.
SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the
Hermiston Herald readers to express themselves on local,
state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer
letters should be kept to 250 words.
No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person.
The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for
length and for content.
GOV. KATE BROWN
160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Email: www.oregon.gov/gov/
———
Letters must be original and signed by the writer or writers.
Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include
a telephone number so they can be reached for questions.
Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be
published.
OBITUARY POLICY
The Hermiston Herald publishes paid obituaries. The
obituary can include small photos and, for veterans, a
fl ag symbol at no charge. Expanded death notices will be
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punctuation and style.
Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at
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