• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

City council member crawls on Denver debate stage due to lack of wheelchair access

Napoleon said:
Have you ever been backstage before?
Click to expand...

Maybe we will hear from a professional who has probably been on more stages more times than most of us combined. He also knows a great deal about accessibility and people who use power chairs. FYI everyone, "electric chair" is not the preferred term.

What say you @Checkerboard Strangler ?
 
Napoleon said:
Sounds like a stunt to me. Why couldn’t he enter in his chair from the wings instead of making a spectacle of himself?
Click to expand...
Thank you for able body-splaning this to everyone...:rolleyes:
 
Risky Thicket said:
Maybe we will hear from a professional who has probably been on more stages more times than most of us combined. He also knows a great deal about accessibility and people who use power chairs. FYI everyone, "electric chair" is not the preferred term.

What say you @Checkerboard Strangler ?
Click to expand...

Here's a statement from the venue.

dance.webp
 
Risky Thicket said:
Ahhh, I'm going to take a wild guess and say because the wings nor the stage were accessible to him. :rolleyes:

Many venues with a permanent or assembled stage are not accessible to people who use wheelchairs.

Why in the hell would crawling on a stage be a stunt? Give me some sound logic for your statement.
Click to expand...
I suppose he could have hoped to make a dramatic point...but the more reasonable explanation is that he couldn't access the stage another way.

Remember the prof who litigated against Delta after being forced to crawl across the tarmac? https://www.medicaldaily.com/disabl...eclining-help-him-enter-and-exit-plane-249191

Distinctions must be made between legal and ethical compliance too. I found myself in huge trouble years ago when serving on my institution's safety committee when plans were being drawn up for three new buildings. I expressed my concern about repeating a design flaw in those plans and was promptly put in my place because, of course, we were in total legal compliance with the ADA. And those buildings were, in fact, constructed repeating the error.

So if you're taking classes in a multi-story building that has no interior stairs and the elevator breaks down or put out of service because of the emergency, I guess you just sit there in your chair and die. How are you going to get down a set of steep concrete stairs with a landing at the halfway point that pools water?

But hey, legally, the institution did nothing wrong.
 
Risky Thicket said:

"City council member forced to climb onto Denver debate stage due to lack of wheelchair access​


Denver City Council member Chris Hinds said he was humiliated when he had to get out of his wheelchair and attempt to crawl onto a stage before a debate because the venue did not have proper accessibility.

'I am incredibly disappointed and disheartened after the public humiliation I endured at Monday’s District 10 City Council Debate,' he said in a Twitter statement.


The debate was held at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance school in Denver. Photos posted on social media showed Hinds sitting on the edge of the stage as he tried to make his way to the debate area.

'The lack of wheelchair accessibility on the stage at the debate culminated in an extremely uncomfortable outcome: I had to climb out of my wheelchair and attempt to crawl onto the stage in front of a crowd,'" Hinds wrote. - NBC News

-----

This kind of thing happens to many people with disabilities much more frequently than most people realize. It is unnecessary, disgusting, shameful, inexcusable and illegal but more often than not temporarily able bodied (*TABS), even the courts, ignore it.

*Most all of you reading this will acquire a disability before you die or a family member or someone you love will become disabled. Don't mistakenly think that it only happens to other people or happens to people after a certain age.

I hope the disability you acquire is one you like. 😳
Click to expand...
That's an ADA violation right there.
 
There was no wheelchair stage access, period.

No crippled guy performing a stunt.

CRPD is used as a public venue, how many decades after the ADA Act, they should not need "special" requests for "additional or enhanced [i.e. basic] accommodations" in advance.

Hinds says when he arrived [at CPRD], he was told there was no ramp or lift to get him onto the stage.

“The first person that I talked to was the facilities director for the venue, and he said, 'I had no idea you were in a wheelchair,’ which is a red flag immediately,” Hinds said.

Eventually, event organizers decided that the best idea was to move the debate onto the floor in front of the stage so that Hinds could participate.

In a statement, the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre said it did not receive "requests for additional or enhanced accommodations" prior to the debate.

"We are deeply involved in plans to ensure full accessibility of CPRD Theatre facilities in the near future. ..."

www.denver7.com

Denver city councilman who uses wheelchair had to hoist himself onto debate stage

A scheduled Denver City Council debate is garnering attention after District 10 Councilman Chris Hinds, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, was not able to gain access to the stage.
www.denver7.com www.denver7.com
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom