Shriver: Special Olympics a ‘wake-up call’ for Britain
July 14th, 2009From the [UK] Guardian:
Special Olympics chairman Tim Shriver, in London in preparation for the GB Summer Games later this month, challenged the UK to do more to support its citizens with disabilities. It is estimated that 8,000 athletes will participate in the games — far short, Shriver said, of the one million who are eligible.
“There are 200 children born in this country every day with learning disabilities and most will grow up and experience enormous prejudice unless we do something about it. So we do need more government support, there is no doubt about it — I think we need to turn the goodwill into real support, into muscle,” he said.
Asked about President Obama’s jest about the Special Olympics earlier this year, Shriver said he appreciated the president’s apology. He said the organization had offered to have some Special Olympics athletes visit the White House to bowl with the president, but to date nothing has happened.
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July 15th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I agree with you Scott. An apology to the athletes would have been a big step in demonstrating true respect for the athletes and an example for others to learn from.
My daughter, a Global Messenger for Special Olympics, wrote a very nice letter to the President, thanking him for his apology and inviting him to the Virginia Special Olympics State Games. She invited him to come meet some athletes and their families and she invited him to be a fan and cheer for the athletes while they competed. Even though we did not expect him to attend (she did tell him VA is not far from DC at all) I was very disappointed that she did not receive any response to her letter from the White House staff.
July 15th, 2009 at 5:41 am
Tim Shriver is the Chairman of Special Olympics, and that was why it was appropriate that President Obama present an apology for his remarks to him. My son admires President Obama and although I have taught him since he was a child to show respect for any person in that office, he does feel that our current president is working hard on problems that are very important to our family.
At this point we are all very much more concerned with the cuts to caregiver hours, adult day health, and medicaid coverage for supplies like diabetes test strips. Starting August 1st, individuals with insulin dependent diabetes will be limited to 100 strips per month, and that number will last my son about a week. I am wondering what president, governor, senator or representative we should be looking to for apologies about all that; not that apologies mean anything for the thousands of people whose lives are so dramatically affected by our derailed economy.
Of course reporters in the UK asked Timothy Shriver about President Obama’s remarks on Jay Leno – just like bringing Sarah Palin into a story, that connection will increase interest, readership and ad revenue for the newspaper and website. The reporter did not lose the chance to bring JFK into the story, either.
Regarding President Obama’s apology, Mr. Shriver was quoted as saying … “I expressed to him that it was a difficult thing for our community, for many people it is quite painful to feel — even if he didn’t mean it — to feel made fun of. But I also expressed my appreciation for his apology. I think all we ask of people is that they be more sensitive in the future, or open-minded — it’s not just about controlling your speech, it’s about opening your mind.”
But the real point of his interview was conveyed in this quote, conveyed in the second sentence below the headline on Patricia Bauer’s Disability News website:
“We have 135 clubs in this country, we have 8,000 athletes who are participating – we could have one million, literally. That’s not a rounded number, there are one million people with learning disabilities in this country, yet [we have] 8,000 participating,” he says. “Leicester should be a wake-up call. This country is going to host the Olympics, this country is going to host every country in the world — it is going to be the centre of the world’s attention. Rightfully so, it should be able to say, in every nook and cranny, in every village and hamlet, and in every town on this island and in its greater domains, bias against people with disabilities has been removed in the Olympic spirit and through Olympic ideals and values. Namely participation in human greatness through sport.”
Why are we not demanding apologies and amends for the lack of opportunity for the million (minus 8000) who are not able to be involved in Special Olympics in Great Britain because the support is not there? Bias against people with disabilities can not flourish where they take advantage of basic opportunities to show their talents, abilities and spirit.
Look at the related stories on that Guardian web page:
- Police and prosecutors apologise to disabled victims of crime
- Man with Down’s syndrome dies after starving for 26 days in hospital
I understand how we still feel the sting when certain topics arise, but we are not adequate advocates if we spend our energy rejecting a president’s apologies when the actual topic of the news story should be enough to stir that kinds of passion on behalf of almost a million individuals with disabilities who will continue to be disregarded when we don’t respond. How can we expect politicians in the UK to show an interest when we ourselves can’t get past the celebrity mentions in the story to the real heart of the matter?
Maybe no one else will answer the ‘wake-up call’ either. It could be that we who do nothing should apologize for that.
July 14th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I’m still not sure why the President apologized to Tim Shriver – he didn’t say he bowled like Tim Shriver.
His apology should have been on national television just like his insulting remark.