Equality is about civility and how we should treat one another

posted 07:38 AM 12/10
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This is my final column as a member of The Olympian's Diversity Panel, and what an experience it has been. Sharing my thoughts on issues for which I have strong convictions is an opportunity that a wordy and opinionated person, like me, can only dream of.

In this process, I have learned that I am not the only one with a penchant for being outspoken. Online posters and readers at the ready with e-mail demonstrated an unwavering commitment to setting the record straight in an effort to set me straight. While some comments were affirming and supportive, the vast majority of them were not.

I would be less than honest if I didn’t say some of these comments were hurtful — to be addressed as “Uncle Shawn” or likening my viewpoints to “cancer” in this society was something that I was not expecting when I agreed to write this column.

Read more …

Lots of questions linger about justices' racial stance

posted 08:31 AM 11/05

The constant barrage of political ads that filled the airwaves and our mailboxes has ceased for a while, only to return much quicker than most of us would like.

Being in a wheelchair doesn't take away impactful choices

posted 06:37 AM 10/01

It might be hard to believe, but for the first 10 years of my life, it didn't even occur to me that I was any different than my peers.

Each of us has the ability to be a bridge to equality

posted 06:59 AM 08/27

Before writing this month's column, I made a pledge to myself. This month's column was going to be different. I'm not going to point fingers or lecture. I'm not going to exploit this space in order to expose all of the many societal ills that seem to pervade our culture. Lastly, and perhaps most significant to me, I'm going to avoid altogether the quicksand I have come to know as political correctness.

ADA is meaningless without action to follow words

posted 07:12 AM 07/23

July 26 marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of The Americans with Disabilities Act. I'm constantly amazed by the parade of bewildered looks I get when I remind folks how old The ADA is. I'd like to think this response is a symptom of the fact that as we get older, time's ever-present gap gets shorter. While this may be true in some cases, I've also come to realize that it's an often all-too-convenient excuse to plead the cause of ignorance in exchange for equality.

Children pay the price when faith and politics are blurred

posted 07:30 AM 06/18

I think we all have a little of Goldie Locks in us. We're looking for the porridge to be just right and I am no exception. In fact, looking, at the calendar these days doesn't help me much in fighting against my penchant for complaining - I feel deceived.

Plenty of ways to find positive change in new health care law

posted 07:24 AM 04/09

I've been thinking a lot about my grandpa lately.

Disability community has universally decried use of the 'R' label

posted 07:15 AM 03/05

My cursor blinks as though it is a window into the future. With each topic I've addressed in this column, I've been able to predict, with astounding accuracy, the volume of online comments, which will be posted on The Olympian's Web site in response.

King's dream of equality is still that - a dream

posted 08:48 AM 01/29

Myths are convenient. They often tell the kind of story which either helps us explain the unexplainable or give us a hero to believe in. Our history books are littered with these illustrations.