Let’s tap Tapfish on the shoulder and tell them they are not gods they cannot discriminate against the disabled

Today I was on my blog and I noticed a comment on a story about romney’s famous school bullying episode,  so I opened the comment and the below is that comment. 

 A disabled senior woman who for entertainment and brain exercise plays the popular online app “Tap fish”.

 And she simply in her intro to other players told them she was disabled, and she explained her disability caused typo’s. What ensued was her being ridiculed, abused and called a troll and other disgusting names that denigrate the disabled.

 Enough was enough, she brought it to the attention of the moderators and they told her to stop whining and stop playing the disabled card They wouldn’t tolerate it.

 She put up her intro but it was taken down and any reference to disabled or disability was removed and it was reposted all nice and cleaned up with no reference to her disabilities?after many back and forth emails the moderator told her “she wasn’t covered by hate laws or the Americans with disabilities act because she was a private person?

 well I have  got news for her, the ADA covers all and she is breaking federal law by her actions. 

 We need all who read this to let tapfish know their bigotry and disabled discrimination will not and cannot be tolerated and we will not.

 If you play the game quit, and tell them why you are quitting. If we don’t sit together they will walk over us.

Kathryn asked why and she was told people playing the sympathy card would not be tolerated ? Sympathy card? they would not dare speak to a person of color that way, they would not have the chutzpah to remove reference of color so damn well leave the disabled alone.

Below is her story in her words, I have deliberately left the typo’s in so you can see what she was politely trying to explain to the other players.   

 Accused of playing the disability card

4:46 PM (2 hours ago)

Hi, Mia? So, where do I begin? Who am I? I am a 69 year old disabled woman, but before I was 69, I was 39, and I was not disabled. I did know what disabled meant, though, because on my first job, in Beverly, MA, I worked for Wilkscraft printing, who also employed a man who was deaf as their dark room/stripper. I learned, early on, that PWDs can do some things but not other things, and be valuable employees if given the correct job.

In June ’81, I recieved a tainted blood transfusion, not HIV but HVC, and by August was stricken with a host of what my Doctor called “weird” symptoms. I was tested for HIV twice, but no one then knew about HCV EXCEPT the US Congress and the American Red Cross. For the next 17 years I was constantly accused of being lazy and crazy, and I am still sensitive to that. Then, when I was finally dxed, I applied for SSI and was later informed that I was the guickest in MA to ever be approved. But there were other disabilituies to be discoversd, which include cervical and spinal radiculituis, Iritis,  and osteoarthritis all over, to name a few. I have a wonderful service dog, Shannon, a purebred siberian husky, who helps me with my locomotion, which I have to say she helps me walk and with my balance. LOL

So, what is going on now? My son gave me a new mobile phone, a beauty, a Samsung Galaxy S2. I downloaded Tapfish and two other games which my disabilities prevernt me from playing. Clumbsy fingets, etc. Damn, the radiculitis makes me feel like my arms and legs are brogen, and the osteoarthrits and irits combine to make it nigh imposible to hit what I am aiming at. pluss, profound fatigue, I just give up.

So, Tapfis is an interesting game, so I joined an on line (according to Posner’s ruling) public accomodation, Android Tapfishers Forum. In the intro I said please overlook my bad typos due to my disabilities. (Another man joind later and wriote he had arthritis.) After a while, one member started to ‘attack’ my comments, demanding I explain why I was being ‘incnsistant’ and ‘misinforming’ the members of the forum, and not to blame it on my disability, as my disability had nothing whatsoever to do with my ability to comment.

Huh?

Now, my take on this is, if someone told a wheelchair used that s/he had to follow the rules and enter the building by going up the stairs like everyone else, most folks would understand that is wrong, but when I comp;lained about missys rude, abusive and uninformed comment, AND that I had asked her repetedly to stop, he accused me of playing the disability card. Hiowever, while he did not stop the abuse, he said he didnt find anything wrong with my comments. The mods on that site dealt with thios by punishing the whole community when anyone failed to obserye the rules, closed some threads and removed others for OT comments.

Woah!

Talk about an overreaction. So, he and I had quite a few email exchanges. I toled him about the recent Ist Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, explaind to him he might be a privately run one line foru, but the ruling meant it was a public accomodation and he should be willingto provide REASONABLE accomodation.

Meanwhile, back at the forum, the bullies who had piled on missys abuse of me, created a new Tapfishers forum, and made an announcement that folks were free to leave the 1st forum.  Because they didnt like the nice mods no longer  allowing them to bully the disabled!

Yep, I signed up for the new forum, and in the introductions…..well reasd this, you will get the idea….

Quote message

“Re-Introductions”

Sent: Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:39 pm

From: Kaitrin

To: Red Hare 

Hi Red Hare:

I just wanted to let you know that your “reintroduction” post has been edited because, while we empathize with the difficulties your disabilities cause, we do not feel it is necessary to point them out on this forum as having these disabilities should not in any way affect your ability to use this forum. There are several tools that exist to help people with disabilities function effectively on the computer:

Computers come with “accessibility settings” that address a variety of issues

Internet browsers like Firefox and Chrome include auto spell-check options to catch obvious typos

Screen-readers are available for the visually impaired

“Speech to Text” tools are available for those who have difficulties keyboarding

We will not tolerate members trying to make themselves out as deserving of any special consideration when it comes to behavior.

Thanks for your understanding!~Kaitrin

Kaitrin

Site Admin

Quote Red Hare

Re: “Re-Introductions”

Sent: Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:34 pm

by Red Hare

Katrin, could you please send me a copy of my original post, the one you are referring to, that has been edited?

thank you, Kathy

…………………………………………

For whatever reason, I just really really do not want to let this one go.

………………………………………

Please note, I have re edited my introduction, but await a copy of my priginal intro:

Re-introductions

 

Here is the intro by the admin

by Kaitrin » Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:35 pm

I’m Kaitrin  in my early forties, married with two teenagers, female, and live in Minnesota in the US. I’m a historian by profession

I’ve been playing Tapfish on the Android since October 2011, and on iOS since December 2011. I’m a bit of a techie as a hobby, and love poking around to figure out how things work.

I’m also the admin of this board, so if there are features you’d like to see, let me know!

Kaitrin

Site Admin

Location: Minnesota

Tapfish Name: Kaitrin (Android); Kaitrin2 (iOS)

by Marximus1 » Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:12 pm

Marximus is here. Favorite fish: goat

Playing for 6 months now on Android. Level 74 at the moment.

Looking forward to watching the other forum fizzle…along with it’s resident Troll.

Report this post

Reply with quote

Re: Re-introductions

by Kstatemom » Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:49 pm

Okay I’m really in the dark.  Mambo sent me a pm about the problems so I guess I’m glad I was on vacation. Anyways I’m 61 live in Kansas and have 5 children. The 4 oldest are Kansas State University alumis and the youngest is a student there hence the name. We have 2 dogs and a cat and 2 grandchildren. I’ve been playing tapfish since last June.

MIA’S NOTES- This shows that there was an environment of messages being sent about her disabilities and the problems just as the last message referred  to her as a troll

Kstatemom

Below is kathy’s intro completely innocent and no whining about her disability

Re: Re-introductions

by Red Hare » Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:35 pm

Hi I am Kathy, aka Red Hare. I am 69 and currently an Advocate for people with disabilities. 

 

My son gave me a samsung S2 for Christmas, in January? or Feb, and I have been playing Tapfish since mid March. I really like it. I am on level 68? and have 48 tanks, which I like to name some of them. Favorite fish, stunt dolphins. Today’s favorite tank, KeyLargo (48).

 

My partner, a service animal, Shannon, a siberian husky andI care for my son’s dog, Sandy, a rescue from Tiajuana Mexico. Sandy is the one with red hare. I signed on to Tapfishers because while we can have neighbours on Tapfish, we can not chat with each other, and am hoping to meet folks with the same interest in Tapfish.

Last edited by Red Hare on Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Red Hare

 

Posts: 3

Tapfish Name: Red Hare

Timezone: Eastern Standard Time

Re: Re-introductions

by seandicare » Mon Jul 09, 2012 10:59 pm

my names dominic i’m 38 male from upstate NY.

 

i’ve been playing tapfish since around Oct ’11.

i like it, but kinda think i’m getting burnt out from all the events. may need to take a breather.

lol

seandicare

 Private message

by beebee » Tue Jul 10, 2012 7:34 am

Re: Re-introductions

by BoXaToYs » Tue Jul 10, 2012 8:18 am

All righty I’m here too now. My name is Chris, I too live in upstate NY, I’m in my upper 30′s w/ two kids. Been playing this thing for 15 months and I also play Tap Ranch, Tiny Tower and Pocket Frogs under the same name.

 

I’ve been in the dark on the issue(s) on the other forum. I was shocked to see the sticky posted by the forum admin last week. Can someone enlighten me via a PM?

BoXaToYs

MIA’S THOUGHTS- Obviously this person thought the admin was out of line

by WebfootWiz » Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:27 am

I’m a relative Tapfish newbie. I just discovered the game during the Hero/Villain event when I was trying to see what it would be like to play a game on my new, shiny Droid Razr – right around Memorial Day, I think. I’ve made it to level 37 as of this morning and just finished breeding all the cardinal fishes, which was my first mystery breedable trophy. 

 

I am currently working two jobs and have very little time to pursue fun stuff, so I enjoy the game because, for the most part, it’s a very relaxing bit of pointless fun. (Even though I get a little too involved trying to complete the events — I need to work on that one! LOL!)

 

Thanks for giving us a new and happy home!

 

WebfootWiz

Re: Re-introductions

by PurpleBlue » Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:06 pm

Droij on Android forums

Purpleblue in the tapfish world.

purpleblue88 in pocketfrogs

Love the colors. Im in my 20s, going to graduate as a nurse soon,

……………………………

So, maybe you find this small potatoes, but what rankles me is those boye who bullied the bus monitor defending themselves by claimin that ” We didnt bully her, everything we said to her and about her is the truth.” So, the truth is now justification for bullies to target disabled folks? heck, I am sure upset by this cyber bully thing.

Let me know if you are still interested, I have saved plenty of email from these “empathetic” people.

 

take care Kath

MIA’S THOUGHTS- if you follow the articles above it becomes obvious that despite one other player the majority thought the admin was abusive and out of line.  The email below is from the moderator where she believes she is exempt from any discrimination laws.

 

~Kaitrin[/quote]

Apparently you know little about disability civil rights, it matters not if this forum is privately ownd run, it is a public accomodation.

Blocking me in response to my complaints re discrimination based on disiblity is retaliation.  Kathy

……………………………………………………..

Mom of bullied Ontario girl banned from school

Michael Purvis, QMI Agency

First posted: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 09:19 AM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 09:30 AM EDT

Kathy Lindsay holds up a letter from a lawyer representing Algoma District School Board, on Monday, July 9, 2012 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Lindsay says the board told her she needs written permission to visit her children’s school after she tried to stop her daughter from being bullied.

SAULT STE. MARIE, ONT. - A local school board won’t explain why it banned the mother of an allegedly bullied child from school grounds unless she has written permission.

Mario Turco, the Algoma District School Board’s director of education, said the board “absolutely” had reason to issue the June 22 letter which informed Kathy Lindsay she needed to get prior written permission to visit Queen Elizabeth Public School, or face trespassing charges.

“Why would we send a letter out if there was no reason?” Turco said Tuesday.

When pressed, Turco would only say the letter was in response to a letter from Lindsay’s lawyer.

“I don’t think I need to discuss it in public. (Lindsay) understands it. It’s between the lawyers now,” Turco said.

Lindsay said she isn’t backing down.

She said her daughter, Hailey, is being tormented on a daily basis by a group of classmates.

“This is a little girl who has been in a living hell for the last year,” Lindsay said.

Lindsay said all she did was walk her daughter to class and make a number of phone calls to try to stop the bullying.

“They’re going to say I called often — and yes, I did,” Lindsay said. “I called often because it’s not taken seriously enough and that was my way of trying to get something done about it.”

She said her lawyer’s letter asked the board to address her concerns.

In its reply, the board said the school’s principal has already done so.

“The school and the board will not continue to discuss this matter with you and we ask that you cease contacting the school in this regard,” the letter from Toronto law firm Hicks Morley said, adding the board has become aware of “safety concerns for the children” at Queen Elizabeth and warning Lindsay she’ll face trespassing charges if she doesn’t get written permission before going to her children’s school.

Lindsay said she believes the board issued the warning because, late in the school year, she walked her daughter to class in a bid to protect her from bullying.

She said she was later accused of lingering in the hallway.

Lindsay described the charge as laughable.

“I was there at the school all the time volunteering and helping. I helped with track and field. I’m not a threat in any way, shape or form,” she said.

The dispute led Lindsay and her husband to pull both their children from school and she said she is considering moving schools or homeschooling.

Turco said the letter is a rare move on the board’s part.

In his 22 years with the board office, “We’ve had to talk to parents, but we’ve never had to issue a letter,” Turco said.

“I think the public knows that we encourage parents, we value parents’ involvement in schools, we look to them as partners, so if we had to take that kind of action, surely people would understand that there must be another side to this story,” Turco said

S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley vetoes nearly $500,000 to rape and sexual abuse programs

Reposted from a story on July 10, 2012 By: Robert Sobel!

 South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley

Mia’s thoughts- thinking of voting republican? well read below, god forbid any woman you care about is ever raped but If she is republicans say let her have the baby, let her get aids because were not paying for the emergency care !

Republican governors across the country haven’t been shy about taking an ax to their state budgets. With an obsession with austerity, Republicans put cutting spending above anything else even if it harms people in their own state.

One of the leading Republican lawmakers is governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley. According to the Charleston City Paper, Gov. Haley vetoed over $450,000 for the Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault program which would have gone to rape and sexual assault victims. Gov. Haley spoke to the paper and claims that the cuts in the budget are nothing more than a distraction from the real issues dealing with the health of people in the state of South Carolina.

“Each of these lines attempts to serve a portion of our population for which we extend our sympathy and encouragement, but nevertheless, it is only a small portion of South Carolina’s chronically ill or abused. Overall, these special add-on lines distract from the agency’s broader mission of protecting South Carolina’s public health.”

Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman, has spoken numerous times about the dangerous of cutting spending at a time when millions of Americans are using social programs as their life line.

“Reverse this misguided budget cutting we’ve done these last few years,” Krugman says, “Get the spending back up there. Get the economy back on track, then we can talk about deficits after that.”

While Republicans continue to push for more tax cuts for the wealthy, they are very quick to cut programs for those who are in need. Whether it’s funding for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or domestic abuse programs, Republicans don’t see a profit in keeping them around. So while Republican lawmakers get what they want, the weight on the shoulders of struggling Americans continues to hold them down.

Louisville TSA Agents Ridicule Deaf People

reposted from a story by July 10, 2012 By George Donnelly 

 

This young man claims the TSA ridiculed him for being deaf.

A deaf young man is reporting that TSA agents in Louisville ridiculed him and his friends for being deaf. You won’t be surprised that it’s the kind of fascist goon behavior we’ve come to expect from the TSA.

Is it the official policy of the TSA to berate people, steal their stuff, troll on blogs critical of the TSA, break seniors’ colostomy bags, dump human ashes and engage in all kinds of other unspeakable behavior?

No. But it is their unwritten policy to tolerate this kind of behavior. No, I don’t have a leaked memo. I can see it for myself as incident of abuse after incident of abuse come to light while nothing changes. In fact, it’s getting worse.

Can you imagine this pattern of abuse at McDonalds, Wal-Mart or United Airlines? No way. They can’t get away with it, not even United. So why does the TSA get a pass? It’s because they are a government agency. Plain and simple.

John, Janet and Barack: you’ve created your goon squad. They are carrying out their jobs with exemplary performance. Now what

Here is the Program for the 2012 London Para-Olympics, down load it and support your Para Olympians

Para-Olympian, Olympian to me there is no difference, to represent your country just to be asked is the greatest honor a person can ever experience for many it is the one of culmination to a lifelong program of training and dedication and it all led to the Olympics.

 So whether you’re an amputee or Michael Phelps, you are a national hero and you deserve the respect of a nation. So my readers let’s stop using that inflection ,you know the one”OH you were just a Para Olympian” salute the hard work and years of service to their nations their communities and their sports and download the program. Let’s hold viewing parties  you can contact the teams and send support emails and let them know we see no difference all we see is an honorable champion doing what we cannot and ascending the mountain that is the culmination of a lifetimes work. Let’s as a nation join together and  cheer them on as hard as you do any other Olympian,  because when you look behind the uniform I can tell you from being honored to call at least 6 Olympians both able bodied and Para, personal friends that they apart from rigorous training normally serve their communities tirelessly.  They serve by coaching children and speaking before parliaments and congress to get funding for sports for underserviced communities, and starting foundations for aboriginal and inner city children These Champions don’t stop serving when the Olympics are closed, so let’s  not stop our service to them either Three cheers for our champions in London however they got there.

http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/sports/

Junky sex offender dad is given custody of his daughter?

Sex crim wins custody of daughter

Mia’s thoughts- Don’t get me wrong folks I hate the foter system it is almost as if not more broken than the homes it’s victims come from. But WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY THINKING? they, the childrens services made the excuse WELL HE’S BETTER THAN THE MUM so was son of sam and geoffrey dharma but  I wouldn’t give them kids either get your damn act together childrens services you don’t get a free pass just because the mum was worse you work for the child .

 

Reposted from a story by: Padraic Murphy From: Herald Sun July 05, 2010 6:49AM

A HEROIN-addicted sex offender with a sword collection has won custody of his young daughter because the girl’s mother is considered an even more unsuitable parent.

Child protection campaigners lashed the Federal Magistrates’ Court decision to leave the girl in such conditions as outrageous and “defying logic”.

Granting custody of the girl, aged about 5, to the father, the court branded the mother dishonest and criticised her continuing drug use.

The court heard the mother, who has shoplifting and prostitution-related convictions and a history of drug use, left the labour ward to buy heroin soon after giving birth.

The father, who also has a string of convictions, was put on the sex offenders’ list after being convicted of wilful and obscene exposure.

The girl, who has behavioural problems and a speech impediment, has suffered serious injuries. Her plight was reported to the Department of Human Services last year after she was treated for a serious burn to her buttocks. Each parent blamed the other for it.

The girl also had injuries from a dog bite and once suffered an injury from being hit with a shoe.

The couple separated soon after the birth, and the father is reported to have been violent to the mother.

But, despite concerns he’d taken drugs as recently as last December, and kept a knife and sword collection, the court last month ruled the girl should live with him.

“The father provides calmer parenting with more clearly set boundaries than the mother does,” the magistrate said. “A history of inadequate supervision combined with heroin and marijuana use create a serious concern that (the girl) may be neglected by her mother.”

The girl will spend two out of three weekends with her mother.

The court gave the father custody because the mother continued to use drugs and “had been dishonest with the court”.

Her drug-screening tests repeatedly indicated the presence of benzodiazepines and opiates. She was even suspected of once taking drugs while in the court precinct arguing for custody.

Her home was once described as filthy and strewn with vomit and faecal material, though the court accepted its cleanliness was usually “probably in an acceptable range”.

The father is on a disability pension and hasn’t worked in almost 10 years because of depression. “There was no evidence (he) is making any notable contribution to society,” the court said.

It said he “was using drugs or doing something else he did not want to admit” as recently as last September, and had lied about his whereabouts when meant to be caring for his daughter.

But he was making progress with his addictions. It ordered him to dispose of his weapons. The Australian Childhood Foundation’s Joe Tucci said the decision “defies logic”.

“Children shouldn’t ever be placed in a situation where the rights of the parents … override their right to protection,” he said.

“The decision should be about whether a child is safe or not, not which parent is the better to look after them.

“The community expects children to be looked after by their parents, and if the parents fail this then the courts need to look after them,” he said.

Child protection campaigner Hetty Johnston said the ruling was “outrageously dangerous”.

“There’s no way staying with either parent should have even been an option. This isn’t in the best interests of the child.”

A Department of Human Services spokesman said it was no longer involved in the case

”Just go for it – we need more disabled MPs”

10 July 2012 ORIGINALLY FOUND HERE: http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id=20295 The first full-time wheelchair user to be elected to parliament, Dame Anne Begg, welcomes the new ‘Access to Elected Office’ strategy introduced by the Home Office The government has announced a £2.6m fund designed to help disabled people overcome barriers to becoming councillors, Police and Crime Commissioners or MPs. The money will help meet the extra costs that disabled candidates incur such as transport or sign-language interpreters. As well as the extra cash, the government announced a new online training and development package designed for disabled people who are interested in a political career. The fund and online training are part of an ‘Access to Elected Office’ strategy which also includes paid internships for disabled candidates on the Speaker’s parliamentary placement scheme. The strategy was developed following a consultation in May last year, which sought views on a range of measures designed to help disabled people overcome the barriers to getting elected. In developing the package, the government is said to have worked closely with political parties, disability organisations and wider equality groups. Dame Anne Begg is a Labour Party politician for Aberdeen South who was born with the rare genetic condition Gauchers Disease which has resulted in her bones breaking regularly. She has been in parliament since 1997 and has always believed that disabled people should not be excluded from society. The first full-time wheelchair user to be elected to parliament, had this advice for other disabled people thinking of standing in elections: “Just go for it! Be active in your local community or political party. Do not doubt your abilities and worry about people’s perceptions. If you can show that you have the right qualities to be a good MP, people will support and encourage you.” Tory MP Charles Walker – who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder – was elected to the House of Commons in May 2005 and campaigns on mental health issues. He said: “Political parties need to ensure that they open to all people with talent, insight and understanding. Disability should not be a barrier to entering parliament because what counts is the quality of the person and their ability to make a thoughtful contribution to public life and the good governance of our country.” And Baroness Brinton, a Liberal Democrat peer who has rheumatoid arthritis, advised prospective MPs: “Find an adviser who really understands both your disability and the electoral process. You are likely to have to overcome subtle as well as obvious challenges: identify them up front, and tackle them.” But she added: “I hid my disability as much as possible, because I felt it would be used against me by difficult opponents in a hotly contested seat. This meant that I did too much. If I was doing it again, I would find someone to be my disability mentor, and help me respond to the specific challenges I face.” Maria Miller, the minister for disabled people said: “Sadly some people still hold outdated views that disability – whether it’s physical or mental – isn’t compatible with elected office. If this misguided idea is left unchallenged, it means a huge amount of talent remains untapped and a huge amount of potential goes unfulfilled. “That is why Access to Elected Office is so important. Disabled people have a wealth of first-hand experience of what works and what doesn’t work in the delivery of services. They have experience of what support disabled people really need and experience of how best to give disabled people a voice. “And it is just this kind of first-hand experience which is invaluable in elected office, whether it’s at a local level in local authorities, on policing boards, or at a national level in parliament.” Announcing the extra funding, the equalities minister Lynne Featherstone said: “The 10m disabled people in the UK are under-represented in public life and today we are making an important step towards levelling the playing field.” She added: “This is about breaking down the physical, financial and cultural barriers that prevent many talented people from playing their part in political life. Encouraging disabled people to make their voices heard will not only help individuals fulfil their potential but will enrich and improve our politics at local and national level.” Featherstone said that she hoped the extra cash would enable more disabled candidates to come forward for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in November. Alice Maynard, chair of the disability charity Scope commented: “Disabled people face huge extra costs in everyday life as a result of their impairment and these extra costs can be amplified for those who want to run for elected office meaning they are woefully under-represented. “We are therefore delighted that the Government has launched the Access to Elected Office fund which we believe marks an important step forward in increasing disabled people’s visibility and participation in society. The key challenge facing all candidate offices across local authorities and political parties is how we can use this fund to attract more disabled candidates and diversify the often ‘closed’ world of local and national politics.”