Hi,

For those interested in studying the histories of the disability community and
our gadgets

There is not much information about our histories although we exist within every
community in the world and we have been on this planet since humanity lived in
the caves,  Share your knowledge and have fun in learning something that modern
text books seem to miss out.

Cheers,

keith armstrong

Disability Fact No.1.
Every bus in Denver, USA was accessible to wheelchair users by June 6th,1982.

At one time in ancient Greece many disabled gods were worshipped.

One such god was 'Hephaistos' known to the Romans as 'Vulcanous'.
His temples were built all over the Mediterranean,
unfortunately most of them are not accessible to ordinary wheelchair
users.

There were many other disabled gods in other cultures.

Can you share any information here? I think that understanding
our mythological past can help our community in the future.

To find out more about Hephaistos and other disabled ancient
gods try the Urls. below.

- - - - - - - - - -- - - --


http://argos.evansville.edu/
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/
http://www.mythinglinks.org/searchr.html
http://www.pantheon.org/cgi-bin/wwwwais/wwwwais.cgi
http://www.arts.unimelb.edu.au/amu/ucr/student/1996/b.marasco/contents.
htm
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html
http://lib.haifa.ac.il/www/art/gr_menu.html
http://perseus.csad.ox.ac.uk/Help/fonthelp.html#instructs
http://longman.awl.com/mythology/chaptertopics/summary_24.asp
http://www.artsednet.getty.edu/ArtsEdNet/Resources/Beauty/dinos.html
http://www.loggia.com/myth/myth.html
http://www.usu.edu/~history/fran/links.html
http://www.hi.is/~arnfrij/
http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Roman/RomanSit
es*/home.html
http://www.uvm.edu/~classics/ambrose.html


Keith

Hello

Just to start a discussion going here is an extract from
"The Men behind Hitler" by Bernhard Schreiber.

Keith

Project T4.
Extract from "The Men behind Hitler" by Bernhard Schreiber


There is not a great deal known about T4 in comparison with
other aspects of Nazi Germany and the second World War; what
little is known is difficult to verify and amongst the accounts,
there is conflicting or contradictory data.  T4 in fact was the
Fuhrer Chancellery and the initials T4 came from the full
address which was Tiergartenstrasse 4, Berlin.  However it is
important to bear in mind two factors when attempting to
appreciate the lack of information.



T4 was the source of orders and  measures which were "Geheime
Reichssache" (Secret Reich Matters), those involved who served
as tools in its execution were bound by silence.  The euthanasia
programme was considered to be one of these and this is one of
the reasons why there is so little information, with much of it
conflicting, concerning its workings and its relation with the
Chancellery itself.



A second factor to be borne in mind is that the whole thing was
planned with great care prior to the signing of the
authorisation by Hitler and in fact meetings involving top
German psychiatrists had been taking place some months prior to
the date of his authorisation.  As it was a very thorough
programme, the creators were sufficiently foresighted to take
steps to cover  their tracks and conceal the evidence. One of
their more brilliant ideas was to finally assign the personnel
who had been trained in the euthanasia  institute and who later
went on to much bigger things, to theatres of war where their
survival was most certainly to be minimal.  Many of the
personnel were assigned to the Yugoslav front where Tito's
partisans had a reputation for never taking prisoners and a
great  many of them died there.



The "Project T4" was fully integrated into the organisational
structure of the Reich and fell under section llb.  "Mercy
-death of the Chancellery of the Fuhrer" (KdF).  It was divided
into two departments, the administrative one headed by Phillip
Bouhler, a  shadowy figure "once described as the dictator of
the dictators" and the medical section headed by Hitler's
personal physician Dr Karl Brandt.



In the middle of 1939, the end phase of the administrative
preparations of the euthanasia programme was started. It dealt
with keeping it secure and secret.  The German people were under
no circumstances or become suspicious and the project was to
roll without any interference.  It was therefore necessary to
disguise the activities as much as possible.



Questionnaires had already been prepared by the psychiatric
committee and advisers and in October these were sent to the
mental institutions of Germany.  These questionnaires required
answers to a number of questions including name, marital status,
nationality, next of kin, whether regularly visited and by whom,
who bore the financial responsibility and how long in the
institution, how long sick, diagnosis, chief symptoms, whether
bedridden, whether under restraint, whether suffering from an
incurable sickness or complaint and whether a  war injury or not
.  And what was the race of the patient. These questionnaires
were sent out by one of front groups which operated under T4.



In classic psychiatric style four front group had been set up to
shield the actual source of the operations in T4 from scrutiny.
The idea being that essentially T4 itself would issue orders to
the front group who would then carry out the necessary measures.
  Anybody seeking to trace back the administrative chain, say
from a hospital where patients were being taken to be murdered
would arrive at one of these four front groups and the chances
of getting any further back than that were very small.



The front group which sent out the questionnaires, had them
returned and handled them, was named Realms Work Committee for
Institutions for Cure and Care.  This became the Headquarters
for the whole of the organisation and was started for this
purpose.



There was a parallel organisation, another front group devoted
exclusively to the killing of children, for obviously some
specialisation was needed in this area and the front group
catered for those who had knowledge and experience of children.
It operated under the ambiguous name of Realms Committee for
Scientific Approach to Severe Illness due to Heredity and
Constitution.  In association with these two organisations were
the Charitable Company for the Transport of the Sick which
transported patients to the killing centres and the Charitable
Foundation for Institutional Care which was in charge of making
the final arrangements.



The decree of the Reich Ministry of the Interior of August 18,
1939, which introduced the requirements for registration of
"deformed new-borns" was a great advantage to the children
project.  At first this applied only to the children up to the
age of 3, but after 1941, this project included youths to the
age of 16.



These four cover organisations safeguarded the project T4, the
Reich Chancellery and the euthanasia committee from unwanted
discoveries.  Those who took the initiative were very secure and
if anyone had attempted to retrace the administrative chain let
us say, from an institute, whose patients were moved to  killing
institutes, he would probably have reached one of the four cover
organisations.  The chances that he would get much further were
very small.



Ironically, the relatives of the patients were charged with the
cost of the killing, without however being informed as to what
they were paying for. The questionnaires having been sent out
were completed by the psychiatrists, doctors in charge of the
patients in the asylums.



When the questionnaires came back, they were evaluated by
members of the psychiatric and professional members of T4 who
were mainly leading professors of psychiatry in German
Universities.  The whole business was in keeping with the
euthanasia programme in that no one was ever actually examined
in person, in direct violation of any normal medical approach or
standards, especially when one considers that life or death hung
on the decision of the psychiatrist evaluating.  Processing of
the questionnaires was done very rapidly, for example one expert
between November 14th and December 1st 1940 evaluated 2,109 of
them.





-----------------------------------------------------------------

















At the beginning of the euthanasia programme, and for some time
during it, Jewish people were very carefully excluded from
amongst the people who were being accorded "a blessed release
from their sufferings".  The reason apparently was that such a
worthwhile fate was obviously not to be given to Jewish people,
"that only Germans would benefit by such a humane measure."



At the time the questionnaires went out, or perhaps even
earlier, a number of mental hospitals or convenient buildings
were being converted for their later use and were to be the
killing centres and schools for murder.. Death chambers were
erected in the buildings disguised as shower-baths and
crematoriums both of which were identical to those later to be
established in "the Jew-killing centres in Poland".



There appears to have been six principal death institutes and
murder schools and these

were:

Grafeneck

Hadamar

Hartheim (in Austria)

Brandenburg

Bernberg

Sonnestein, the hospital of the super-expert Dr Nitsche.



The system seems to have worked in the following fashion:-



On the basis of the replies to the questionnaires the Institute
from which they had been returned were notified that a number of
patients were to be moved, allegedly to make available beds for
the war wounded, or to be moved for better treatment.  A number
of reasons were made known or put around as the reason for
removal.  These patients were collected by the front
organisation, Charitable Transport Company for the Sick which
then took them to one of these killing centres where they were
exterminated within a few hours of their arrival.  As a further
camouflage they were not always taken directly to the killing
centre on some occasions they were taken to an intermediate
hospital where people were led to believe that they were there
to be placed under observation.



The total number of victims of the euthanasia programmes
difficult to determine but as there were 300,000 to 320,000
mental patients in 1939 and only  40,000 in 1946 it would seem
that the figure of 275,000 deaths mentioned in the Nuremberg
Trials was reasonable accurate.



The victims were not confined to mentally incurable patients as
the programme progresses and gained momentum other undesirables
were included. It was obviously too great an opportunity to be
missed to not included anyone else who wasn't worthy of life.
Amongst those caught up in the dragnet for the murder institute
were "psychotics, schizophrenics, patients suffering from the
infirmities of old age as well as epileptics"  Other patients
having a variety of organic neurologic disorders including the
various forms of infantile paralysis (POLIO)  Parkinsonism,
Disease,  Multiple Sclerosis, and brain tumours.  We also know
that children were disposed of similarly, when the orphanages
and reformatories were searched for further candidates.



It should be borne in mind that according to one expert at least
50% of the patients murdered would, if allowed to survive would
have been able to recover and lead useful lives.



As we have seen T4  went into a great deal planning to disguise
its operations and those of the killing centres as ordinary
mental hospitals and this was testified to in the Nuremberg
Trials by Viktor Brack, the chief of the whole section ll of KdF
and therefore one of the main persons responsible for the smooth
execution of the euthanasia programme.  At the Nuremberg Trials
he testified that patients walked calmly in with their towels
and stood with their little pieces of soap under the shower
outlets waiting for the water to start running.



------------------------------------------



I have been able to find more material on some murder
institutions than others, but the following account could be
taken as fairly representative of the other five murder
institutions.  Hartheim was situated  near Linz which was in
turn also close to Hitler's birthplace in Austria.



It was an old castle dedicated as an asylum to the poor, feeble
minded and stupid in 1898.  Hartheim,  in company with the other
institutions, not only served as a murder institute for the
disposal of mental patients but also functioned as a murder
school for personnel.  The medical directors in charge of
Hartheim were two doctors, Dr Rudolf Lohnauer an Austrian who
later became an expert in 14f13 of which we will hear more later
and Dr Georg Renno.  They took their orders direct from T4 and
were responsible for the "medical " training of personnel.  The
training of staff was designed to harden the personnel
psychologically to the experience of having to exterminate and
observe the deaths of tens of thousands of people day after day,
week after week, apart from any technical training they were
given. However  from later activities in the operation of the
death chambers and crematoria it was obvious that they were
being schooled for bigger and better things in the workings of
the third Reich.  Most of the personnel concerned in these later
activities had passed through one of these murder schools.



The administrative official in charge at Hartheim was captain
Christian Wirth a former policeman who had been selected by T4
to supervise the training.  Apart from being places for
disposing of unwanted mental patients and to train personnel
these institutions also provided scientific testing grounds for
the perfection of the murder techniques as devised by the
psychiatrists in the euthanasia committees of T4.  The deaths of
the victims were clinically studied, photographed and perfected.
  In the war crimes trials that took place after the war in
Germany, it was  proved that in the death camps of Treblinka
Belzec and Sobibor special photographers also took pictures of
people being gassed just as they had at Hartheim and other
institutes.  in addition experiments took place with various
gases to perfect the most effective one.  During these tests
psychiatrists with stop watches would observe the dying patients
through the peepholes in the cellar door which served as a gas
chamber in Hartheim and the length of the death struggle was
clocked down to one tenth of a second.  Slow motion picture were
taken and studied by the psychiatric experts at T4 in Berlin.
People's brains were photographed to see exactly when death had
occurred.  Nothing was left to chance.  The psychiatrists were
very thorough.



The actual training of the students proceeded in an orderly
progression of familiarisation. At first they watched the
experiment as observers, as their training progresses they
graduated to participation in the actual murders by conducting
the patients into the chambers, releasing the gases, watching
during the death struggle and finally, ventilating the chambers
and removing the bodies.  the selection of the students was
conducted by the high ranking Nazi officials who were personally
and directly responsible to the Fuhrer Chancellery.



The whole operation was shrouded in very tight security.
Everybody involved realised that there could be no slip ups -
there could be no leakage of information because they weren't
dealing with "sub-humans or Jews", these victims were Germans
and Austrians and the reaction of the public would be very
strong.  And in fact when the programme later became obvious to
the inhabitants in the vicinity of the murder institutes there
was an outcry against it.



Obviously after so much familiarity with the deaths of the
victims the students became insensible to the cries and pleas of
the murdered.  In the process of their being hardened the
students were observed closely by their teachers who noted their
reactions and made reports on the students' progress.  If the
students were able to observe and participate in the murders of
their own nationalities even though they were deformed or mad
and were German or Austrian nationality how much easier it would
be to do the same to the "sub-humans".



Students who didn't complete the course because they cracked,
couldn't go on with it or were unsuitable were sent to the war
front from where the Commander in charge of the unit would
assign them to a suicide squad.  This would account for the lack
of people with conscience willing to come forward to testify to
what they had been involved in.



The total number of victims at Hartheim is difficult to estimate
but at the Dachau trial in 1947, testimony was given that from
"30 - 40 unwanted humans"  were treated in the cellars every
day.  As Hartheim was in operation for about three years that
would account for about 30,000 people.  Hartheim also had
another purpose.  It served as a safety valve when executions
taking place in nearby concentration camps such as Mauthausen
and Dachau became more than the staff could manage.  Victims
were sent to Hartheim and "dispatched" there.  Later towards the
end of the war Hartheim became just another place for
extermination, its staff and personnel having been assigned to
other duties.  It was well situated for use in the euthanasia
programme, lying near a railway but not too close and around the
castle were a few little houses and farms.  It was 27 km from
Linz and from there only another 23 km from Mauthausen.



Schooling of the personnel produced perfect murderers who were
used to the smell of burnt flesh and had been taught how to
trick people being led to their death and how to steel
themselves against the crying and pleading of victims.  Pupils
were naturally rewarded not only with alcohol and women which
were always kept handy for them but also received medals.
Usually these were the Iron Cross second class and unlike other
awards which had noted in the register the reason for their
being given in. these cases, "Gehelme Reichssache" (secret Rich
matter) was noted in the appropriate column.



One of the murder institutes, Hadamar, achieved some notoriety
at the time of the euthanasia programme.  In December  1939 a
member of the Court of  Appeals of Frankfurt on Main wrote to
the Minister of Justice complaining about the situation.  He
said that among the population there were constant discussions
over the question of the destruction of the socially unfit
especially in places where there were mental institutions.
Vehicles used to transport the mental patients from the
Institutes were converging on Hadamar things had reached such a
state that even the children were calling out s they passed that
"they are taking some more people to be gassed."



The writer had obviously found out enough to be able to describe
in his letter that there were stories circulating about
transported victims being immediately stripped to the skin,
dressed in  paper shirt and forthwith taken to a gas chamber
were they were liquidated with hydrocyanic acid gas and the
bodies reported to be moved by conveyor belt, to the
crematorium, six bodies to a furnace.  He also went on to
recount rumours about future victims and believed that these
would include the inhabitants of Homes for the Aged and others.
Interestingly the psychiatrist charge of Hadamar was Dr Adolf
Wahimann an active member of the German mental hygiene movement
who had demonstrated cardiazol-shock treatment to delegates from
the European Mental Hygiene Reunion which took place in Munich
in 1938.



This was not however the only letter of complaint and many more
followed when the never ending smoke that filled the skies in
the vicinity of the institutes indicated that something was
obviously terribly wrong.. Various members of the communities
(usually people of some standing) sent complaints to whoever
they thought could be in a position to act.



The main source of complaints appear to have come from the
Church and protests were raised by various bishops and cardinals
usually addressed to the Ministry of Justice.  The Bishop of
Limburrg for instance addressed a complaint to the Ministry
concerning the Institute of Hadamar and it was very similar to
the one by the member of the Court of Appeals mentioned earlier
when children were calling out as the vans arrived only now
parents were even threatening that if they weren't quite bright
they would be put in the ovens at Hadamar.



Obviously with the mounting protests the whole operation was
receiving far too much publicity and it was at this point in
about December 1941 that a change in procedure occurred..  And
here we come to another of the myths with which this period is
littered.  It was commonly believed that as the protests grew
they came to the ears of the Fuhrer who ordered an end to the
killings.  However be that as it may, the killings did nor stop,
they simply took on another form.  Many of the writers and
articles dealing with this period state that the programme
ended.  What actually happened was that the same aims were
procured by different means.  The gas chambers were no longer
used and the crematoria fell into disuse.  These were replaced
by lethal injections and even starvation, the bodies being
disposed of by mass burial.



As far as the psychiatrists were concerned it was business as
usual and the euthanasia programme continued throughout the war.
  In Bavaria it continued even until a few days

after the war when children were still being murdered.  If
Hitler did order an end to

euthanasia murders, their continuance only goes to show how
determined the psychiatrists were to pursue their own aims
regardless of his wishes.



Special Action 14f13



After the State had been relieved of their ghastly burden of so
many of these undesirables, mental  patients and useless -
eaters, the operation still under the direction of eminent
mental health psychiatrists in T4 was expanded under the code of
14f13.  From being limited to mental hospitals and institutions
it now embraced German and Austrian inmates and Jews in
concentration camps who were sick or invalid usually as a result
of the conditions extant in these places.  The starting date for
the operations of commissions of 14f13 appears to have been some
time in December. 1941.  Special commissions composed of
psychiatrists attached to the Berlin staff of T$ were dispatched
to the concentration camps to clear the medical bays and sick
quarters by way of selection of ill and undesirables.  Patients
selected were usually dispatched to one of the killing centres
and disposed of immediate there.



At Auschwitz, around this time about 800 patients in the
infectious block were sent to the death chambers.  Testimony was
given at Nuremberg after the war by the  S.S. camp doctor

at Dachau that at the end of 1941 a commission composed of 4
psychiatrists under the leadership of Professor Doctor Werner
Heyde SS Standartenfuhrer and lecturer in neurology and
psychiatry at Wurzburg University arrived at the camp and
immediately proceeded to their business. They selected several
hundred patients incapable of work who were then transported to
the gas chambers and disposed of.  The decision for selection
rested upon the incapacity of the prisoners to work.  Jews were
disposed of much more easily by the declaration that they were
enemies of National Socialism.



Evidence is shown in a letter written by Dr Fritz Mennecke a
member of the commission dated November 25th 1941 which he wrote
from Buchenwald, another concentration camp which they visited.
The letter was addressed to his wife and gave a brief account of
his clinical duties on the commission during the day:  "At noon
we took time off for lunch then we continued our examinations
until 4 pm.  I examined 105 patients whilst Muller took 78 so
that we finished off the first lot of 183 questionnaires.  The
second lot consisted of 1200 Jews who were not examined and it
was enough to pick out from their documents the reason for their
arrest and enter it in the questionnaires."



Apart from the people already covered the action was extended to
include adults and children in many Polish asylums.  However
there is little evidence available to me at the moment regarding
these particular murders and this is a very fruitful area to be
examined in the future.  Apart from the psychiatrists themselves
involved in the programme others also took advantage of the rare
opportunity of so many specimens offered them.  One of these was
a brain specialist Dr Julius Hallervorden, director of the
Kaiser Wilhelm institute in Dillenberg Hessen-Nassau, who had
the good luck to be able to obtain hundreds of brains from the
killing centres for use in his laboratory.  These brains were
from mental patients who had been killed by carbon monoxide gas.
  he freely admitted that he himself had initiated this
collaboration in the euthanasia programme and stated, "  I heard
that they were going to do that and so I went up to them and
told them "Look here now boys, if you are going to kill all
these people at least take the brains out so that the material
could be utilised."  They asked me How many can you examine ?"
and so I told them "An unlimited number the more the better." So
I gave them instructions for removing the brain and the
fixatives, jars and boxes and then they came bringing them in
like the delivery van from the furniture company.. The
Charitable Transport Company for the Sick brought the brains in
batches of 150-250 at a time... There was wonderful material
among those brains, beautiful mental defectives, malformations
and early infantile diseases.  I accepted those brains of
course.  Where they came from was really none of my business."



The development of occurrences up to this time shows plainly
that there were no limits to the enthusiasm that the
psychiatrists in Berlin felt for T4.  How patriotic they must
have considered themselves when they then decided to put their
brave teams into action in the East to help the wounded in ice
and snow.  As Dr Fritz Mennecke told his wife in a letter dated
12th January 1942.



"since the day before yesterday a large delegation from our
organisations headed by Herr Brack is on the battlefields of the
East to help in saving our wounded in the ice and snow.  They
include doctors, clerks, nurses and male nurses from Hadamar and
Sonnestein, a whole detachment of 20-30 persons.  This is top
secret.  Only those persons who could not be spared  were
excluded.  Professor Nitsche regrets that the staff of our
institution at Eichberg had to be taken away so soon."



This quote speaks for itself when one considers who was
"helping" the wounded in the ice and snow.  It becomes evident
that the German soldiers in the East had to fight three fronts,
the Russian Army, the partisans and the enemies in their own
ranks.  As if the war killing was not enough, now special
committees were put into action to relieve the wounded German
soldiers from their painful existence.  The soldiers thus were
not only in a fix strategically but also morally , if they were
wounded, how could they be "helped"?



translated by H.R, Martindale0



Extract from "The Men behind Hitler" by Bernhard Schreiber



It is my desire that this book be distributed as widely as
possible; and thus I hereby not only give my consent, but urge
the distribution, translation, publication, reprinting and
quoting of this book in part or in whole by any person, group or
organisation that may wish to so do.



Unfortunately, my financial situation made it impossible to
distribute this book as widely as I  would have liked and I hope
that the step I have taken will inspire others to actively
participate in this German warning to the world.



  Bernard Schreiber

DECEMBER 3: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DISABLED PERSONS

Will history show this to be a bad decision to have a international
disability

day in the northern hemisphere as it is so cold and difficult to go out
in

the Europe.  we should seek two international disability days in order
to be

visible to ourselves.

there are no current web pages that i have found, below is a URL to and
old one about the day.

Keith

did the disability community decide on Dec 3rd or was it nondisabled
people.

http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/97-233e.htm

Has anyone done anything towards this disability day?

I know i hav'nt.

what is historical about December 3rd to the disability community?

send your comments........


Keith

There are some new uploads to the Links Page.


Keith

Keith,
What is historical about December 3rd?  I know that I am much more
aware of facilities now...how accessible they are to people with
disabilites.   Tell me more.  I'd like to know of the mythology of
disability....
peace,
Kate
see you Wednesday.....

"kate totherow" <ezhc01-@...> wrote:
original article:http://www.egroups.com/group/disabilitystudies/?start=7
> Keith,
> What is historical about December 3rd?  I know that I am much more
> aware of facilities now...how accessible they are to people with
> disabilites.   Tell me more.  I'd like to know of the mythology of
> disability....
> peace,
> Kate

Kate

have no idea why 3 December is significant.... Dec 1st is international
aids
day...... I think that Nov. 15 (75) was the
day the UN signed their declaration of the
human rights of disabled people.

there are now 6 members of this group ...what do YOU think?

Keith

I am Hazel Jones, formerly working with Save the Children in Ho Chi
Minh
City, Viet Nam, where Ajaan Prayat came to a regional seminar suported
by
Save the Children.


Please pass on greetings of support and encouragement to Ajaan Prayat
and
colleagues in their determined but peaceful stand against the erosion
of the
most essential source of independent livelihood for so many blind
people in
Thailand. I wish them courage and strength and eventually success in
their
demand for justice and equal opportunities for disabled people.


Hazel Jones


----- Original Message -----
From: Monthian Buntan <mbuntan@...>
To: <blindtech@egroups.com>; <easi@...>;
<vicug-l@...>; <disability-research@...>;
<axslib-l@...>; <hsnider@...>;
<chong99@...>; <dandrews@...>
Sent: 01 September 1999 08:51
Subject: Please circulate this message as widely as possible. (fwd)



>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 09:09:22 +0800 (SGT)
> From: Monthian Buntan <mbuntan@...>
> To: president@..., san.unescap@..., takamine.unescap@...,
> ncftb@..., somkiat@..., users@...,
> rapam@..., umc@..., nfb-talk@...,
> psn@..., pecharat@..., adaptive@...,
> hkawa@..., aikawam@..., takami@...,
> csashida@..., larry@..., nfb@...,
> empower@..., cdr@...
> Subject: Please circulate this message as widely as possible.
>
> Dear friends,
>
> Today we, blind people in Thailand, are asking our friends, brothers
and
> sisters to please be with us. Late this afternoon, (local time) Mr.
> Prayat Phu-nong-ong, President of Thailand Association of the Blind,
the
> largest civil rights organization of blind people in Thailand, and
many of
> our brothers and sisters will begin fasting in front of the Thai
> government house until the government officially announces its
cancelation
> of online lottery system plan. Most blind people in Thailand still
have
> to depend on selling lottery tickets as their main source of income.
But
> this plan, which has been a contract between the Thai government and
a
> private company, will certainly rob most if not all of what blind
people
> have been working hard for several years of honest and straight
forward
> self-employment. Up till now, all government policies regarding
> education, employment, access to public services and social
participation
> for Thai people with disabilities, are at the most with ramps and
toilets,
> almost nothing beyond that level.
>
> We would like all of our friends, brothers and sisters to please be
with
> us until the Thai government wakes up from its sinful ignorance.
>
> May Peace be with All of Us,
>
> Monthian Buntan
> First Vice President, Thailand Association of the Blind
>
>
>
>




%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hello All,
Found the diary of Frieda Kahlo the other day....fascinating.  Would
she have found this passion to paint if she didn't have her accident?
  Perhaps.   At age eleven, Anais Nin was told she would never walk
and she immediately picked up a pencil.  It proved to be a
misdiagnosis, but she kept on writing.  Ever since I began to dance I
have been drawn to crutches, wheelchairs, people with paralysis.  I
see that at any moment I could lose my ability to move and dance, the
most enjoyable thing I know.  But I would keep on living, and then
how would I find a way to express?  We are intent on survival and
will find whatever means we can to share our stories with the rest of
the world.  Peace to you,
Kate

Hello All,
Found the diary of Frieda Kahlo the other day....fascinating.  Would
she have found this passion to paint if she didn't have her accident?
  Perhaps.   At age eleven, Anais Nin was told she would never walk
and she immediately picked up a pencil.  It proved to be a
misdiagnosis, but she kept on writing.  Ever since I began to dance I
have been drawn to crutches, wheelchairs, people with paralysis.  I
see that at any moment I could lose my ability to move and dance, the
most enjoyable thing I know.  But I would keep on living, and then
how would I find a way to express?  We are intent on survival and
will find whatever means we can to share our stories with the rest of
the world.  Peace to you,
Kate

There are currently eight members to this group.

What is your interest and why are you here?

Keith

This newsgroup is not for private messages, please use private
email for that, this newsgroup is for on topic messages related to
disability history studies.


Thank you


Keith

I just want to say Hi to everyone. I want to wish everyone a nice and
safe holiday Season. HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!


Keith

What is the most popular impairment in history?

Blindness

Deafness

walking impairment

Aids

Leprosy

Arthritis

Other (and why?)

Keith

Hi all, here's an event that you may be interested in. September 1st St Giles
Day.
All old Saint Giles churchs had to be outside
of the city walls.

Event: St Giles Day
Date:  Friday September 01, 2000
Time:  12:00 am
Description: Christian Patron Saint of "Cripples"

To add this event to your personal calendar, simply click on the following link:
http://www.egroups.com/cal?md=copy&prevMd=d&day=11201&eid=765249

If you have any other comments, you can reply to this message.

eGroups.com Calendar

This is a survey about attitude and not about reality of the effect of the
conditions themselves.....

Many thanks
----

Please select one or more of the following:

    o Aids
    o Arthritis
    o Blindness
    o Deafness
    o Leprosy
    o walking impairment
    o Other


by going to the following Web form:

    http://www.egroups.com/vote?id=953508650801&listname=disabilitystudies

Thank you!

Does anyone have access to a copy of "Disability in Antiquity" by
Fareed Haj?
Published 1970 - ASIN: 0802223168

Many thanks if you can help,

Keith

Accessing 21st Century Transport in Camden, London, UK.

Some people think that all we have to do to clear up London's transport
problems would be to ride bicycles or to use "public transport". I have
a
different perspective, I am a wheelchair user - and the wheelchair is
as
ecological as the bicycle. Yet there are no stations within Camden
that are accessible to wheelchair users.

I am not alone. A survey carried out in 1994* shows that at least
470,000
Londoners have major difficulties in using "public transport" or cannot
use
it at all. Many people with young children, heavy luggage or shopping
also
face severe problems. Yet all disabled Londoners subsidise the tube with
taxes.

Dial-a-Rides and the Taxicard Scheme have provided door-to-door
transport
for the disability community since the early 1980s. Many Dial-a-Ride
users
have given up due to bottlenecks in taking booking; however, members now
have a 70 per cent chance of getting through with their first phone call
(although 48 hours notice is often required). Taxicard trips are
limited,
and journeys can be expensive when stuck in a traffic jam because London
taxis charge for both time and distance. Neither service can carry
three-wheel scooters because of their inherent instability.

It is also worth noting that the design of some electric wheelchairs is
unsuitable for both taxis and Dial-a-Ride vehicles. If you are buying an
electric chair, it is therefore a good idea to contact Central London
Dial-a-Ride first, who will be happy to advise you on what designs are
suitable. Contact them at Hathaway House, 7D Woodfield Road,
London W9 2BA.
Tel: 020 7266 6100. Fax: 020 7266 5079.

The 'Adland' fantasy car exists in a world without traffic jams.
However,
this is not the reason why most people buy cars. Many people drive
because
they have no alternatives, often because a member of their family is
disabled or they have children. The Department of Transport encourages
disabled people to drive cars, supporting the 'Mobility scheme' and
'Mobility Roadshows'.

Camden's transport policy

If we are really to challenge the car, then we are going to have to
provide
real alternatives that meet the needs of current motorists. Camden's
transport strategy fails to take into this account. There was no
mention of
the transport needs of the disability community in Camden's "Taking
Steps":
Camden's Green Transport Strategy.

The policy will forbid some council tenants from owning cars within the
borough as a condition of the tenancy, but while there will be
provision of
disabled person's parking bays, will there be enough to take into
account
the increased incidence of disability in the community due to ageing?
Also,
these spaces will be for Orange Badge users. Since the tightening up of
criteria for the Orange Badge permits, many genuinely disabled people
have
been denied access to these permits. Equally, Camden's policy doesn't
allow
for temporary impairments e.g. broken legs or ill health. And will the
spaces
provided meet the needs of disabled people visiting council estates?

Likewise, pedestrianisation is likely to lead to no-go areas for
disabled
people. It certainly feels like this already in Soho, where pavements
have
been given over to restaurants while leaving high kerbs between them -
people who can only walk a short distance are being excluded.

Accessible buses

When there is commitment to make accessible buses work, boarding an
ordinary bus in a wheelchair feels like a true
liberation. Unfortunately this commitment is currently lacking in the
day-to-day operation of mainstream accessible buses in London. Buses
which board (for wheelchair users) at the back are particularly poorly
maintained. I feel I know how Mrs Rosa Parks felt, so long ago, at the
beginning of her struggle for equality in public bus transport.

At present there is no requirement to check if the access features are
working on "Accessible Buses" in London before taking the bus out from a
garage. Until they provide buses with working access features throughout
the journey, buses with the blue wheelchair symbol cannot be relied
upon. I
have found the 18 route to Baker Street to be very bad.

I've been in touch with Andrew Braddock from the Disabled Passengers
Unit,
who informs me that the access features should have been checked before
buses go out. Although not all drivers have been trained by the bus
companies . . .

Andrew Braddock requests that if readers have any problems, they should
contact the Disabled Passengers Unit, noting the time of day and the
location of the bus in question. London Transport Disabled Passengers
Unit,
172 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9TN. Tel: 020 7918 3312.
Fax: 020 7918 3876.


* GLAD Survey 1994

Accessible bus routes

At the time of writing, London Transport were unable to let me know
which
of their bus routes were fully accessible to wheelchair users. However,
personal research has led me to identify the following:

Wheelchair accessible buses: The 18, 26, 28, 31, 43, 48, 55, 56, 78,
100,
139, 168, 188, 319, 328 and 344 are fully accessible - but with only one
space for a wheelchair user per bus. The SL1, SL2 and the Airbus have
spaces for more than one
wheelchair user.

Low floor buses: Currently there are 183 low floor bus routes in
London, of
which 21 are in Camden. These are 1, 16, 18, 25, 31, 55, 78, 134, 168,
188.
189, 206, 210, 241, 216, 328, C11, SL1, SL2, N25 and N31. (London has
700
bus routes.) However, although the low floor bus was designed with the
wheelchair user in mind, many of these buses are not accessible to
wheelchair users. (London Transport are hoping to make five more
available shortly: the 10, 17, 30, 45 and 63).

And finally . . . at some point in the 21st century, disabled people in
Camden should have greater access to the tube. The good news is that
London
Underground has plans to install lifts within 68 stations, including
Camden
Town and Euston station. The bad news is that any further developments
at
stations will be subject to private funding.

Keith Armstrong was a Senior Transport Officer for London Strategic
Policy
Unit. He has also served on voluntary transport groups since 1982. and
is
currently is a Board member of Central London Dial-a-Ride. He does not
own a car.

First Published in DISCovery, London, U.K. Jan -  2000

All copyright reserved by the author in all media.

Ian Dury died today.

The sad news is that Ian Dury Britons' the disabled pop star,
singer song writer, artist, writer and television presenter
has just passed away because of cancer.  Ian Dury caught
Polio at the age of 7.  As a Polio survivor he campaigned
for disability rights.

His two major bands were Kilburn and the High Roads
and the Blockheads.

In 1981 [International Year of/for Disabled People (IYDP) *]
there were three recording released  to celebrate that year.
Only one was made by a disabled artist about disability issues,

Ian Durys' "Spasticus Autisticus" which was promptly banned
by the BBC  It was stilled banned in 1982 and my request to
play it as part of a promotion for a disability arts festival
in London was turned down by BBC2s' "Round Midnight" program
although they were played other recording he had made on
nondisability issues.

Ian Dury had a number one U.K. single: "Hit me with your rhythm
stick" and his song "Sex, drugs and rock & roll" became an anthem.

I'll never forget his homage to Gene Vincent on his first album.
Gene Vincent was also a Polio survivor and early rock star.

The disability community has lost a great talent.

* IYDP was originally to be "for" and was changed after pressure
to be "of" disabled people.

Hi Keith

A sad loss to both the disability and music world.

His witty and insightful lyrics really touched a chord.

Tom

----- Original Message -----
From: Keith Armstrong <keitharm@...>
To: <disabilitystudies@eGroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2000 2:38 AM
Subject: [disabilitystudies] Ian Dury died today.


> Ian Dury died today.
>
> The sad news is that Ian Dury Britons' the disabled pop star,
> singer song writer, artist, writer and television presenter
> has just passed away because of cancer.  Ian Dury caught
> Polio at the age of 7.  As a Polio survivor he campaigned
> for disability rights.
>
> His two major bands were Kilburn and the High Roads
> and the Blockheads.
>
> In 1981 [International Year of/for Disabled People (IYDP) *]
> there were three recording released  to celebrate that year.
> Only one was made by a disabled artist about disability issues,
>
> Ian Durys' "Spasticus Autisticus" which was promptly banned
> by the BBC  It was stilled banned in 1982 and my request to
> play it as part of a promotion for a disability arts festival
> in London was turned down by BBC2s' "Round Midnight" program
> although they were played other recording he had made on
> nondisability issues.
>
> Ian Dury had a number one U.K. single: "Hit me with your rhythm
> stick" and his song "Sex, drugs and rock & roll" became an anthem.
>
> I'll never forget his homage to Gene Vincent on his first album.
> Gene Vincent was also a Polio survivor and early rock star.
>
> The disability community has lost a great talent.
>
> * IYDP was originally to be "for" and was changed after pressure
> to be "of" disabled people.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>

You won't watch this on TV or hear this on the radio or possible
read about this in the nondisabled news media....

However, ALL accessible London Stagecoach buses had their access
features turned off, this also applies to some Arriva buses
(including the 242 route).

This is because of a design fault.  No date has been announced
for their repair.  LT's own disabled passengers unit will
confirm this information.

Keith

I am looking for some ex voto images of disabled community.

Can you help?

Many thanks

Keith

If I wrote or said that So and so was Disaphobic or
had disaphobia....

Could you understand me?

Keith

It has been ages since I last posted anything here.

I have been researching some history things about the disability
community.

It appears that we, as yet, do not have a published comprehensive or
vaguely comprehensive history book.  I'm currently seeking to change
this situation. and it will take some time to finish the project.

Well, on July 19th it was quite hot for a change, so I went out to
photograph a church in London.  Unfortunately I found some dirt on my
camera lens, luckily I found a friendly traffic warden who agreed to
assist me in cleaning it.

The church I went to look at appears to be very inaccessible and
because of nearby buildings is very difficult to photograph, is
called St.Giles-in-the-Fields to distinguish it from the other main
St.Giles church in London at Cripplegate.

So why was I trying to take a picture of this old church, which in my
opinion is very ugly and eerie on the outside..... in there lies some
important disability history.

The church of St.Giles-in-the-Fields is all that remains of the
Hospital of St.Giles-in-the-Fields.  The hospital was founded in
1101.

"A hospital is not necessarily a place for the reception of the
sick.  Even now we have the examples of Christ's Hospital, Greenwich
Hospital, Chelsea Hospital, the Foundling Hospital ,the Huguenot
Hospital in Victoria Park, and others, to remind us that a hospital,
or as our forefathers called it , an hospital or spittle is a place
for entertainment, a place where hospitality is dispensed.  The word
is sometimes used in old documents as the equivalent of an inn, as
the term hostler or hosteller testifies, and indeed the word hotel is
but an abbreviation of hospital.

This introduction is necessary in order to explain that in treating
of early and mediaeval hospitals it is impossible to restrict our
enquires exclusively to hospitals of the sick; for in early times
there were but few, indeed, we may almost say they were none, that
were founded or devoted exclusively to the care of the sick.
Specialisation is a late stage in the growth of anything, and all
early and mediaeval hospitals had a mixed function of which care of
the sick, when it was a function at all, was never the sole
function." (Charles A. Mercier lecture from the Glasgow Medical
Journal, Scotland. 1915).

The main occupants of the Hospital of St.Giles-in-the-Fields were
people with Hansen's disease.  There were many hospitals at the time
for people with that condition, however, the hospital had one perhaps
unique facility in it's grounds was a full set of working gallows.
For those who know London, the site of the gallows is now occupied
the office block called Centre Point which can be seen almost
anywhere in Oxford Street,

The hospital was closed and demolished in the 1540's.

Getting back to my camera's lens being cleaned....  a black TXI *
taxi turned up with four men in it (one of them being Noel Galligher
of OASIS fame)
one of them yelled out:-

  "Ah....you are not giving him a traffic ticket, are you?".

Keith

* The TXI is London's newest accessible taxi which has been nicked
named by taxi drivers as "the Noddy" because it looks like it has
just come out of Enid Blyton's toy town stories.  The taxi has very
good headroom for a wheelchair user.


The copyright and moral right of this text are solely owned by Keith
Armstrong. of whom permission is required to reproduce in any format.

FYI This a copy of a letter sent to the British Library.  It concerns
issues about the disappearance of part of the fragile histories of
disability community.  I would welcome your comments.  Keith


							  23rd, May
2000
The Director,
Reader's Services
The British Library
96 Euston Road
London NW1 2DB

Dear  Sir,

British Library : Publications removed from the British Library.

My main experience with the vast majority of library staff has been
helpful and supportive with current research I am undertaking .I am
currently writing a history of the disability community and have been
working through your "On-Line" catalogue, however, yesterday, I
discovered references to publications "discarded" by the library.

I have a few questions that would assist my research:

w Are these items archived in alternative formats such as
microfilm or CD ROM?

w Are records kept of the details of all discarded
publications?

w If records are kept, is the list available to readers at the
library?

w Is there a breakdown of these discarded items by subject area
and
	 date of removal?

w When did the library start to discard catalogued publications?

w What is the criteria for discarding publications?

w On whose authority within the library are publication
discarded?

w Is the policy of discarding publications still continuing?


Some of  items listed as "discarded" that I have found are described
below:

Ÿ United States of America, Department of State and Public
Institutions.
	 Presidents Committee on Employment the Physically Handicapped.
	 Employ the handicapped 10th observance of National Employment
of the
	 physically handicapped, October 3-9 - 1954

& Former Shelf Mark AS 107/54.
cont....

Ÿ Departments of State and Public Inst. Presidents Committee on
National Employment of the physically handicapped week: Membership
Directory 1950-57

& Former Shelf Mark AS 107/42.

Ÿ United States of America, Departments of States and Public
Institutions, Civil Service Commission operations manual for
placement of the physically handicapped (3rd edition)  1944

& Former Shelf Mark AS 175/8.

Ÿ Some problem in the education of handicapped children
         Mackie, Romeiue P.,

& Former Shelf Mark AS 202/16.


Thank you,.


Yours sincerely






Keith Armstrong

Greetings,

I just joined this list, which I heard about on the disability-
reasearch list from the UK. In reading the archives, I have
discovered that little has been said, or much has been elided. I
would like to continue a thread which was born, and died, in November
of 1999.

--- In disabilitystudies@egroups.com, "keith armstrong" wrote:
> At one time in ancient Greece many disabled gods were worshipped.
>
> One such god was 'Hephaistos' known to the Romans as 'Vulcanous'.
> His temples were built all over the Mediterranean,
> unfortunately most of them are not accessible to ordinary
wheelchair
> users.
>
> There were many other disabled gods in other cultures.
>
> Can you share any information here? I think that understanding
> our mythological past can help our community in the future.

I have been looking into disAbled Gods for a few months for another
project and came up with several which might be of interest.

In mobility issues:

Dabog (Hroma Daba) is a Slavanic, lame, sun god.
Hephestus (Hephaistos) is a Greek, lame, smith god.
Li Tie is a Chinese lame, Taoist Immortal

Tyr is a Norse sky and war god with one hand.

In sensory issues:

Hodur (many spellings) is a Norse blind god of winter and darkness.
Kui is a Polynesian blind earth god.
Lord Sri Venkateswara is an Indian (India) blind god of prosperity.
Zinkibaru is an African (Songhoi) blind master of fish.

I have found no deaf gods yet.

In mental illness issues:

Attis is a Phygia/Greek/Roman (vegitation?) god who went mad and died
castrating himself.
Yima is Persian and is called schizoid in most texts which name him
at all.

In social disability issues:

Afagddu (Morfan) is a Welsh god or hero who was extremely ugly.
Many gods were impotent for one reason or another.
Bes is an Egyptian dwarf god of good luck and help in childbirth.
There are many gods called giant, but this was rarely an impediment
in godhood.

I'm sure there are more, but as you can see, the old Gods were in all
human conditions, not just one (old able bodied white man with a
beard).

Bright Blessings

Cindy J. B. Glaze

Keith,

Although I appreciate your frustration at not getting the materials
you needed in a timely manner, I would like to comment on standard
practices of libraries. This is not meant to be a flame, but an
informational post.

> Dear  Sir,
>
> British Library : Publications removed from the British Library.
<CLIP>
> w When did the library start to discard catalogued publications?

Libraries started discarding materials as soon as the printing press
made materials readily available. Before that, if a library had two
copies of something they could sell it or donate it to another
library and be assured that SOMEBODY would want it. As soon a printed
material started being more accessible, it started piling up. If the
no longer useful material was not discarded, useful material would
soon be piled under and inaccessible due to lack of room.

>
> w What is the criteria for discarding publications?

If you have multiple copies, if information is dated, if it is such
bad condition that it can no longer be used, if it is readily
accessible via InterLibraryLoan from a more appropriate repository
for the information and if it is simply duplicating information found
elsewhere and there is no longer enough room to store it.

> w On whose authority within the library are publication
> discarded?

Generally the Library Director deligates the job to librarians who
are specialists in that department.

>
> w Is the policy of discarding publications still continuing?


I sincerly hope it is. If not, than the British Library would soon be
unusable as materials became stuffed to the rafters and beyond.

>
>
> Some of  items listed as "discarded" that I have found are
described
> below:
>
> Ÿ United States of America, Department of State and Public
> Institutions.
<CLIP>

Please note that some of the items you are looking for are government
documents of a foreign nation. The friendly foreign nation has
agreements to share via ILL but the documents have little use to the
citizenry of Britain. Only specialized researcher such as myself and
you would be interested. These researchers can often get the material
by ILL, especially since they are usually attached to a university
library which does ILL on a regular basis.

>
> Thank you,.
> Yours sincerely
> Keith Armstrong

I hope that you are soon able to get the materials you need. Some of
it may even be available on-line from the US government printing
office. I hope this helps you understand this admitidly frustrating
process.

Bright Blessings,

Cindy Glaze

Cindy,

Many thanks for comments about my letter to the British Library.

The British Library (BL) is a bid different to ordinary libraries
because it is consider as a library of "record".  Many smaller
libraries happily dispose of their "under used stock" in the belief
that the BL was looking after at least one copy.  In that respect
it is very similar to the Library of Congress.

In the article I co-wrote with John Ezard that was published in
last Friday's Guardian, I also pointed out that currently with loss
of more than 80,000 discarded (only copy) publications the library
now fails 25 requests pa. under the ILL lending scheme, whereas
they could have met the requests before their cull of books.

My main concern is that disability related publications that fail
to meet their current acquisition policy.  Even if copies are still
available in the USA, it still represents a delay in precise research
time.  One of the more recent causalities that I found in a second-
hand
bookshop (stamped "British Library withdrawn") is "Disability -
Controversial Debates and Psychosocial Perspectives" by Dr Deborah
Marks (Routledge 1999) and interesting and highly readable book.  I
am sure that Dr Marks didn't consider how controversial it would
be on the date of publication.

If you want to know more about this issue I suggest you read
the following web pages.

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/letters/story/0,3604,353385,00.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,353331,00.html

http://x63.deja.com/=yahoo/getdoc.xp?AN=657622796&CONTEXT=966179142.17
07147266&hitnum=2

http://x57.deja.com/=yahoo/getdoc.xp?AN=657697392&CONTEXT=966179574.19
05197061&hitnum=0

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/8435/Strike.html

I would welcome further comments from you on this

All best wishes
Keith

--- In disabilitystudies@egroups.com, "Cindy Glaze" <cerridwyn@r...>
wrote:
> Keith,
>
> Although I appreciate your frustration at not getting the materials
> you needed in a timely manner, I would like to comment on standard
> practices of libraries. This is not meant to be a flame, but an
> informational post.
>
> > Dear  Sir,
> >
> > British Library : Publications removed from the British Library.
> <CLIP>
> > w When did the library start to discard catalogued publications?
>
> Libraries started discarding materials as soon as the printing
press
> made materials readily available. Before that, if a library had two
> copies of something they could sell it or donate it to another
> library and be assured that SOMEBODY would want it. As soon a
printed
> material started being more accessible, it started piling up. If
the
> no longer useful material was not discarded, useful material would
> soon be piled under and inaccessible due to lack of room.
>
> >
> > w What is the criteria for discarding publications?
>
> If you have multiple copies, if information is dated, if it is such
> bad condition that it can no longer be used, if it is readily
> accessible via InterLibraryLoan from a more appropriate repository
> for the information and if it is simply duplicating information
found
> elsewhere and there is no longer enough room to store it.
>

snip

Cindy

Many thanks for your list, some new to me.

Wednesday is named after Wanton which is another name
for Odin who only had one eye.

Keith

--- In disabilitystudies@egroups.com, "Cindy Glaze" <cerridwyn@r...>
wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> I just joined this list, which I heard about on the disability-
> reasearch list from the UK. In reading the archives, I have
> discovered that little has been said, or much has been elided. I
> would like to continue a thread which was born, and died, in
November
> of 1999.
>
> --- In disabilitystudies@egroups.com, "keith armstrong" wrote:
> > At one time in ancient Greece many disabled gods were
worshipped.
> >
> > One such god was 'Hephaistos' known to the Romans as
'Vulcanous'.
> > His temples were built all over the Mediterranean,
> > unfortunately most of them are not accessible to ordinary
> wheelchair
> > users.
> >
> > There were many other disabled gods in other cultures.
> >
> > Can you share any information here? I think that understanding
> > our mythological past can help our community in the future.
>
> I have been looking into disAbled Gods for a few months for another
> project and came up with several which might be of interest.
>
> In mobility issues:
>
> Dabog (Hroma Daba) is a Slavanic, lame, sun god.
> Hephestus (Hephaistos) is a Greek, lame, smith god.
> Li Tie is a Chinese lame, Taoist Immortal
>
> Tyr is a Norse sky and war god with one hand.
>
> In sensory issues:
>
> Hodur (many spellings) is a Norse blind god of winter and darkness.
> Kui is a Polynesian blind earth god.
> Lord Sri Venkateswara is an Indian (India) blind god of prosperity.
> Zinkibaru is an African (Songhoi) blind master of fish.
>
> I have found no deaf gods yet.
>
> In mental illness issues:
>
> Attis is a Phygia/Greek/Roman (vegitation?) god who went mad and
died
> castrating himself.
> Yima is Persian and is called schizoid in most texts which name him
> at all.
>
> In social disability issues:
>
> Afagddu (Morfan) is a Welsh god or hero who was extremely ugly.
> Many gods were impotent for one reason or another.
> Bes is an Egyptian dwarf god of good luck and help in childbirth.
> There are many gods called giant, but this was rarely an impediment
> in godhood.
>
> I'm sure there are more, but as you can see, the old Gods were in
all
> human conditions, not just one (old able bodied white man with a
> beard).
>
> Bright Blessings
>
> Cindy J. B. Glaze