Disability Rights Advocate Lamar White: Abbott Owes Texans Apology & Explanation For Justice Denied
Lamar White: “In the early 80s a tree fell on Mr. Abbott and paralyzed him. He received millions of dollars in a settlement. And since then, throughout his career, he’s denied other Texans the same type of justice.”
“On Monday I volunteered to speak at an event that Sen. Davis held in Fort Worth about disability rights… Only an hour after the event, the right wing media, particularly the conservative blogosphere began attacking me and the other people that were there at the event, accusing us of being nothing more than props.”
“To me, these are dehumanizing attacks. [This week] Attorney General Abbott had the opportunity to apologize. And instead, he refused…He owes me and millions of other Texans like me an explanation, not only of this behavior but also of his record.”
Salon: “I am a human being. Not a campaign prop”: Disabled Wendy Davis supporter Lamar White fires back at conservative criticism
Responding to criticism over a divisive new attack ad aired over the weekend, Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis organized a press conference on Monday that included several of her disabled supporters, who discussed how Republican candidate Greg Abbott’s attempted tort reform would affect their lives. Davis defended her decision to air a spot that notes her opponent’s partial paralysis and use of a wheelchair during the event, eliciting additional criticism from conservative commentators and Abbott supporters – but this time, it was for including disabled voters at the presser.
Attempting to lambaste Davis for political opportunism, critics took their attacks a step farther, calling the press conference speakers “props” and mocking Lamar White, Jr., a speaker with cerebral palsy. During the event, White spoke while seated, then asked a Davis staffer to move his chair to make room for the next speaker while he was still sitting. Right-leaning website the Washington Beacon called White’s move “awkward,” and Townhall.com referred to him and the other supporters “props” while calling Davis’ decision to include them “shameless.”
“I’m clumsy, and I fall sometimes,” White told the Houston Chronicle. “I didn’t want to fall on camera, so I personally asked them to slide me over in the chair. I asked them to move me. Because I was worried that if I stood up, I’d fall down on camera.”
White also took to social media to fire back at critics, noting that referring to him and other Davis supporters as “props” undermines personal autonomy. “I am a human being,” White wrote. “Not a campaign prop. I volunteered to speak because [Wendy Davis] is right.” He also appealed directly to Abbott, calling on the candidate to denounce members of his campaign who jumped on the “awkward” bandwagon:
.@GregAbbott_TX, I’m not a prop. You owe an apology and must denounce this slur and your campaign’s retweets.
– Lamar White, Jr (@CenLamar) October 13, 2014
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