April 05, 2005

Not Disabled Enough

Un-freakin-believable!

Ms. Wheelchair Wisconsin has been stripped of her title because pageant officials say she can stand — and point to a newspaper picture as proof.

Janeal Lee, who has muscular dystrophy and uses a scooter, was snapped by The Post-Crescent newspaper standing among her high school math students. The photo was not an expose.

Standing. Not walking or bowling or skating or running track, she was standing.

“I’ve been made to feel as if I can’t represent the disabled citizens of Wisconsin because I’m not disabled enough,” Lee said Thursday.

Well honey, your feelings are right on the mark, because that's *exactly* why they booted you. Count your blessings that you don't have to deal with those politically correct nitwits any more. Why do I say "politically correct"?

Candidates for the crown have to “mostly be seen in the public using their wheelchairs or scooters,” said Judy Hoit, Ms. Wheelchair America’s treasurer. “Otherwise you’ve got women who are in their wheelchairs all the time and they get offended if they see someone standing up. We can’t have title holders out there walking when they’re seen in the public.”

Yep, can't offend the real crips. You know, the ones who are disabled enough. And of course we all know who gets blamed for this farce:

Hackel said Lee should have been aware of the rules.

You knew it was coming. It's her own damn fault.

I wonder if Miss Black America ever got bounced because her skin wasn't dark enough?

Posted by Ted at April 5, 2005 05:02 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Well, there's not a damn photo in that linked news article. How are we supposed to answer the real question here: Is she HOT enough? Who cares the degree of her disability, it is first and foremost a pageant, and that means an evening gown and bathing suit competition. Bring on the hotties!

Posted by: shank at April 5, 2005 05:11 PM

When we had to pick the poster children/poster adults when I worked at Easter Seals, you never went with the "least abled" person (for lack of more correct langugage). You picked someone who had overcome a lot of adversity who could be an inspiration -- a success story. Quite honestly, Janeal Lee was probably a perfect choice because she was just mobile enough to have a real spark of hope and determination that could appeal to the general public (you know how people like to look away) as well as to the disability community.

Unreal.

Posted by: dawn at April 6, 2005 07:38 AM

What dawn said. This woe-is-me celebration of victimhood has gone from discouraging the healthy to sinking the hopes of the disabled. Yeesh.

Then again, this ain't Easter Seals. It's a silly pageant and they have their silly rules. Whatever.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at April 6, 2005 10:45 PM
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