Petition to Protest Hersholt Award Choice

by Dora Raymaker · 2009-01-10 10:47:00 UTC
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no pityLate Friday, I got a call to action that has been circulating through disability rights organizations, independent living centers, and disability community leaders. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced it will give Jerry Lewis its Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Oscar Awards ceremony on February 22, 2009. This is not acceptable to the disability rights community.

For those readers who already know why giving this award to Lewis is unacceptable and agree, here's a petition to sign in protest. The petition was authored by Laura Hershey (blog), writer and advocate for disability and women's rights.

For those readers who are scratching their heads (as well as wondering what the heck this has to do with autism), there is an exceptionally well-written article A Test of Wills: Jerry Lewis, Jerry's Orphans, and the Telethon from Ragged Edge magazine that gives an in-depth history of the situation, and highlights the issue of Jerry Lewis' perpetuation of pity instead of respect for people with disabilities. In the controversies and tensions discussed in the article--pity versus power, viewing people with disabilities as "incomplete" or whole human beings, and questions of which language and concepts are offensive and to whom--is mirrored in the controversies and tensions surrounding "the autism issue." As I said in my primer, autistic rights issues and disability rights issues share more than a common foundation.

Giving money to charity (including autism-related charities!) so it can be distributed to those who need it is critically important--goodness knows we all want more funding for equipment and services! Please do donate to charity! But there is no need in a civilized society for that money to be gotten at the expense of human dignity. There are better ways.

If you protest the promulgation of pity, please consider signing the petition.

If you are more into pro-action than protest, consider how autistic people, or people with disabilities are being portrayed before you make a donation in the future. Donate to charities that are respectful of our humanity and which include us in their policy.

Dora Raymaker
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