ADAPT action — Day 2
Arlene first:
Monday- Day Three
The Rayburn House was the scene of disability power today, in Washignton DC. ADAPT, a disability civil rights group, was in full effect. The group was calling on the House of Representative to have hearings on the Community Choice Act. This bill has sponsors in the US Senate, but has received a tepid reception in the House. The Community Choice Act would fund home based, consumed directed care, as a viable alternative to nursing home placement. This alternative would save millions of dollars, and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities stuck in nursing homes.
The House of Representative police offerred no dialogue or discussion — three quick warnings, and they were arresting people in wheelchairs. Over one hundred people were taken into custody. (I found it interesting that they took more time to discuss using rubber gloves, in case of ‘contact’, than actual dialogue with the crowd or its representatives.)
The balance of the group– about three hundred people- gathered in a park across from the detainment center, and cheered on those who were brave enough to stand up for freedom and be arrested. As the afternoon heated up, into the 80’s, a small contingent (including Rochester ADAPT members Chris Hilderbrant, Arlene Wilson, Greg Sullivan, Pam Taggart, and Gremmie) braved the heat and humidity, to stand vigil.
The PD started to release group members at about 10:00pm. Those arrested included: Gene Spinning, Shelly Perrin, Bruce Daring, Sue Stahl, Debbie Bonomo, Anthony Griggs, Marlene Waldron, Pat Taggart and others…
My turn:
We lined up bright and early to begin the day’s work. I was part of a group that was “going in”, if you will, so we gathered a little apart from the others. At the signal, we headed towards the Rayburn Building. ADAPT was going there to demand that the House Energy and Commerce Committe schedule hearings on the Community Choice Act, formerly MiCASSA, which had not had a hearing in almost ten years.
Sine my group was “going all the way”, we filed through security with information in hand, ostensibly to make some legislative visits. The House Energy and Commerce hearing room is only a few feet from security, and since we could not get into the room, we immediately blocked the doors, chanting loudly.
Of course, that brought outraged folks in suits out demanding that we cease because we were scaring innocent teenagers who were having an event inside the hearing room “learning about democracy”, as someone put it. We countered that the students were learning the real deal about democracy by our being there, but we did agree to back up from the doors and let them out. It was interesting that the kids weren’t scared at all. They were fascinated at seeing so many people with disabilities. I believe that it was the adults who were the scaredy-cats.
Back in front of the hearing room doors, we began singing, “raising our voice for Community Choice”. This went on for a while, and the cops didn’t really seem to mind. It was when we began chanting it in a loud call and response that they began to get agitated. They quickly got on bullhorns to announce the warnings, but each time, ADAPTers drowned them out. Then, the arrests began.
When it was my turn, I was tagged, and led out, still chanting. The officer took me around a corner, and down a long sidewalk. Across the street, I could hear the cheers of ADAPT folks, who happened to see me as I was pushed by. They called my name and chanted, and of course, I chanted back.
The officer, who was actually quite nice, took me down into the bowels of an underground parking lot, where I joined fellow ADAPTers who’d already been arrested. The police had us divided into color groups of their own — green, pink, yellow, and white, based on different arrest scenarios. Though I was pink, I managed to get out of my color group, and visit with other folks in other police-designated color groups. I even managed to surriptitiously take a few pictures and videos with my cell phone before I was busted, and told to put the phone away. By the time the dust cleared, and all was said and done, 99 of us were in the “jail”, which was the parking lot for all manner of police vehicles, including cars, bikes, and motorcycles. I was number 59. Several of us were first-time arrestees. This was my 113th arrest with ADAPT in 20 years.
The booking procedure was deliberately long and slow, and many of us were suffering from the carbon monoxide from the comings and goings of police vehicles. The only consolation was that they were suffering, too. The smokers in our group were really suffering, and I felt bad for them. We finally had out belongings taken and tagged. As I was doing this, my cell phone rang, and the officer let me answer it. It was Pam Taggart, who was worried for us, and for her twin sister, Pat, who had been arrested with us. I assured her that everything was ok, then went to check on Pat, who, of course, was fine. Afterwards, I spent the time napping, and talking with everyone. I also kept watch on the first-timers to make sure that they were ok, and hung out with fellow Nation of Rochester ADAPT members. Other than that, there was nothing to do.
Finally, about 1:30 am, I was let loose. Just outside, a contingent of hardy ADAPTers were waiting for us. I was glad to see Chris, and especially, Dean, my fellow Advocacy Crew member, as this was his very first ADAPT action. My homegirl, Dawn was there also, and when the others left to take some folks back to the hotel, I stayed with her and helped keep count of the paperwork and all, until everyone was out, which was about 2:30. We then headed back for the hotel, where other ADAPTers and pizza were waiting. I finally crawled into bed about 4:00 am.
Dale and Claude in Jail
