The Infinite Loop

A/N- I made this poem in 2018 to vent my anger and frustration about the harmful bill H.R. 620 ‘ADA Education And Reform Act Of 2017’ which would have rolled back the Americans with Disabilities Act, and would have caused more problems for the disabled. Thankfully the bill was stopped, but we must remain on guard to make sure our rights don’t get eroded by power hungry sleemos.
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Can you imagine what it would be like if H.R. 620, a bill that will roll back the Americans with Disabilities Act, passes?

Can you imagine having to first send a written letter to the business or place about how and why they are inaccessible? Can you imagine trying to write the letter with a disability that hinders your ability to use your hands?

Can you imagine having to wait sixty days for a written response from the business or place?

Can you imagine having to wait 120 days after the sixty days for the business or place to make ‘substantial progress’ towards making changes?

Can you imagine feeling frustration after they repeatedly say they are making changes yet nothing, or almost nothing, changes?

Can you imagine being stuck in this infinite loop for months? Years? Decades?

Can you imagine having to wait for a bank or a hospital to become accessible for you?

Can you imagine having to beg and plead to be ‘allowed’ to fully participate in society?

Can you imagine wondering why people in power are willing to sacrifice your rights as well as rights of other disabled because it is easier than targeting the root of the problem- unscrupulous attorneys?

Can you imagine feeling like you and other disabled are second-class citizens in the eyes of people in power due to viewing them as an inconvenience?

Can you imagine if this spread to other things beyond mobility issues? Can you imagine if it spread to issues with interpreters or captions for hard-of-hearing or deaf people? Or people with invisible disabilities?
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A/N: The most disturbing part of the bill was that it has to be a disabled person who writes the letter, no one else can do it. Though not sure how it would be handled if it was a young kid or someone with a disability affecting their hands and/or arms. Just not right. Could the parents do it if needed? Or family members? There’s just too many what-if problems with requiring a written letter from someone directly affected, since not everyone has just one disability and not everyone can write on paper.

Just leaves a dreadful feeling that we are second-class citizens to the sleemos in power, though thankfully as of 2021 more and more progressives are in power. So hopefully this trend of more progressives in power who fight for the people continues.

In some states, there have been numerous lawsuits against small business owners. This is not a problem with the ADA. It is a problem at the state law level that enables unscrupulous attorneys to take advantage of these owners. Why don’t they take care of the root of the problem- the unscrupulous attorneys?

Plus, we all need the ADA. Even if you aren’t currently disabled in any way, it can happen to anyone at any time.

(For those not in the know, sleemo is a term from Star Wars, which basically means calling someone a ‘slimeball’.)