Woman in Wheelchair Booed and Shouted Down at N.J. Town Hall Meeting  

I can certainly see this disgusting incident being spun to be "all Obama's fault"!

Annie

Actually It is the "right thinkers" who see the country as a melting pot of American Culture. It is the "wrong thinkers who see only Males and Females, Rich and Poor, Black and White, Right and Left. And of course everyone who doesn't agree with them is either a bigot or a homophobe.

No, unfortunately I guess we shouldn't! I know all conservatives aren't like this but it's this type that are the most likely to attend these town hall meetings.
Annie

Yeah that's why I tried to bold heartless but for some reason bold never works for me. We have a growing list of conservatives with hearts here on mylot.

Thanks for the reminder, debater. I'd forgotten that Bush was a "compassionate conservative" - an oxymoron if ever there were one!
Annie

Amen to that one Annie!

Annie, I am sure that the words Bush and moron have been used in a sentence millions of times.

I personally don't think anyone should shout and boo at a town hall meeting. Exactly WHAT gets accomplished when that happens besides someone getting a video tape of it to put on You-Tube and then all over the TV news? You say you would "expect reactions to my statements, especially if I knew that the majority of the people in the room disagreed with me." Fine, of course you'd "expect reactions", Rollo, but I'd feel the same about them having this particular KIND of reaction to you as I do about this woman. I'm with you when you say, "by all means, let's debate" but does "debate" have to mean be disrespectful and loud? How is it a "debate" when one person is being drowned out by boos and jeers? I'm also with you on everyone having EQUAL rights but I think it stands to reason that when there is someone in a wheelchair or with some other obvious indication of a disability or illness that person could possibly bring a different perspective to the issue of health care than a crowd of people who are for the most part healthy and/or have access to very good health care? It's not very "equal" if someone like that isn't allowed to be heard, is it?

Annie

I watched the video. I could hear what she said because she had a microphone. I couldn't discern what the shouters were saying. I assume they didn't say anything about her wheelchair because if they had, the commentator wouldn't have repeated the line about her not having more rights that was said by one man.

I don't want anyone to feel like they have to defend me, or give me special consideration and most disabled people want you to respect them. Sometimes respecting someone is responding to them exactly as you would to someone who is not disabled.

I don't have the right to expect anyone to pass a bad bill that will affect millions of Americans in a detrimental way just because I might get a few nice perks out of it. If I expected that, I wouldn't deserve respect.

shout argue, maybe somethimes...
bringing your car to a screeching halt because you passed someone carrying a sign and getting out and shooting the person, biting off their finger, ect...
na, I think this is a first.
this is idiotic! we already have health rationing, we already have a very socialist healthcare system, I mean, it was built using gov't research grants, the people trained through gov't grants, the gov't caters to probably close to 50% of the population through schips and medicaid, medicare. with the rest of us needing insurance (another very socialist creation)! We have people griping about what we eat, how much we excercise, what we are doing, the gov't trying to tax us into submission and stop costing others money! Some of us have all that...we just don't have the healthcare to justify all the bull crap that comes with a socialist system.
enough is enough!! either give us the healthcare or what the heck, expect to be punched next time you tell one of us that our cigarettes, our big mac, our whatever, is costing you money!!

I watched the segment..the hecklers were Calling out repeatedly "What's Your Question?!" I can only assume it was a Q&A Session,and She was apparently reading a statement.Undeniably Her Concerns were Valid about her condition and ability to afford medication and household expenses,but those heckling didn't want to hear what she had to say if it wasn't a direct question...Is there any further info on what the meeting was about?

I really don't know what the reasons were for her being booed and drowned out, Suspenseful. My speakers don't work either but I saw this on TV and all I could really hear for the most part were the "boos" and jumbled shouting. I also don't know what she thinks of "Obamacare". She wanted some answers to some questions she had is all I know. I don't think it's right to act rudely and disrespectfully to others in a public forum like that no matter how much someone may disagree with them.

Annie

She starts getting the boos when she said that she is afraid of not being able to pay her property taxes and losing her home because her medication is $389 every 2 weeks. The reporter said one man was asked by he booed her and he said something that his rights were no less important than some woman in a wheelchair. By the way that isn't exact word for word but pretty close.

we left new york about four years ago because, well, every year, they were pointing to the cost of healthcare as an excuse to raise the property taxes, and whatever else they thought they could get away with. so, there is a relationship there. Especially well, I know of alot of people in ny drawing from medicaid, medicare, that are perfectly able to work! her property taxes are paying for their persciptions! yet, there's no way she can pay for hers.
I've been there, you can't imagine how irrating it is to listen to the polywogs gripe about how they need more money from you to pay for all these people who gee, seem to be getting around far better than I was, and then, well, those very same polywogs can't even supply the money to have the roads paved in the morning when you drive 50 miles to that higher paying job you work at because well, you need the higher paying job just to pay their danged taxes and still reek out of living! Heck, alot of times, far too many, my husband had to turn around and head back home, he would run into a six foot wall running across the highway at the county line! there were many other times when he never made it out of the driveway till afternoon waiting for them to pave it....they needed the money for healthcare and well, doing away with overtime for the road crew was one of things they chose to get it!

If she has MS, then her prescriptions cost a lot more than the $389 a month she stated. That's her portion of it. MS treatments cost tens of thousands per year, they are extremely expensive. Medicare is paying tens of thousands per year for her medications. She has to pay some of it. She stated that she has two incurable diseases, I don't know what the other one was, generally fibromyalgia goes along with MS. We don't know what all her prescriptions are or how much of the cost Medicare is covering or even if everything she takes is necessary. We do know that she worked and paid taxes and is getting SSDI and Medicare as she is supposed to. What we don't know is what she will get under Obamacare, when they cut hundreds of billions out of the Medicare coverage to pay for this health care reform.

First off Rolo I didn't say she has MS I actually didn't hear her say she had anything, the reporter said she had 2 incurable diseases. Secondly I said she said that she pays $389 every 2 weeks. And, the woman didn't say she was on Medicare, so I have no idea if she is or not.

I don't know, I applied for disability once and looked into it. I kind of got the feeling that even if you are disabled, there are income qualifications that had to be met to be eligable for SSI. Maybe her husband works, earns too much money to be qualified and she isn't eligable for any gov't help. that's the conclusion I came to then at least....and well, I decided that I would be better off without the disability, they in no way provided enough for the medical care, but I am sure that they would have demanded that I keep running up the bills just to prove to them that I needed it.

I just visited their sites, and learned I am confused....ssi doesn't have anything to do with helping the disabled with their medical care.
And, I didn't see anywhere on that site any indication that recieving it, or disability, ensures that you will get any help from them to treat your medical condition. may be wrong, but well, they have a link to the site to medicaid, and medicare, so...well...think you'd have to meet the same income guidelines as anyone else when applying for these programs...

which leads back to the idea, what's the lady susposed to do, degrade herself to the point where the taxpayer is having to pay for everything that she needs, just so she can afford the care she needs? isn't this a little counterproductive in the view of the taxpayers? I mean, what do you wish to hand out, the little bit that needs to get the meds, or a whole lot more, for the meds, for her food, for her housing, for her transportation to and from the doctors, for her energy needs, her meals on wheels, ect, ect, ect...

I don't have a link to the interview I saw her give on TV but I THINK she said this meeting was in her own neighborhood where she knows most of the people and that there were people there she'd never seen. I'm sure she said something about having heard there were some bused in from New York.

Annie

Sadly, both sides are bussing in people. It hurts the debate and those who really are there with concerns get pushed to the back.

All I can say is dittos, dittos, dittos for your whole response! Karma can really be a bytch, can't it? I've seen it in action more than once and I'm pretty sure it will get these jerks. I totally agree, I don't care what party anyone is from, what party the person holding the rally or town hall meeting belongs to or whether the rude a--holes are for or against health care reform, there is NO GOOD REASON for people to be rude and disrespectful of each other.

Annie

I know and have known quite a few disabled people and I agree with those who have posted here when they say they don't want to be treated "special". However, it can't be denied that the fact this woman WAS in a wheelchair brought attention to this particular even it wouldn't have otherwise gotten. I think it's important as we attempt to debate an important issue such as health care reform that we get different perspectives. I don't consider it giving this woman or anyone else who happens to be disabled "special treatment" to be a bit more respectful than someone who is maybe jumping around swinging his fists at those who disagree with him. I think EVERYONE should be respectful of EVERYONE ELSE at these meetings but it doesn't look like that's going to happen, does it?
Annie

Hold the boat iriscot, I don't think there's a "me" generation, I think there's a "me" side of the political spectrum....But, you're right shame on them.

Zeph is right, this attitude seems to span several generations, unfortunately.

Annie