Crippled Girl's friend and promoter asked, "Do you want to laugh at the crippled girl?”

She's a comedian.  That's what she calls herself.  Should he have been arrested?

 

What a story.  And what strange reactions people have had to this story.

 

Ally Bruener and her friend Forest Thomer claim that when he was arrested, the cops didn't even tell him why.  It wasn't until later that the cops said that Thomer was shouting obscenities at people and causing "annoyance and alarm to others."

 

You know what this was about?  People think that it's obscene to use the word "cripple."  But doesn't one who is confined to a wheelchair get the right to decide that's the label she prefers?  And doesn't she get the right to ask her friend to try to promote her comedy that way?

 

You know what else it's about?  There are some folks who want us all to be cookie-cutter imitations of one another.  They can't stand it that there are individuals who think outside the box.

 

 

 

Here's a link to the story in our local newspaper: 'Crippled girl' gag: Crime or free speech issue?

 

 

And here's part of their story:

 

Court documents show police accused Thomer of “walking into people and shouting obscenities at them” and when told to stop “persisted in yelling and shouting causing annoyance and alarm to others.”

 

“We don’t allow anyone to hand out promotional materials at our events,” Chris Kemper, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber spokesman, said. Kemper was told Thomer “disrupted the event because he was videotaping our guests without their approval” in the public park.

 

That’s not true, Thomer and Bruener said. When Thomer asked police why he was asked to leave, he said they gave him no reply. “They never made any effort to find out what was going on,” he said.

 

Thomer was arrested, threatened with a Taser and being walked to the cruiser to be taken to jail, he said, when he told police he was Bruener’s only ride home. They released him but ordered him to court.

 

“They told me I needed to be more selective about who I associate with,” Bruener said. “I gave my business card to the cops and they looked at it and laughed.”

 

“They talked to Ally like she was mentally challenged,” Thomer said.

 

Police wouldn’t explain their actions. “I’m not going to try this gentleman in the media,” Cincinnati police spokesman Lt. Anthony Carter said, declining to talk about the case.

 

Bruener and Thomer believe the police response was typical of those exposed to a wheelchair-bound person who fights against being labeled and demands to be treated like any other.

 

“I will not sit back and allow anyone trample over my right to show and tell the world that I am proud to be crippled,” Bruener said.

 

Thomer’s court case is scheduled June 20 before Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Russell Mock.

From Ally's site: A message to those who don’t understand

What baffles me the most are the folks who insist that the sole reason I do this is because I am insecure. Really? Because I thought I did it because I think my life is freaking hilarious and like to give others a good laugh.

 

If there’s anything I’m insecure about it’s the fact that when I have a crooked pinky toe, but even I can find humor in that.

 

Instead of passing judgement, take the time to listen to what I am trying to do. Had you not jumped to conclusions based on YOUR OWN insecurities, you would see that I am embraced by the majority of the disabled community.

 

The people who don’t like me are the ones who sit back and wait for an excuse to take offense so they have a reason to be mad at the world. If it makes your life easier to hate me, I beg you to continue doing so; but if you’re able to make light of a seemingly-heavy situation, or at least appreciate someone who does, the world can be a beautiful place for you and those around you.

 

There are few things that bother me more than being told I promote a negative image of disabled people. While I will never take that to heart because I have seen proof of the contrary, I can’t help but feel sorry for the people who truly feel this way.

 

If you can’t laugh at yourself, you grant the rest of the world permission to do so.

 

 

 

**************

 

 

Way to go, Ally!  You have every right to call yourself a crippled girl if you so choose, and your friends and supporters can call you that as well.  I absolutely love your spunk.