Thoughts on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon

Written by Howard Renensland, CEO & Founder, [with]tv

I wanted to add a few thoughts on the ongoing and most probably never ending discussion – slash – debate on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. I started [with]tv so people with disabilities and their community could have a true mainstream media voice.

While I personally applaud all those brave individuals who continue to wage a war of protest against the myriad wrongs inflicted upon this community and urge the continuance of these and any and all measures –acts of violence aside –meant to advance the global cause of people with disabilities I do not feel they will accomplish their mission without the existence of [with]tv or something very much like it.

Indeed I feel that [with]tv as an element of “popular culture” will accomplish this mission more quickly. We need a media voice where anyone can see people with disabilities in the same numbers and in the same roles as they can see people without disabilities. Period. We need a media voice that will include “our stories” from “our perspective” amongst the remainder of its 168 hours of weekly programming and in those stories that have “Absolutely nothing” to say about or do with disabilities have casts and crews where 17%+ of the workforce and management are people with disabilities.

Let me again state clearly that I support all forms of advocacy and protest. Yet, we must be aware that there is in the world an overwhelming amount of backlash against people who protest anything, including people with disabilities, that at many times rises to outright anger, hatred, and in some cases what are now being termed “hate crimes” against people with disabilities. In addition to this backlash there is so much confusion, lack of knowledge, inconsistency, misunderstanding, and fear. We still have members of our community who use terms like “wheelchair bound” and are totally comfortable doing so.

It will be the editorial position of [with]tv to give voice to all sides of all questions and we will invite commentary from those with and without disabilities. When we feel strongly about an issue we will say so, but we will respect all sides. I have followed this philosophy personally. My family and I have always advocated for full inclusion while respecting the opinion of others and recognizing that each person and family must choose their own path.

So as to Mr. Lewis and the folk at MDA I would say, “Raise all the money you can to favorably impact on those with MDA, but look to your methods and trust your donors. Some people with a disability might welcome some form of help; some are fine without it. We would all like a voice and a say in how we are represented and viewed by those who know us and those who do not."

Supporting Our Efforts

Today marks the appearance on the [with]tv web site and blog of our "Support Letter." While this may indeed pale in comparison to the day the Americans With Disabilities Act was enacted, it has its own importance. While someone famous once said, "all comparisons are odious," there is one striking similarity here worth noting!. The ONLY reason the ADA became the law of the land (we will not go into how it was received or how enforced) was because of the tireless and relentless energies of a large number of people doing small and great things to make it so. This was one occasion when it was good to "fixate" on something. Here is a second.

I am firmly convinced that when [with]tv successfully culminates with an operational television and web broadcasting channel, we will overnight alter, for the better, the lives of all people with disabilities in the world now and forever. We will also be able to document and publicize the heroic public and private efforts of those who came before us to forge out a community-wide agenda and personal empowerment. We will change overnight the global perception and opportunity for all people with disabilities by employment in arguably the most highly regarded and "in demand" industry out there - "Show Business".

Imagine Mary Tyler Moore in a wheelchair, Brian Williams using American Sign Language (ASL), a blind Tony Soprano, and a desperate housewife with developmental disabilities! We have them on the drawing board and in development. We need you now though. What do we need you to do? We need you to sign and publicize our Support Letter as much as you can. If Mitch, Anna, and I can go into meetings with potential investors and advertisers and show them a list of individuals, families, organizations and businesses numbering in the millions (there are no reasons we cannot), their heads will snap and they will cover their ears at the loud ringing of cash registers resounding in their heads.

It is up to me and you - each and every one of us -- to make this happen for ourselves, our friends, our children, for those who came before and who will come after. No hand outs, no requests for inclusion, no seminars on "hiring the handicapped," "employing the disabled," just good old blood, sweat and tears. This we can do, because we have done so before. Let's go to work my friends.

Howard Renensland, Founder and CEO of [with]tv

Welcome

Dear Friend,

On August 13, 1984 my life was wonderfully transformed. My daughter Victoria, a person with disabilities was born. At first this meant fighting for her physical survival and then fighting against her exclusion from opportunities her friends without disabilities enjoyed. Victoria and I fought for her access to playgrounds, pre-school, and kindergarten through high school. We fought for her access to worship, recreation, and socialization. We carried on topost-secondary inclusion at a fine university. Then came “the real world” and the forces excluding her there were the most formidable yet.

Our experiences of the past 22 years have crystallized my thinking. I believe the single most debilitating factor limiting people with disabilities is not their disability, but their image in mainstream media. When profiled, they remain objects of extreme pity or extreme inspiration. This image is not one of their choosing. As long as others define you, you do not exist.

As I write this letter, there is no mainstream television channel in the world addressing the needs of and targeting people with disabilities as viewers, consumers and participants. I resolve to change that by creating [with]tv, an inclusive media outlet that defines all people by their talents and the quality of their stories, rather than by disability; a place where Victoria and everyone else can work in a universally designed workplace with a welcoming, inclusive workforce.

People with disabilities have a global need for access to information, employment, artistic expression and control of their image. Furthermore, the need extends beyond people with disabilities. The disability community is a grossly underutilized source of market-share for companies, making a win-win solution for individuals, society, and business.

People with disabilities welcome you to the world of [with]tv, a television channel of, by, and for people with disabilities…and everyone else! We invite you to learn more about our business and our stories.

Sincerely,

Howard Renensland
President & Founder