Human rights actvisits are investigating Moscow's newly opned oceanarium amid claims a group of autistic children was denied entry, with teachers being told that visitors did not want to see the disabled and that it disappoints them.

The refusal and reference to other visitors' disappointment was allegedly contained in a note sent to one of the teachers who tried to organise the visit, accoring to website rt.com.

Reports say an oceanarium administrator also suggested the children visit on a clean-up day when "nobody sees them".

The oceanarium's press service said it was unaware of the incident, according to Svetlana Shtarkova, the co-chair of the Council of the All-Russian Society for Children with Disabilities.

The oceanarium says people with disabilities are usually offered visits on days with less traffic, are eligible for discounts for weekday visits and that a special program is being tried for those with disabilities and that it runs on clean-up days.

Human rights activist Lev Ponomarev told Interfax news agency: "If this is true, then it is a direct violation of the rights of disabled people."

au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/1355...y-autistic-children/

That's some kind of fucked up right there!

That is so wrong.

Ever get the feeling things are going backwards?

featheredfish wrote:
Yes, for quite some time now.

Very sad

That is absolutely awful!

Mandy

phemohilia wrote:
Damn straight, man. I don't understand the mentality of some people. I worked in a retail environment that had all sorts of customers. Most of my co-workers wouldn't interact with some people that had 'developmental disabilities'. Those they did, they treated poorly. They'd call me or another co-worker of mine to help them out. It didn't bother me at all. I was appalled when my manager called me into a back room to tell me to help out a customer with Downsyndrome because no one was comfortable with helping him. On another occasion I was helping out a little person. Midway in helping him out, he stops me. He thanked me for treating him professionally. He told me that no one at that store had taken him seriously, and it was a big deal for him. It made my day.

Mrindigo wrote:
Sometimes, I think "How have we come this far as a species to still entertain such horrible attitudes from so many in our society??" Then, I remember things like cell phones, Facebook and the ego-driven, status-oriented pecking order mentalities of what is seemingly the overwhelming majority and then I just want to smash electronic appliances and burn shit. Not literal shit, but stuff.... that could actually prove to be less valuable/useful/viable than real life feces.



*EDIT*

And the Thank You was for being a conscious human being and not letting the riff-raff contaminate your sense of decency and dignity!!

phemohilia wrote:
I agree. I like technology, but it's nothing more than a tool. Some people have become overly enveloped by it like you said. I'm no shining beacon of humanitarianism, but it doesn't take much to be real and connect with another on a human to human level. I think a little shake-up like you describe might be a good thing.