With both Republicans and Fox News questioning Kamala Harris’ use of disability -inclusive language at an event marking the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act – is accessibility getting drawn further into America’s culture war?
It could reasonably be argued that, despite being a political opponent, the Republican National Committee and, indeed Fox News, shouldn’t be criticizing Vice-President Kamala Harris for following a widely practiced standard procedure for making meetings inclusive of people with disabilities.
In the event of such a bewildering thing to poke fun at – an extra level of surprise and confusion must surely be stacked on top when one learns that the meeting itself was being held on the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) this past Tuesday.
Vice-President Harris was hosting a roundtable meeting with disability rights leaders discussing the recent overturning of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling on access to abortion across the United States.
Harris opened with the fairly innocuous statement, “I am Kamala Harris, my pronouns are she and her, I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit.”
The final part of her introduction referencing her attire was added for the benefit of blind attendees and is a courtesy around disability inclusion that has particularly accelerated over the past couple of years in the pandemic age of the mass webinar.
Straight out of the blocks came South Carolina Republican Congressman Jeff Duncan tweeting, “I don’t care what your pronouns are, or what color your suit is, what are you doing to address the southern border?”
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene additionally tweeted, “I am Marjorie Taylor Greene.
