You know you’ve been blogging awhile when you realize that you’re about to write your first post of your third US election coverage posts, right? I was looking back my election posts the other night and I realized that I blogged way too much about 2012, and that even though I toned it down in 2016 there probably would have been even fewer posts were it not for some particular issues about disability that both Trump and Clinton brought into the spotlight (not always by their own doing.) But now we’re looking to 2020, and disability *is* an election issue if for no other reason (even though no one is speaking about it that way) because the GOP wants to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and the the Democrats (in general) want to find a way to make sure that most people possible have access to affordable health care; be prepared to hear a great deal of talk about pre-existing conditions this time around. But today I want to talk about a disability-related story that’s come up with Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg.

Image Description: American flag election campaign button with “Election 2020” written across it in – “Election” in block blue letters and “2020” in red letters.

Content Warning: Politics, Election 2020, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, invisibility, social attitudes toward disabled people, government attitudes toward disabled people

Pete Buttigieg is just a young’un as far as Presidential candidates go, but he’s impressive. At 37, he’s been mayor of South Bend, Indiana since 2012, taking a leave of absence to serve and spent part of that on a leave of absence for a 7-month deployment to Afghanistan in 2014 as a naval intelligence officer. A graduate of both Harvard and Oxford, he’s a Rhodes Scholar who speaks 8 languages (according to his campaign people.) He’s eloquent and charming, with a good sense of humour…a family man, not long married to his husband Chasten, he has already challenged fellow Christian Mike Pence’s Bible-based stance on homosexuality being a sin politely but directly.

Like all the Dem candidates, he’s got some baggage – the Medium post accusing him of sexual assault earlier in 2019 was a hoax, but recordings from his first term as South Bend Mayor of police making racist remarks have recently resurfaced and are receiving media attention. While he’s quite clear about his progressive stance on most issues, I understand the concerns that he’s not talked a lot about policies yet on his media appearances (and he’s been making the rounds everywhere) but it’s still quite early – after all, Joe Biden only officially threw his hat in the ring last week.

I like “Mayor Pete”. It’s difficult not to. However, when I saw recently that he released a video of himself signing an ASL “thank you” message to a Deaf man, by name, who invented a name sign for “Buttigieg”, I was initially with the people whose reaction was, “Meh. That’s nice.” I literally sat at the computer debating whether I should click on the link, trying to think if I’d seen any camera shots of ASL interpreters at his events, trying to remember his position on health care, wondering how accessible South Bend was. I checked to see if the videos on his campaign website are captioned (they are) and then I decided to watch the thank-you video that was lighting up Twitter.

Anderson “Andy” Pleasants explained and demonstrated the name sign he created for Pete Buttigieg in an April 15th tweet:

I just came up with the sign name for .@PeteButtigieg

Given his new logo has the imagery of a bridge and “build bridges, not walls”, his sign name is P “bridged” across the chest to B! pic.twitter.com/2xsd1nQt45

— Anderson “Andy” Pleasants (@pleasantandy) April 15, 2019

Image Description: An April 15th tweet from Andy Pleasant’s (@pleasantandy) Twitter timeline. In a .gif, Andy, a young white man with brown hair, glasses, and a cranio-facial difference, signs the name sign he created for Pete Buttigieg: an ASL “P” bridged across the chest to an ASL “B”. Below the .gif, the following text appears: “I just came up with the sign name for @PeteButtigieg. Given his new logo has the imagery of a bridge and “build bridges, not walls”, his sign name is P “bridged” across the chest to B!”

Pleasants is a big Pete Buttigieg fan:

Image Description: A March 30th tweet from Andy Pleasant’s (@pleasantandy) Twitter timeline. In a video, Andy, a young white man with brown hair, glasses, and a cranio-facial difference, signs about why he supports Pete Buttigieg – the captions are as follows: Hello, my name is Anderson Pleasants, I’m a proud Deaf freshman in college, double majoring in Political Science and Communications. I remember when I first saw Mayor Pete, it was his interview with Stephen Colbert. A huge part of how I experience the world is through sight, yes. I saw a composed and dignified man who looked “in the moment.” But I also experience the world through feeling. The way he spoke with such eloquence and honesty, I felt such a strong rhythmic beat of trust and intellect. I could feel his compassion and hunger for knowledge and community. I also was blow away by his strategy of laying down the foundations of his campaign by creating his own framework of utilizing values/words that both side of the aisle can come together to understand and stand in solidarity behind. Another thing I love about Pete is his integrity and, again, his honesty. But not the kind of “honesty” that simply plays lip service. I’ve watched small town halls and Q&A session that he did in New Hampshire and he got questions that he didn’t have answers to. But instead of doing the usual political circus act of trying to please everyone with what they want to hear, he was humble and open with what he didn’t know. He took the time to think of these new perspectives and how it would follow along his framework values of “freedom to” and a better, more unified community. For the past 4 or 5 years, I’ve shared my story on YouTube as someone born with Goldenhar Syndrome, which has influenced my craniofacial difference and me being Deaf, all in pursuit of breaking down the communication barriers in life, showing the world who I am, erasing harmful stigmas., raising awareness, acceptance, and love for all who are Disabled and/or have similar paths as I do. As a Disabled/Deaf advocate, I’m curious to know Pete’s stance on Disabled issues in healthcare, education accessibility, and police violence and training. With just about any politician, I find it very difficult for them to truly see me, to actually listen to the 58 million Disabled Americans, and as such our issues and our community, both Disabled and Deaf, are often ignored.” Below the video appears this text: (1/2) Here’s why I’m all for @PeteButtigieg and a little about me! It would be a dream to meet him, work on his campaign, and represent those like me!

Disclaimer: What I Am Not And What I Am

I’m not Deaf, and I’m an English-speaking person in a rural area of Canada that’s almost exclusively English-speaking. I’ve only spent limited amounts of time in places where I didn’t speak or understand the dominant language well and where the people around me didn’t speak or understand English well. I wouldn’t insult Deaf people who rely on signing to communicate by pretending that I understand their struggles as people who are largely surrounded by people that don’t sign. But there used to be an elderly gentleman in my apartment building who could barely hear and didn’t sign. He could speak, and he liked talking to people, and the other residents tried their best to be sure that he heard what was going on and so that he could participate in conversations. But I could tell, when a group of us was talking in the lounge, when he’d start to miss he too much of the conversation to participate anymore – he’d get very quiet, and look out the window. Sometimes he’d nod off. I felt badly during those times that I couldn’t make myself easier for him to hear, because it seemed to me that it must be sad to be among people and invisible at the same time.

And that feeling I can relate to – feeling invisible. I’m a fairly visible figure in my very small town because of my cane, but I’ve written before about how I’ve felt invisible, like nothing about what I can potentially contribute to my community’s life really matters because it’s too much…whatever….time, trouble, expense…to make it disability-friendly (acknowledging that yes, it’s a hell of a lot better than it used to be, thanks to the efforts of good people who truly believe in making communities as accessible in all ways for as many people as possible.) And maybe that’s why when I saw Pete Buttigieg’s video response to Andy Pleasants, I was surprised at how truly moved I was:

pic.twitter.com/nMxGk2u76V

— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) April 24, 2019

Image Description: April 24 tweet from Pete Buttigieg’s (@PeteButtigieg) Twitter timeline, a response to @pleasantandy. Tweet consists of a .gif of Pete Buttigieg, a 37-year-old white man with short, brown hair, wearing a white shirt and a blue necktie, doing ASL. .There are no captions, but according to a comment from an an ASL interpreter, Buttigieg is signing, “Hi Andy, I appreciate your support. Thank you.”

Pete Buttigieg and the Power of Being Seen

Being seen and acknowledged – it’s a powerful thing. And my sense, from talking to disabled American friends and the people that love them for the past…seven years…is that they’re a community that has been *craving* acknowledgement from the US government – acknowledgement for the work its members do as volunteers, public servants, caregivers, and employees in every sphere; for the spaces in the hearts that they occupy of their family (by blood and marriage) and friends; for the contributions they have made and continue to make at the community, state and federal level, and for their countless achievements.

I used to join Twitter chats with my American disabled friends for Obama’s State of the Union addresses. I remember the 2015 SOTU, where the buzz was that he was going to mention disabled people in his speech – everyone was very, very excited. The big mention was:

“I want future generations to know that we are a people who see our differences as a great gift, that we are a people who value the dignity and worth of every citizen: man and woman, young and old, black and white, Latino and Asian, immigrant and Native American, gay and straight, Americans with mental illness or physical disability. Everybody matters.”

Barack Obama, 2015

I remember thinking, “That’s not anything to be excited about. An announcement about protecting medical coverage for people with pre-existing conditions is something to be excited about. He just stated a fact, for God’s sake.” Someone explained to me later, “It’s the acknowledgement that we’re people and that we matter. I’ve never heard that from a President before.” That really made me think, and it came to mind when I saw the video of Pete Buttigieg signing. It’s pretty damn powerful, I’d imagine, to have a Presidential candidate give you this message: “I appreciate what you’ve done for me, and it’s important to me that you know that, so I’m going to take the time to learn how to tell you in your language.”

Andy Pleasants seemed to think so:

pic.twitter.com/eHjnbVcUzL

— Anderson “Andy” Pleasants (@pleasantandy) April 24, 2019

Image Description: An April 24th tweet from Andy Pleasant’s (@pleasantandy) Twitter timeline, in response to @PeteButtigieg. In a video, Andy, a young white man with brown hair, glasses, and a craniofacial difference, signs to Pete Buttigieg in ASL. The captions read: “Hey Pete, pleasure’s all mine! Honestly, when I first saw this video I felt overwhelmed with emotion, I almost cried. I’ve never see someone running for President use sign language before. A lot of politicians speak on inclusivity, but very few talk the talk and walk the walk. Or in this case, sign the sign and walk the walk. To see you put effort to try and start to learn and use a language that’s crucial to how I and many others communicate, participate, and identify on this world is just another example of why I’m thrilled to keep supporting you and helping to spread your message. Hope you continue to learn about different cultures and communities and include them in your vision. Also, my sign name is [A tapped twice on temple]. I’d also be happy to help teach you ASL later on! Take care and thank you again!”

I’m cautiously optimistic about Mayor Pete. I will be keeping my eye on him.

(He does use ASL interpreters at his events, by the way – there’s a video on Andy Pleasants’ Twitter timeline.)

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