Was disabled woman booted from state fair for looking "too disturbing"?

An Idaho couple has filed a discrimination complaint after she was allegedly kicked out an Idaho state fair because people thought she looked "too disturbing."

That woman, Rose Harn, nearly died at the hands of a drunk driver years ago. Though she lived, she's paralyzed and brain-damaged. As The AP puts it, she "peers out at the world with one working eye, her arms curled tightly against her shriveled body. A rag under her chin catches her drool."

She and her husband volunteered at the MADD booth, the same way they often attend DUI trials and other MADD events, they say. But they say they were asked to leave by MADD after getting complaints about how Rose looks. They also accused the husband of "putting her on display," the Harns say.

Michael Harn leans over to give his wife Rosealinda a kiss Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at the couple's home in Nampa, Idaho. In the two decades since Harn was left brain-damaged and paralyzed by a 16-year-old driver, her husband has taken her to numerous Mothers Against Drunk Driving events in Idaho as an object lesson in the consequences of drinking and driving. (AP Photo/Charlie Litchfield)

Comments

[The_Golfer]

Until I read it, I thought that was a woman leaning over to kiss her.

[AllnADaysWork]

Absurd.... The fair is a public place and should be for everyone who can attend. Walking on a cane or in a wheel chair. The most disturbing thing I've ever seen is not a disable woman, trust me on that.

[JewwellsP]

Allin, I was thinking the same thing. These folks who wanted her to leave, must never have been to a Ryan's steak house...

[Truth Teller]

Until death do we part.

Ladies - There is a REAL MAN!

[Becker]

MADD's response to this has been appalling. I will never support that organization again.

[a bmw driver]

At a state fair? Hello kettle, it's the pot.

[southernmom41]

Thank God she wasn't married to Michael Schiavo. He would have starved her to death by now.

MADD's response just goes to show you that the organization is filled with "holier than thou" people who don't practice the tolerance that they preach.

[The G]

Umm, not at all the same story as Schivo, but bear in mind Schivo got in that place through an extreme eating disorder

Props to this guy for sticking by her side, that takes serious resolve and love right there...McCain ran the other way on his wife

[Ron]

she's kinda hot

[Mickey Mouse]

"what do you have to say about the genocide that the blacks and hispanic are involved in downtown.. right now?"

Well searching, that's called economic meltdown and people are going into survival mode...animal style...and certainly, not domestic!

[D-man]

I see Carny's that look a heck of alot weirder than she does. At least she appears to get a bath every now and again and not be hooked on meth.

If MADD is about trying to encourage sober driving by getting the states to apply Byzantine punishments to drunk drivers and compromise our system of justice by messing with the standards of evidence and the standards of police conduct, then perhaps MADD has more problems than this little misunderstanding.

If they have to display people who were crippled by car accidents, does that mean they don't know how to display positive driving techniques like making room for people who have to change lanes?

Where does the genuine work to help people end and ruthless exploitation begin?

[MichaelsMom]

My son has a traumatic brain injury. He requires 24/7 care and is in a wheelchair. We take him to events frequently - church, parks - out in "public".

He receives some stares - his wheelchair is quite hi-tech - but if ANYONE ever says "please leave" to us - well, let's just say they would feel about as small as my little toe. Of course, I would probably be arrested for being a public nuisance in the process!

This is absurd. I understand both sides... the side that wants to show what can happen when individuals drink and drive... and the side that thinks this is a public display of a person's handicap.

For my son, he is well aware of his handicaps - and he accepts them. He is sometimes uncomfortable when taken to a new place, but he indicates that he WANTS to be there and that people just need to get used to him.

Each brain injury is different... there is no comparing this women's injury to Ms. Shiavo, or my son's. The reporter/writer doesn't indicate what the women's perceptive ability is - it is different with each injury. She may well be aware of her surroundings and approve of being there - hoping to keep it from happening to someone else. I'm sure this is the point her husband is trying to make - and I applaud him for it.

Thanks for reading my post.

[Midwest Lady]

If anybody asked me to leave with my son, I'd tell them to go f#*& themselves, that we have just as much right to be there as they are and that I would NOT be budging... Don't give into their wants by doing what they ask. Nobody is better than anybody else. If they are Christians, I hope they realize how much they hurt God when they asked them to leave.

[Tom K]

I'm afraid that MADD is being far too exploitative and that there are some shady companies that are taking advantage of the feeding frenzy that is possible when someone is caught driving drunk. I've seen men stuck between having to support their families and being forbidden to drive a car. What are they supposed to do? They can't move to a place closer to work. Make the man's problems worse and he will drive around in an uninsured vehicle and drink on the way home from work.

thtas not fair they shouldnt boot her out what mean people

MADD isn't exploiting them, they are VOLUNTEERING to be out in public places. They should refuse to leave if that ever happens again, they need to call the police.

[Lilo]

MADD - Ete Brute ???

[Cody Garcia]

My heart goes out to the family. My once-wicked ways have long been amended by having seen the results of my irresponsable ways. MADD has become another political tool, losing track of their original goal, much like the war on drugs.

Jeff

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He who will not reason, is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool ;and he who dares not is a slave.