Do you think that everyone is treated equally despite the fact that they may be different from others? Perhaps you believe that the law protects all of those who should have the right to keep custody over their children when in reality, it does not. The court should not have the right to take away full custody from parents with mental disabilities given that section 15 of the Charter protects against discrimination. Mental disabilities should not prevent you from living a life you want to live, they should never hold you back. There are many reasons why a parent with a disability should be allowed to keep their children especially in Sam’s case in the movie “I am Sam”. The court had no right to take the custody away from Sam because there was …show more content…
a connection that was already developed between Lucy and her father and Sam should have his right to equality like any other person fighting for custody. As you may have observed in the movie, Sam has been fathering Lucy for just about seven years. Lucy’s mother left the moment Lucy was born so Sam, a man with a mental disability was alone figuring out the struggles of fatherhood. His neighbour and Lucy’s piano teacher, Annie, was there for Sam when he needed her most. Most might think because Sam currently has the mental capacity of a seven year old, he does not have the capacity to take care of his daughter. Lucy was only seven, but despite the fact that her dad may not be able to give her all the help another dad could give such as school or puberty advice, Sam was able to give things other dads may not be able to. Father daughter relationships vary, Sam and Lucy’s was a rare case where the love was so strong, it could not keep them apart. Lucy is very smart for her age, she knew that her dad was different and she knew that he kept her back from a higher education. Despite knowing this, Lucy never wanted to be separated from him because she also knows that her dad is the only dad who will be able to give her that kind of love. Rita helped Sam while telling him what to say in court, “[t]here's a free program at the YWCA. Lucy can go there.”. While Sam did not find this solution himself, it is still a solution to Lucy’s growth in education. Sam is trying his best to do everything he can to support Lucy, he will not neglect Lucy or her needs. Child services believe that Sam will hold Lucy back as she ages because he has the capacity of a seven year old and Lucy is already seven, they believe that as she passes Sam in her intelligence she will not be able to succeed. When Lucy’s teacher confronted Sam about him holding her back, that made him sad and he even encouraged Lucy to read the words he could not. Sam is in no way, holding Lucy back. Knowing that there are many emotions that evolve as you move through a relationship between a father and daughter, you may be influenced by that already and morally it should be right for Sam to keep Lucy.
This movie still involves a court case which means, Sam’s case needs to be argued for legally as well. Section 15 subsection 1 of the Charter Rights and Freedoms states that “[e]very individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection... of the law without discrimination...”. This half of section 15 states that Sam should not be discriminated against simply because he has a mental disability. Sam should have the right to parent his child just as any other parent. Some may argue that because subsection 2 states that “subsection 1 does not preclude any law... that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals...” an individual like Sam is no longer protected by section 15. Sam should still be protected under the law to equality because taking away his daughter does not improve Sam’s situation. Both Sam and Lucy were extremely upset about losing each other and this loss caused many problems. In court, Sam could not handle the Mr. Turner’s interrogation in court as well as his loss at the same time which caused him to freak out. Being put under this kind of pressure will of course cause outbreaks of all kinds from parents even without disabilities which means that this was not a valid statement from Sam when he admitted to not knowing how to parent Lucy. Sam was frantically trying to defend his case when he finally said “She deserves everything. In my heart of hearts.” he was not stating that Lucy does not need her father, he just wants the best for Lucy. Mr. Turner had a set of “attacks” and Sam simply could not handle that kind of pressure. This is not to say that Sam’s mental disability does not matter in this case at all, but Sam’s disability does not prevent him from being a good
father. Perhaps the law says they protect all individuals to have equal rights, but that is not true in every case. Sam’s case in the movie “I am Sam” shows the struggles he had to go through in order to win his daughter back. He had already developed a deep connection with Lucy by the time child services took her away. Sam had to prove himself worthy of raising his daughter despite the fact that he should have been protected under section 15 of the Charter. The court should not have ruled in child services’ favor and should have allowed Sam to keep custody at the very least with terms attached. They could have came to some sort of agreement that did not leave both Lucy and Sam upset.
No matter what age an individual is, society automatically deems a person to be an adult once they have a child. Unfortunately, Renee dealt with a lot of isolation, neglect, lack of emotional, physical, psychological support that would have helped her successfully transition into a new chapter in her life. Renee was treated like an independent and competent adult when in reality, she was in serious need of many support systems to educate and support her. As a social worker, Angie Martin’s actions within her practice created an ethical dilemma when she failed to maintain the best interest of her client, Jordan. Angie was expected to fulfill her role as a social worker by playing a vital role in coaching and educating Renee on how to care for Jordan. If there were frequent scheduled appointment in place, there would be enough evidence from Angie’s file on Jordan and Renee alone to decipher who should have been responsible for the death of Jordan. Frequent visits to the young mother and her child would have given Angie the opportunity to provide the courts with enough documentation to understand the case thoroughly to make a conviction, in needed, without dropping charges and dismissing the
During the court case the judge said that lead social worker Gunn Wahlstrom was “naïve beyond belief”. This report brought over 68 recommendations to make sure cases like this did not happen again. The recommendations included putting the child first and the parent’s second. “Jasmines’ fate illustrates all too clearly the disastrous consequences of the misguides attitude of the social workers having treated Morris Beckford and Beverley Lorrington as the clients first and foremost” (London Borough of Brent, 1985,p295). The social workers in Jasmine’s c...
Peterson uses the Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Labor, and the US Bureau of labor statistics. These sources are from the government, and therefore are constantly updated and verified by professionals. The other sources that Peterson mentions, such as the Gallup poll that she mentions on page three are all relatively recent to her essay. The poll is from 2011, which is only two years before Peterson wrote this essay. The “Works Cited” page includes all the sources cited and can easily be double-checked and verified by the audience. All of these sources are up-to-date, and can be easily verified. The Gallup poll that she mentions on page 3 is also something which was taken in 2011 which is fairly recent. Peterson’s evidence is slightly slanted, since the usage her use of a personal story as the main basis of her essay can make her biased towards the topic. She might have gone through unique experiences as a disabled person, and other people facing disabilities might have gone through much more contrasting experiences. Because of this fact her view on the situation as well as her thoughts on misrepresentation can vary vastly because of how vast people’s disabilities are and how each person views that and reacts to their environment. On a personal level, the author feels as if she is unequal in her society and cites evidences from social media and movies to prove her point. However, most of her evidences were based on how someone might interpret each of these evidences Some people might feel that they are supported in their communities and on the internet, and might feel that the inclusion of disabled characters, no matter what role they play, is a form of inclusion. However, Peterson does not seem to feel this way, and as a result, views these platforms differently and brings evinces to support her viewpoint. Although
Rule: 1. Justice White, speaking for the majority believes that the decision in this case is similar to Bell v. Burson, in which held that the state could not deprive a person of there drivers license pertaining to a speeding violation without a hearing. He stated: "The states interest in caring for Stanley’s children is de minimis if Stanley is shown to be a fit father. It insists on presuming rather than proving Stanley’s unfitness solely because it is more convenient to presume than to prove. 2. They concluded that all Illinois parents are constitutionally entitled to a hearing on their fitness before their children are removed from their custody. Denying such a hearing to Stanley and those like him while granting it to other Illinois parents is inescapably contrary to the Equal Protection Clause. 3. The rule of law that justifies the holding of the case is: "It is cardinal with us that the custody, care, and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state may neither supply nor hinder" (Prince v. Mass.). 4. "The integrity of the family unit has found protection in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Ninth Amendment.
The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 set out to end the discrimination people with disabilities encounter. The Act gave disabled people the right to employment, access to goods, facilities, and services and the right to buy and rent land and property. These rights came into force in December 1996, making treating a disabled person less favorably than an able-bodied person unlawful. Further rights came into force in October 1999, including the idea that service providers should consider making reasonable adjustments to the way they deliver their services so that people with a disability can use them. (The DDA...) However, despite these
The experience changed her life, she learned to rethink her own attitude and self determination. I learned that people with mental retardation are not to be separated from society or even treated with less respect because of their disability. “Riding the Bus with My Sister” taught me to never neglect people with mental disabilities. Readers learned that people with mental retardation, just like everyone else, have families, desires, and determination. They cry, they laugh, they have emotions just like the rest of us. We can learn new things from those suffering from mental retardation. ‘Riding the Bus with My Sister” taught me that civil rights apply to
Patricia Bauer was a former Washington post reporter and one of the founders of the UCLA, a school for young adults with intellectual disabilities, although she gains most of her knowledge on the topic from raising a daughter with Down Syndrome. This article was originally published in The Washington Post, one of the most circulates newspapers in America. When this article came out in August of 2008, two major things were happening concerning mental disabled people. The first was a movie that came out
...ntally disabled people prevented Lennie from being trusted and be respected as a human being. In this novel, discrimination that Lennie had to face prevented him from showing his abilities.
The shocking part was his own third grade teacher who makes him very conscious and scrutinizes him all the time. She says things like “you’re up and down like a flea” and “you should take a look in the mirror sometime” (Sedaris 359). This is probably the sort of person who the disabled encounter on a daily basis and who make them conscious of the fact that they are not as normal as the others. Instead of trying to make an effort to help the helpless child, the teacher tries to rub his disability in his face. She does not understand his problem but makes the situation worse by constantly yelling at him and consequently embarrassing him in front of every body. Instead of addressing the issue, she exaggerates the issue and makes things worse for the
...abled is difficult to address. Society continues to hold on to ancient ideals, and the lack of support in the judicial system only reinforces the sentiment of inequality.
As stated by the founding fathers of America “All men are created equal.” Black, white, brown, short, tall, smart, and dumb, all are created equally. Therefore every person deserves fair judgement. Unfortunately, it is a profound fact that not everyone is born normal and capable of task typical for a common person, who is free from disability. In my opinion, the quote “All men are created equal” serves to promote a friendly environment that helps encourage equality among people and aids to recognize the similarities rather than the differences that separates men. Even so, with this hope, the disabled community still struggles for equality. According to Legal Rights by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), “Almost 10 percent of all American have some kind of hearing loss. These ten percent suffer from unfair treatment from professional, social and government service providers, including court and police” (NAD 1). Obviously, because deaf and hard of hearing have limited hearing, their communication and social skills are below the expectation of a common hearing person. Thus, most of these people are ignored, neglected, and discriminated against. However, as a citizen protected by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), deaf and hard of hearing individuals deserve equal rights and must be accommodated for as a disabled person.
In our grade school years we were taught that kids with disabilities were special. We
Children with disabilities are more in the public eye than years ago, although they are still treated differently. Our society treats them differently from lack of education on special needs. The society labels them and make their lives more difficult than it has to be becau...
People with intellectual disabilities have faced discrimination, alienation and stigma for a very long time. History around the world is full of horrid episodes where the intellectual disabled have faced the worst treatments. Though some positive strides have been made in respect to their the rights, even today they face a myriad of challenges and are yet to fully access and exploit opportunities in the society. It is important to note that people with intellectual disability are also human, thus they are entitled to all human rights without any discrimination. They are the most marginalized people in the society and are excluded from social, cultural, educational and economic opportunities. (Nora, E., 2004). This paper looks into the issues of human rights for the intellectually disabled persons, the challenges that they face and how their human rights can be enhanced.
Every day in America, a woman loses a job to a man, a homosexual high school student suffers from harassment, and someone with a physical or mental disability is looked down upon. People with disabilities make up the world’s largest and most disadvantaged minority, with about 56.7 million people living with disabilities in the United States today (Barlow). In every region of the country, people with disabilities often live on the margins of society, deprived from some of life’s fundamental experiences. They have little hope of inclusion within education, getting a job, or having their own home (Cox). Everyone deserves a fair chance to succeed in life, but discrimination is limiting opportunities and treating people badly because of their disability. Whether born from ignorance, fear, misunderstanding, or hate, society’s attitudes limit people from experiencing and appreciating the full potential a person with a disability can achieve. This treatment is unfair, unnecessary, and against the law (Purdie). Discrimination against people with disabilities is one of the greatest social injustices in the country today. Essential changes are needed in society’s basic outlook in order for people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to succeed in life.