Good story. Nice gesture. I'm sure it helps LaChappa feel valued, and there's nothing wrong with that. I wouldn't take issue with the gesture just because the writer of the article is a little dated in their depiction of disabled people. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater, here. I think in the abstract it is considered the "right thing to do", but the reality is that the Padres are essentially giving away free money. Now, we don't live in a perfect society, and that does not happen everyday. It's worthy of the recognition so to encourage the behaviour. Most organizations, at the first sign of not meeting quarterly projections, do the easiest thing and cut jobs and then proceed to overwork the jobs they don't cut.
Whoa, Nelly. I realize we're all just that little bit more enlightened, hip, and cynical than our fellow humans, but let's take a real look at that story... "He is confined to a wheelchair, and constrained by the physical fallout from back-to-back heart attacks." Confined: "To restrict in movement" -- Now, that's a fact. I had to ride one for a good long while and they restrict your movement. Note, it doesn't say "never moves about." The photo proves he gets out of the house, so the sentence obviously doesn't mean LaChappa's trauma has forced him to a 3x3 cell. Brave? Brave? Where the hell did you get "brave?" You read that one into the story yourself. Cheerful was mentioned. That was in a quote. Cheerful I'll give you, but not "brave." The description that could be considered the least 'enlightened" is: "He actually participates in everything his family does. He attends church, goes to dinner, goes to the movies." Ouch. Everyone knows that those who suffer serious trauma still do everything else the family does! My god, what an ass! Wait, that wasn't the writer. It's a quote from LaChappa's brother. It looks like he has an agenda. He's going to remind all those who haven't experienced such trauma that body trauma does not automatically equal personality trauma: "He's still the same person that he was before." Why did the brother say that? Of course, Henri, I'm sure you have no prejudices at all. Each and every person you meet is one of God's snowflakes. Each to be judged purely on his or her actions. But the brother, and the writer of the story, knows the paper's entire audience isn't as enlightened. Some may need stories like this to help them see that not everyone is in life for the bottom-line. That there are people left who care, simply because they care. People who keep promises, even when it's no longer convenient to do so. Some may even need to be reminded that while serious life-threatening trauma always, always, changes your life that people react to those changes in different ways.
lbb, I didn't mean to flame him. I was just amazed that his sentiments were so harsh, especially for the first comment he's ever posted. I admit that I'm something of a newbie myself, too. I read the comments for quite awhile before I took the time to sign up, and I've noticed that there are some members who are always saying things that are pretty rough, but it's usually either because they've gotten wound up about similar subjects in the past and are still ticked off, or they're simply trying to stir up trouble for the heck of it. Since this was his first comment ever, neither of those scenarios appear to apply. I wasn't surprised by the opinion, but I was by how biting the presentation was. Like I said, maybe he has good reason to feel this way. I'd like to hear more from him actually, because he seems to be of two minds. At first he appeared to be upset that a business was getting a lot of attention for doing something that was only their moral responsibility anyway, and that the writer was hanging a bunch of stereotypical crap about people with disabilities on LaChappa. Not sure I agree, but I get that arguement. Then, after a defense of the disabled, he closes by calling them "crips". That's not a criticism, just an observation that it seems like a bit of a dichotomy. It'd be nice to hear more about where he's coming from.
Kudos to the padres. It amazes me how some people just scroll through here and try to pick peoples comments and opinions apart just for the hell of it. I wonder how many even read the article. For those that think the padres should not be admired for doing the right thing...fine, thats your opinion but why are you posting at all if you feel that way?
This isn't just a lovely gesture and a little charity of free money. If the Pads cut LaChappa, it sounds like he would lose the health insurance he holds through the team. With his medical situation, he would have a heck of a time getting a new policy anywhere. The Padres may be, literally, saving his life by offering him this umbrella. The Padres organization is quite fortunate to enjoy the support of many high quality people like Oppenheimer. I am glad that she is getting some light shed on her -- it should go without saying that I hope the same for the many others like her that go about in relative anonymity.
This is a super awesome story. Thanks for posting it. My faith in humanity is restored. The Padres also gained a new fan today.
Confined. Brave. How else would you describe someone who cannot get around without the aid of a wheelchair, and who bears their unfortunate circumstance without complaint? After all the stories about what healthy athletes waste their money on, this is a breath of fresh air. Henri is French huh? Does that translate to insensitive lout in English?
lbb, I didn't mean to flame him. But you did flame him, ctal. Own it. Then, after a defense of the disabled, he closes by calling them "crips". How do you know that, from his perspective, it is "them" and not "us"? That was my first thought: that those comments were written by a disabled person. I have heard the term "crip" used a few times in my life, and every time, it was a disabled person who used it (in an ironic sense, ya know?).
lbb, I wasn't cutting him down, I was expressing surprise. When I repeatedly said he might have reasons for being so strident, the fact that he might be disabled is one of the things that I was referring to. The fact is that we don't know. That's why I said I'd like to hear more. I don't know why you're going off on me on this one. I've always thought you were pretty reasonable, but it's almost like you're bound and determined to misunderstand me here. If you thought I was trying to slam him, you're wrong. Sometimes it's easy to misinterpret the written word, because you can't see body language or hear inflection or tone of voice. I may be guilty of misunderstanding Henri (and if so, a lot of others were, too). You certainly misunderstood me. Sorry if it was unclear, but hopefully we're done here.
I may be guilty of misunderstanding Henri (and if so, a lot of others were, too). You certainly misunderstood me. Sorry if it was unclear, but hopefully we're done here. So, this... Wow,Henri. Nice start. First comment and you're already going to be pissing people off. Maybe you have your reasons, but daaammmnn! ...isn't a flame? I misunderstood "Nice start" to be pejorative when it wasn't? Well, whatever. Sure, we're done.
Rereading that, I see where you're coming from. What I meant was basically, "Wow! Swinging for the fences in your first AB." He was bound to catch crap over it and most newbies are a lot more timid than that, that's all. Anyway, hatchet buried?
Don't let l_b_b's demure, passive attitude fool you. She's a terrier, that one. Plus, she's rockin' the double underscore, which is undeniably hot.
Plus, she's rockin' the double underscore, which is undeniably hot. *cough*
Plus, she's rockin' the double underscore, which is undeniably hot. I knew I messed up somewhere.
TBH, terrier's a great description of her and I like it when she sinks her teeth into a something...except when that something turns out to be my ass! Can't complain too much though because she usually brings up at least a few valid points in every comment...(grumbling under breath) dammit.
