ACTION ALERT:
PROTEST DISABILITY SNUFF FILM ME BEFORE YOU!
WHEN: JUNE 3, 2016, 0NE HOUR BEFORE A SHOWING OF ME BEFORE YOU
WHERE: YOUR LOCAL MOVIE THEATER, MANY CITIES, USA & WORLDWIDE
WHAT: PEACEFULLY DISTRIBUTE A LEAFLET
WHY: TO OPPOSE ABLEISM & THE FILM’S MESSAGE THAT DISABLED PEOPLE ARE
BETTER OFF DEAD (AND OTHERS ARE BETTER OFF WITHOUT US)
“Me Before You” is the latest Hollywood film to grossly misrepresent the lived experience of the majority of disabled people. In the film, a young man becomes disabled, falls in love with his ‘carer’ and they have an incredible 6 months together. Despite her opposition, however, the hero does the “honorable” thing by killing himself at the Swiss euthanasia clinic Dignitas – leaving his fortune to her so she can move on and he is no longer a “burden” to her. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, “Me Before You” is little more than a disability snuff film, giving audiences the message that if you’re a disabled person, you’re better off dead.
WAYS YOU CAN PROTEST:
- Two or more people can peacefully hand out a LEAFLET (National: Black & White or Color; for California protesters, version with an added sentence about the assisted suicide law going into effect on June 9th: California flyer)
- Display a “Me Before You” protest banner which can be made at local print shops
- Send a press release ( you can use NDY’s template release, including local contacts) to send to your local media.
- Join the worldwide social media Thunderclap.
- Twitter using #MeBeforeYou #LiveBoldly #MeBeforeEuthanasia #MeBeforeAbleism
- Share the articles linked below with friends and colleagues.
For more information, see the following articles:
- Spare me, “Me Before You”: Hollywood’s new tearjerker is built on tired and damaging disability stereotypes
- Why Some Disability Rights Activists Are Protesting ‘Me Before You”
- People Are Annoyed About How “Me Before You” Represents Disability
- Hollywood Promotes the Idea It Is Better To Be Dead Than Disabled
- A Second Class Existence: Me Before You Gets It All Wrong
- Why Are You Complaining? Some People Actually Feel That Way: A Critique of Me Before You
For More Information or to discuss your plans, contact John Kelly (jkelly@notdeadyet.org) or Diane Coleman (dcoleman@notdeadyet.org).
All Life Is Sacred…. (Not Dead Yet) U.K.
To all who will Protest ….
THANKYOU!
I just now watched this film via DVD. The DVD had been openly displayed at a local Walmart during Valentine’s Day. I had liked Sam Claflin in the Hunger Games film series and wanted to see him in a more prominent role. The box gave no indication that it was pro euthanasia propaganda. Watching the film gave every hope that the girl WOULD change his mind – however, everyone now knows that the film is nothing but endorsement of the passage of euthanasia laws in all countries under the premise of “luv” apparently.
Anyone who knows history knows this is exactly what the Nazis did to the disabled. The US and all other formerly Christian nations openly embraced, including most mainline churches, abortion on demand up until the moment of birth, including the grisly partial birth abortion procedure where the child is already half delivered. Now they’re gunning for the disabled. As the mother of an autistic, emotionally disturbed child, I can only fear for all these children like mine who are fodder for their bloodthirsty human sacrifice dreams. No wonder they think the Conquistadors were ‘bad’ for bringing Christianity to the Human sacrificing Mayans, Aztecs and Incas!
Looking at the email revelations about so many of the upper echleons of society being into satanism and spirit cooking and now openly promoting cannabalism with songs like Katy Perry’s Bon Appetit and people like Lady Gaga and Perry and the Clintons being afficianados of Marina Abramovicz, the gal who hosts parties where people eat cadaver cakes in mock cannabalism, and where Netflix now produces a show promoting cannabalism with Drew Barrymore – the Santa Clarita Diet – can anyone really be surprised that they would paint a rosy picture of someone doing themselves in? The Netherlandish countries already allow children to off themselves for depression or any number of other mental health conditions, rather than seek treatment. Way to go new world order! Save the social services departments all kinds of bucks!
Will not be able to protest due to work and meeting at night. Will forward this to friends
I plan to be at the Roxie Theater tonight to hand out flyers. Are there others who will be there? Also, I submitted the following to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
As someone who has had a major disability for 49 years, I can assure you that there are constant, deeply ingrained, societal pressures to devalue one’s life with a disability. The movie, Me Before You adds a huge dollop of shame, misinformation, and persecution to the mix.
I have a great deal of concern that a disabled person’s reason to die may stem more from societal devaluation of their life than from despair at their disability, particularly for those who become disabled as adults. For many people with disabilities, it’s a constant struggle to believe in one’s self worth in spite of the daily messages from others that life with a disability is pitiful and a burden to those around them.
The problem with the new “right to die” legislation that goes into effect June 7 in CA is that this is not a perfect world. In a perfect world, where we could be sure that there were no ulterior motives for killing a person with a disability, this law would make sense. However, in the real world, where ableism rules, the “right to die” becomes a convenient way to rid society of “defectives.” (A word I use on purpose from Hitler’s propaganda machine.)
California State Architect Chet Widom has spent the last four years since his appointment by Governor Jerry Brown decreasing the building standards that provide access to parking, restaurants and sidewalks, a violation of CA Government Code 4459. He has refused to comply with CA laws that require he solicit input from people with disabilities in developing his code changes, a violation of CA Government Codes 4450 and 11346.45. This was all done with the approval of the CA Building Standards Commission, another arena of governor appointees.
While this is going on under Governor Brown’s administration, the CA legislature has passed laws that allow businesses to continue to discriminate against people with disabilities with impunity, while at the same time disallowing any compensation to people with disabilities who suffer the discrimination. (The recent signing of SB 269 by the governor is the culmination of years of whittling away of disability rights laws in CA.)
While other minorities may be compensated for the humiliation and pain of discrimination, the new law decrees that when people with disabilities suffer discrimination, they are not to be compensated. In other words, the Legislature has decreed that their suffering has no value, because people with disabilities have no value.
The same laws passed in CA are now bills at the Federal level. The backlash to disability civil rights laws is in full swing, and we are losing the rights we fought for so long and hard. Me Before You provides more justification for this devaluation of people with disabilities.
The author of the book, Me Before You, admits that she knows nothing about quadriplegia, yet she didn’t hesitate to pander to fear and ignorance to justify the “mercy” killing of the young man in the story who has yet to deal with his grief and depression at the changes in his life. Writing in his blog, “Bad Cripple,” William Peace, a college professor and a quadriplegic, states, “The fact they don’t know a person with an actual disability empowers them to freely imagine what a rotten existence we crippled people are forced to live. For if we people with a disability were truly brave and strong we would kill ourselves and thereby end our misery. Those of us who live, learn and adapt to a disability are an inconvenient reminder of all that can go wrong in life.”
Please boycott Me Before You.
good work, I will do the same in Berkeley CA
it is beyond disgusting to perpetuate these types of horrible stereotypes of us and our lives. Thank you for bringing this to my, our attention
Today is the first time I found out about this degrading movie! The very idea is to devalue the lives of the disabled people.