My kids love going to FEAST in Florida as well,
though they are too young to really grasp (much
less be disappointed by) the idea that they will
not be going back in 2011. We decided to make
the FEAST conference a family vacation because of
it's location. So, in the future we will
probably not make the conference a family
vacation. But, of course, I don't see myself as
having a very strong reason to oppose relocation
in the fact that I prefer to make the conference
a family vacation.
I should also add that I think its important to
see that the distance issue is distinct from the
cost issue. It costs me less to fly to Tampa
from Salt Lake City than it does to fly to
Chicago. Indeed, of the three proposed
destinations, Chicago is the most expensive for
me, even though it's the closest. (This is
another reason why we will likely not make the
next FEAST conference a family vacation).
Indeed, unless FEASTIES decide we should hold the
conference in Las Vegas ;-), I will always have
to pay a fair amount of money to attend. This
just what happens when you live in one of the
big, fly-over states.
>Hey Everyone,
>
>Much appreciation to Zoe for writing. Maybe
>this will help her and the other kids feel
>better about the decision to move the location.
>For those of us who live at a great distance
>from the Florida location, bringing our children
>is not a possibility. I have four daughters,
>none of whom has ever been able to accompany me
>to FEAST because I could never afford the
>massive airfare costs from Oregon. So also from
>a kids perspective, this is an issue of
>fairness. The location (as does any location)
>makes things possible for families who live
>closer that are not possible for families who
>live further. I must also say that kids with
>adoptive lesbian parents are disadvantaged by
>the Florida location--and I know that many
>lesbians have brought their children to Florida.
>As an adoptive lesbian parent I would hesitate
>very much to bring my children to Florida. If
>that seems odd, just a reminder (below... I
>pulled it off a website) about what happened to
>Janice Langehn and Lisa Pon!
>d's children, who happened to be in Florida for
>a cruise when one of their mothers had a fatal
>stroke. I hope that the new site will be child
>friendly, but it is important to acknowledge
>that the old site was only friendly for some
>families and not for others. So my children,
>over all the years I've been attending FEAST
>(since early on, except for this year), have
>missed out. They've never been able to come.
>
>Florida Federal Court Dismisses Lawsuit of
>Lesbian Denied Information About and Visitation
>with Dying Partner in ER
>http://www.blogher.com/florida-federal-court-dismisses-lawsuit-lesbian-denied-information-about-and-visitation-dying-partne
>
>A few days ago, a U.S. District Court for
>Southern Florida dismissed Janice Langbehn's
>case against the Public Health Trust of
>Miami-Dade County, Jackson Memorial Hospital and
>3 doctors. For those unfamiliar with, or don't
>remember Janice's story I'll give you quick
>synopses.
>
>In February 2007, Janice Langbehn, Lisa Pond,
>and their 3 children traveled to Florida for an
>R Family Cruise. But before the ship left port,
>Lisa collapsed and had to be rushed to a
>hospital. Janice and their children followed,
>arriving shortly after. The hospital refused to
>take information about Lisa's medical history
>from Janice, even after a copy of Power of
>Attorney had been faxed to the hospital. Janice
>and the children were not given any information
>about Lisa, and were denied visitation even
>after the doctor had indicated that there was no
>medical reason Lisa could not have visitors. In
>the mean time, other families, including
>children, were taken back to visit with patients
>in the trauma unit. The only visitation Janice
>was allowed in the ER, was 5 minutes while the
>priest to delivered last rites. At some point
>during the ordeal, Janice was told by a social
>worker that she was in an anti-gay state and
>city, and she would not be acknowledged as
>family. Apparently, tha!
>t went for their adopted children too.
>
>When Lisa was finally moved from the ER to a
>non-trauma room in the hospital, Janice was not
>notified. She had to find out from Lisa's
>sister, who was told by the hospital staff when
>she arrived. It was more than hour after Lisa
>had been moved. Yes, Lisa's sister had more
>rights than her partner of 18 years did. Later,
>Dade County Examiner and the State of Florida
>both denied Janice a death certificate, which
>she needed for life insurance and social
>security benefits for the children.
>
>The court ruling, says the trauma unit does not
>have and obligation to allow the patient's
>family, health care surrogate, or other
>visitors, access to the patient. And since she
>was allowed in for the 5 minutes of last rites,
>that's good enough (my words). The ruling found
>that since she was briefly consulted twice, the
>Power of Attorney had not been denied or
>ignored. The ruling also stated that there was
>not enough evidence to show a fiduciary
>relationship. This has some bearing as to why
>it's justifiable under the law to keep loved
>ones apart, but I don't understand why. Since I
>am not a lawyer, and all of this legal speak
>makes eyes glaze over, this is about as much as
>I got out of reading the ruling. For a more in
>depth discussion of the ruling and it's
>implications, check out Leonard Links post
>Federal Judge Dismisses Tort Claims Against
>Florida Hospital and Staff Who Failed to Accord
>Compassionate Treatment to Life Partner of Dying
>Lesbian.
>
>On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 08:58:54 -0400, Sally Scholz
><[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> Thanks Zoe and Anna! For what it is worth, my
>>two kids were similarly disappointed. The
>>Florida location was a nice place to bring
>>families. We are trying to keep an open mind
>>and hoping that the Illinois location will also
>>be a nice place for kids too.
>>
>> I was particularly delighted to see Zoe's
>>letter-- I admire her courage and pluck in
>>writing.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Feminist ethics and social theory
>>[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
>>Of FEAST-L automatic digest system
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:04 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: FEAST-L Digest - 5 Oct 2009 to 6 Oct 2009 (#2009-147)
>>
>> There is 1 message totalling 53 lines in this issue.
>>
>> Topics of the day:
>>
>> 1. change of location for next FEAST
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 14:22:15 -0400
>> From: Anna Stubblefield <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Re: change of location for next FEAST
>>
>> I want to thank all of the organizers for a wonderful FEAST a couple
>> of weeks ago! I enjoy this conference so much!
>>
>> My daughter, who accompanied me to FEAST this year and in 2007 is
>> very, very sad that the conference will not be in Florida again next
>> time. I tried to explain to her the political reasons behind the
>> decision to try a new location, as you will see from her message
>> below, although she does not yet grasp the implication of harm being
>> done that is not directly to an individual (we'll work on that). I
>> confess being very torn myself between loving the Florida location, in
>> part but not totally because it is a great place to bring my daughter,
>> and agreeing with the political concerns about where our money is going.
>>
>> Anyway, Zoë wanted to express her protest to the organization about
>> the change in location, and I certainly did not want to quash her urge
>> to do so, so I promised to pass on her message. Here it is:
>>
>> Dear Feast,
>>
>> I'd like to make a suggestion on account of the location of Feast. As
>> a ten year old girl, I'm sure you don't take me seriously. And I'm
>> sure you think I only want you to stay in Florida because I think it's
>> fun there. I can tell you it's fun for everyone involved in the
>> program and you are making a huge mistake. Florida may have homo
>> sexual issues and a bad environment, but they haven't done anything
>> wrong to the speakers or anyone involved, have they? I'm sure no one
>> there has given you a hassle about anything. Why move to a cold, 3
> > star place when you can live in peace at a 5 star hotel, with a beach,
>> and a pool, and great places to visit?? If things have gone wrong,
>> notify me and I'll take back the comment. Just a suggestion. Thank you
>> for listening.
>>
>> Sincerely Yours,
>> Zoë Stubblefield
>> (Daughter of Anna
>> Stubblefield, Speaker
>> at Feast of 2009)
>>
>>
>> ***********************************
>> Anna Stubblefield
>> Chair, Department of Philosophy
>> Rutgers University-Newark
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> End of FEAST-L Digest - 5 Oct 2009 to 6 Oct 2009 (#2009-147)
>> ************************************************************
--
Cynthia A. Stark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
PHILOSOPHY
215 S. CENTRAL CAMPUS DRIVE, CTIHB 402
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84112
(801) 581-7618
(801) 585-5195 (fax)
|
