Not only the boroughs of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, but the state of New Jersey Division on Civil Rights as well, can add other superlatives to their list of firsts or best. They are all masters of irony.
Edgar Allan Poe:
A classic genius in his fiction when it comes to irony. His Cask of Amontillado is especially full of them. So many, in fact, that linguists and novelists often cite the three types of irony he used in this one work alone. Dramatic, Verbal, and Situational.
Obvious:
It was obvious to me that the two Bayshore towns and the state have outdone Poe just in the two complaints the state Civil Rights Division has brought against the two towns on my behalf.
The Request:
I asked both towns to provide me a way to be involved in government meetings. They both declined. Or simply ignored my request. I asked the state Department of Civil Rights office to fix it for me. I wanted them to find out why the boroughs felt that they did not have to grant my request for an accommodation due to my disability.
The Interactive Process
The Courts have established a regular plan of action for just such a request. It’s called the “Interactive Process” and starts with requiring the towns to have open and honest communication with the disabled person to find out specifically what they can do to correct the situation. That didn’t happen. Highlands completely ignored this step in the process … Atlantic Highlands did what they have demonstrated is an art form … delay and postpone.
Mediation:
We moved to the next step … Mediation. That’s when each side, in this case there would be two mediation’s because the complaint involved two separate entities would sit down with me and a state appointed mediator to see if we could handle things ourselves. Cheaper, more efficient, and hopefully would result in a quicker solution.
Nice, I thought, still retaining some measure of pride and hope in the state.
Irony #1
It was easier said than done. The lawyer for the towns…oh yes, one lawyer, two cases, two towns. That’s because both towns have the same insurance company. Not sure if that’s a conflict but it seems to me the lawyer could learn a lot in the first mediation to use in the second mediation. Because of course, he wants to win both. I find that a bit ironic. Even if the complaints were different.
Irony #2
When the lawyers, yes,…. because you see, in addition to the insurance company attorney, each town had its own borough attorney involved…. finally find a date they can be available…about a month after all the dates the mediator wanted…. I get another letter from the state. In order to do this mediation, I have to sign a promise I would not tell anybody anything about what happened at it.
Look at that irony. The lawyer trying to prove the towns aren’t doing anything wrong by not letting me participate in meetings can know everything about one mediation before going into the other. But I can never tell anybody what happened.
Look at the irony. I’ve got a lifelong history of being a journalist, a newspaper reporter, a writer. But now that I’m losing my sight I have to violate every principle I’ve learned and used in order to have the state conduct this mediation.
Irony #3
It’s ironic that I seem to be the only one who knows the US Constitution and its amendments. Because, you see, ordering me to keep my mouth shut, sign a non disclosure and confidentiality form, or I won’t be able to mediate, is clearly a chilling of my first amendment rights those wonderful men of the 18th century and beyond fought for…freedom of speech.
The irony is what I am complaining about is the violation of my 14th amendment rights. That’s the one that guarantees me equal protection under the law. So in order to get those rights guaranteed under the 14th amendment of the 19th century, I have to give up my right to the first amendment adopted in the 18th century.
Tentative Resolution
Trying to help get this resolved at the least cost to the taxpayer and least stress on me, I got the state to agree to waive its regulations executing a non-disclosure agreement. IF..and that’s a big IF…they could get the two towns to agree.
You guessed it.
NOT ON YOUR LIFE.
Neither town would agree. It’s ok for their attorney to talk to himself … or his staff…or use his notes in one mediation on another, but it was not ok for me to tell the rest of the world how this is being handle. Do you see any irony there?
DO you see any irony in the fact the state is actually demanding, in order to treat me equally, that I have to give up another right?
Irony #4
So that cancelled that mediation. I refused to give up my rights.
Well, that cancellation of the scheduled mediation’s prevented the towns and the state from being involved in yet another irony. You see, one of the alternatives, if they wanted a more expensive idea than the simplest possibility, would have been by virtual mediation. That means ZOOM? That irony? That is one of the ways they could have used to enable me to participate in government meetings. Got it? They could use ZOOM to pay attorneys to fight a request that ZOOM would have resolved.
Yes, there are still more ironies.
Irony #5
Both towns, Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, conducted ZOOM meetings throughout the time Governor Murphy mandated they have them during the COVID directives.
Do you see that irony? Both towns could do it for the Governor of New Jersey, but one little old lady who’s losing her eyesight asks for it and it’s not possible.
Irony #6
To be as open and informative as I can be, Atlantic Highlands did manage to spend around $12,000 or so to rig up a new and improved system. But it took them many months to do it, and even then, it wasn’t for me. It was so everybody could participate the way I needed to. A $12,000 expense that isn’t used for all Borough meetings.
More irony here. They spent the money, they have the system, it’s working pretty well these days, though by no means certain. And they still have to explain why nothing could be done for me more than a year ago.
Irony #7
To me, the biggest irony of all is the state of New Jersey has an office specifically created to help people with disabilities. Wouldn’t you think they would have at directed an IMMEDIATE , if temporary solution, easy and cheap enough which I could have explained, even if they couldn’t think of it.
Then they could have gone down the road of all the legal stuff, the discussions, the mediation and the lawyers. And if all that determined the borough did not have to provide a disabled person with that ability to participate in meetings, then they could have taken that temporary measure away.
All that would be left at that point would be a discussion on why the state does not have to help the disabled. Which would be followed by their 86 year old lady going someplace higher and more concerned in order to enable her to participate like everyone else in any governmental meeting anyplace she wanted.
Parting Messages
Two messages for the Boroughs of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands:
Our world would be a lot better if we could provide happiness as easy as we can provide pain for others.
and for my friends in Atlantic Highlands who like Charlie Chaplin so much … Irony is doing the wrong thing at the right moment
