NATIONAL PROTEST DISABILITY SNUFF FILM 'ME BEFORE YOU' on JUNE 3RD

TY to those that shared the following Press Release from our colleagues at Not Dead Yet.

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).