Comedians making "jokes" about disability, again.

I can't help but notice lately than some comedians have caught the attention of the media for making jokes about a certain group of people and that's people with learning disabilities. Frankie Boyle, Ricky Gervais and Jimmy Carr have been criticised for making jokes about people who have learning disabilities and in particular people with down's syndrome.

I'm a big fan of comedy and I love to see stand up shows but I think these jokes about learning disabilities definitely cross a line. All kinds of people and cultures are targetted by comedians but the difference here is that many people with learning disabilities are not able to stand up for themselves, have conditions that they certainly did not bring on themselves and face enough challenges every day and don't need added challenges brought on by this kind of ignorance.

Hate crime against people with learning disabilities is still a problem that is far from being solved, with the death of Gemma Hayter at the hands of people she considered to be friends (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-15723053) and the case of Fiona Pilkington the mother of Francesca Hardwick, a woman with learning disabilities who took both of their lives after years of being targeted for hate crime (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/28/fiona-pilkington-suicide-mother-police), condoning bullying of people with learning disabilities only hinders the efforts to reduce hate crime against those with learning disabilities. Many people with learning disabilities face harassment and bullying on a regular basis, the bullies will hear the jokes made by these so-called comedians and use it against those they are bullying.

I notice that these comedians will offer some sort of apology but will try to justify their actions, in the case of Ricky Gervais he persistantly used the word "mong" and tried to justify it by saying the meaning has changed. I doubt the people who face these insults feel the same way. I also have to point out that he used the word to describe Susan Boyle, who does have a learning disability (but not down's syndrome, of course). I have also noticed that Frankie Boyle has implied that people with learning disabilities wouldn't understand what he's said, but many actually do and they understand that they are mocked for something that is not under their control.

I can't help but think you've hit the lowest of the low when you feel that you have to target vulnerable people in our society.

Fighting For The Hardest Hit

Hey everybody!

I'm very late in writing this but I think everyone, especially those based in the UK should know about The Hardest Hit Campaign. This campaign has been organised by both Disabilities Benefits Consortium and UK Disabled People's Consortium to fight against the proposed cuts to services and benefits received by disabled people. Those with disabilities and their families or carers may struggle enough as it is to get the services they need, for some the benefits and services are needed to maintain some independence.

I can't help but sometimes feel that the way disability benefits are portrayed in the media is detrimental to the disabled people themselves. Most media stories seem to focus on benefit fraud and people given disability living allowance are in fact fit to work, but this is actually rarely the case. There have in fact been cases of people who have severe disabilities declared fit for work. It's not right for disabled people to be portrayed as scroungers or lazy people who just want to live off benefits.

The truth is that living with a disability or an impairment can be very expensive, there are extra costs for wheelchair accessible transportation, specialist wheelchairs (they come in a range of different, makes, shapes and sizes), hearing aids, glasses, adaptations (including hoists) in housing amongst other things that may be needed depending on the individual's needs. For the government to reduce aid to just "those of the greatest need" would be taking away people's independence, quality of life and in some cases health and wellbeing. Everybody has the right to live a fulfilling life and to have a good quality of life, it's wrong for any government to take this away from anyone.

Please visit the hardest hit blog http://thehardesthit.wordpress.com/

Ending hate speech against disabled people

Hello everyone!

Today I read a very interesting article in the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/09/disability-hate-speech-online?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038 called "Disability hate speech has no place anywhere - not even online". The article referred to Ricky Gervais's constant use of the the word "mong" on twitter and the abuse receive online by disability campaigners from internet "trolls".

I agree with the entire article, hatred toward people based on disabilities is not acceptable and the abuse received can make their lives a misery. This is also happening at a time when benefits are being cut for the most vulnerable in society. The abuse also promotes the already prevalent prejudice that is faced on a daily basis. However, I can't help but think that the article offers no solutions, yes most of us realise that abuse is bad - but what exactly can be done about it?

I think campaigning for education and understanding of disabilities is a must, but some may now be too scared to carry on campaigning since they don't want to receive abuse. However, I think the more that stand up against injustice the more that can be done, depending on the level of abuse, it can be dealt with by the authorities. We shouldn't let these online abusers hinder the good work of disabilities rights campaigners.

I am sure there are other solutions out there, I will probably post more on this topic in the future.