More on Rod Piddle

A response from the Sunday times:

Dear Ms Fletcher

Thank you for your letter. We are sorry that Rod Liddle should have
caused offence. I have ensured that the Editor responsible has a copy of your letter and has taken your point on board.

We plan to publish a letter from Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Scope on Sunday.

Yours sincerely
Parin Janmohamed
Letters Editor

Well, it’s a start. A letter is also being despatched to my local MP, David Cameron and Gordon Brown. Turning into a right little activist me

Letter to the MP:

I am writing regarding the issue of incitement to hate on the grounds of disability. I was extremely distressed to see an article in the Sunday Times by columnist Rod Liddle (available online under “A tip for those with doubtful disability” here) in which he states:
“Next time you see a young person in a wheelchair, tip it over and drag the occupant down to the nearest job centre, lecturing him or her all the while on the dignity of labour.”
As I understand it this article was in response to a Conservative Party statement on reducing the number of those claiming Incapacity Benefit. Being a young wheelchair user who has never been unemployed or claimed incapacity benefit I fully support the Conservatives in reducing the number of fraudulent claims, to ensure that those who really need the support can be granted it.
However, I am insulted by the implication that young wheelchair users are at fault, and deserving of any form of discrimination on the grounds of their disability. What is an even greater concern is the frightening and intimidating action he proposed, which is nothing less than threatening abuse and violence to disabled people. To be dragged out of my chair would be a terrifying and humiliating, not to mention physically damaging, experience, and to read someone suggesting this course of action as a political statement, however cynically (as columnists are expected to be controversial), is very upsetting.
I am amazed that this is considered acceptable in any context and certainly not in a national newspaper. If the phrase “young person in a wheelchair” was replaced with a reference to an ethnic minority group it would not just be socially unacceptable, it would be a criminal offence as incitement to race hate crime. However, there is still no equivalent law for disabled people.
As I understand it, this was mentioned in the Queen’s speech, but no longer appears in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, whereas incitement to hate on the grounds of sexual orientation is discussed, there is no mention of disability hate crime. I would like to know what the Conservative party can do to reassure me that the implementation of a process to reduce the number of Incapacity Benefit claims will not result in an increase in violence and discrimination towards disabled people.
I feel articles such as that quoted above demonstrate the need for incitement to disability hate crime to be made a legal offence. As leader of the Conservative Party I would like to know what you are able to do to support this aim, and to ensure that newspaper journalists and editors who publish statements like this are not just criticised but prosecuted.

Sunday Times advocating disability hate crime

Totally shocking article by “journalist” Rod Liddle in the Sunday Times.

I have emailed the editor, and will be writing to the Press Complaints Commission. Email content below…

“Sir,

As a regular Times reader I am writing to express my distress and extreme disappointment in the content of Rod Liddles column, dated 6th January 2008. Under the heading “A tip for those with doubtful disability ” he states:

“Next time you see a young person in a wheelchair, tip it over and drag the occupant down to the nearest job centre, lecturing him or her all the while on the dignity of labour.”

This statement is offensive in the extreme. Leaving aside the isssues about the many young disabled people who are employed, this is advocating disability hate crime. At present incitement to disability hate crime is not illegal, though it was proposed in this year’s Queens speech.Actual disability hate crime is a crime, alongside race hate crime, and is just such a serious offence. It should be obvious to both the journalist who wrote this and the editorial team that allowed the article to be published that this is as unacceptable as advocating race hate crime. You can imagine the reaction that this comment would receive were the term “young person in a wheelchair” replaced with “black person”, and it would be on a national scale. Unfortunately the disabled community is still behind in terms of the protection afforded to other minority groups, but as the Queen’s speech showed, this situation is changing.

I suggest that you acquaint yourself with the Disability hate crime information from the Crown Prosecution service, available here:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/prosecution/disability.html

On a personal note, I would like to emphasise the effect on someone in a wheelchair should anyone choose to take Liddle’s advice. It would be a terrifying humiliating experience, leaving a vulnerable person unable to use their own basic rights – that of freedom of movement. The fear of this happening is only going to increase after reading an article such as this.

I will be making a formal complaint to the Press Complaints Commission regarding this article. I am extremely disappointed, not just with the journalist but with the editorial team of the Times for allowing such a hateful, and outdated statement to be published. I will not be buying this newspaper again.

Dystonia and that bloke from Casualty

Interesting article in the Mirror on dystonia, and what struck me was how sensible and accurate it was, compared to the ugly scare stories I have seen in the Mirror on the same subject. I think the folks at the UK Dystonia Society may have something to do with that.

Also a quote about the specialise he went to see:

“I went to see a specialist, a neurologist, who was about 7ft tall, very expensively dressed and was very upper class.”

Sounds oddly like my old mate, Prof Quinn. Anyway, from this article:

“Dystonia is a neurological disorder which causes involuntary muscle contractions leading to abnormal movements or postures. It is not fatal and can be managed through drugs or sometimes surgery.

Short and sweet.

Disability, science and art, and more

Last week saw me taking part in a scoping study for a Disability Science and Art project. It was an interesting experience, partly because of my ambiguity to the concept of Disability Art – I am not at all sure that we benefit from isolating disability art from mainstream art. But that aside, it was interesting to hear the views of those there (and read others expressed on the blog) on their attitudes to science. I hadn’t really appreciated that I am much more affiliated to the science community than to the disabled community, largely because I was already some way down the line of becoming a scientist when I became disabled (assuming mobility is the key factor here – more on that later!).

From those at the meeting it seems that their views on science are heavily influenced by the medical profession, and here the experiences were largely negative. As I explained, my experience was quite different. There were parallels in some of the earlier meetings I had, before I secured a referral to David Burns at the RVI in Newcastle and then on to Prof Quinn at the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery. By the time I met Prof Quinn I was aware I had a relatively new disorder with no know cure, and that from here on in, treatment was going to be largely experimental. My six monthly visits to the Institute were a learning process for both myself and the specialists, and sometimes for groups of medical students. My interest and background in science made me a good test subject, and I felt that I was rewarded for my time with open and honest conversations with world-leading experts.

It’s only on reflection that I realise what a frightening experience it could have been. In the trials I did undertake, I felt in control and able to say no to treatments I felt to be extreme and/or unnecessary, and also in a position to make those evaluations – for example the option of selective peripheral denervation. The net result is that I have always felt in control of my condition, or at least as much as anyone could be.

I was also reflecting on how my science background influenced my own acceptance of illness. I think some of the harder factors to come to terms with were those that contradicted my experience of science – an illness that was seemingly irrational, unpredictable, with no apparent cause. As mentioned above, it didn’t start with mobility problems but with my speech when I was about 7. Subsequently writing became difficult, there was a short period when I had a slight limp, which I now know was caused by dystonic spasms, and finally (the symptom that led to diagnosis) the torticollis that set in when I was 21. For me that was the worst symptom, and there was a period where I truly thought I was going mad, unable to straighten my head but otherwise nothing else was wrong.

So I will be very interested to see how it goes, what I learn about myself but also whether it will help other disabled people in understanding more about their own conditions by understanding the scientific process. I would love to be able to use my experience and this project to develop better relationships between disabled people and their specialists, by informing both sides about the perceptions, misconceptions and stereotypes. Watch this space…