by Gill Dixon, PGCE,MA,BHSc Hons, RGN, MuM.
news.bbc.co.uk
I was horrified, saddened and incredulous that in 2020 a black man could be filmed ostensibly being murdered by a member of America's criminal justice system. Whatever his history and alleged crimes Floyd was a man who's life was snuffed out in an act of unequivocal racism, in a first world country that has a long and ingrained history of crime against black people.
Racism is ingrained, often at a subconscious level, that is a level that functions beneath our awareness .
The incident has aroused international condemnation, rallying support, long lasting protests and a (repeated) desire for change.
In the UK we cannot divorce ourselves from racism. we see evidence of it on our football fields, in our schools and even recently with the Meghan Markle affair.
In March of this year an article by Jude Lawson suggested that
There is a catalogue of racist events that are widely acknowledged in our communities
but rarely acknowledged by white people'
As a scholar of disability studies I can draw so many parallels to our treatment of people with disabilities in the UK, who are a often a voiceless but significant minority., at the mercy of people and systems that we can only hope take good care of these individuals and make the right decisions on their behalf. During my time of study there were often unmistakable parallels to be drawn in the treatment of many minority groups in our society.
Attacks on people like Floyd evoke a real sadness in me for those who identify as being part part of minority group, but none more so than for those with disabilities, who remain under represented, poorly catered for and uncared for in many aspects of our daily lives.
I would like to be able to write an article about discrimination against black people but that is not my area of expertise but I will leave you to draw the parallels between that and the story of disability discrimination which is still rife in our society. Indeed it took legislation just 25 years ago,to even allow people with physical disabilities, access to many of our entertainment and social venues.
In 1997, at age 40 I went to University for the first time . This was in direct response to my not being able to understand why people continue to discriminate against those with disabilities often without being aware that is what they are doing. It was an (ongoing) cathartic journey as the mother of a son with complex and subtle disabilities which have taken me half my life time to fully understand.
It is difficult to explain how it feels to be told that your three old (who had been considered perfectly within the realms of expected development) is likely to struggle with everything in life and learning and may never reach their full potential because of the obstacles in place which prevent him from doing so.
I 'hid' at the school gates where parents 'boasted' of their children's progress, I marvelled at how easily my youngest son learned, I cowered from talk of first relationships, engagements and babies knowing that my eldest son would probably never experience any of these things. I withdrew from many of my social contacts with whose experience I could not identify and I became a warrior determined to change the attitudes and outlook of others.
The consequences of the current Covid 19 pandemic and of lockdown has made me realise that I am exhausted, that I need now to stop fighting and believe that someone will take hold of the baton I have been carrying for so long and continue to fight.I really hope so.
But back in 1997 I needed to take a journey, no matter how painful, to bring me to a place of peace within myself, and give me an understanding of people's behaviour and reactions.
You see people with disabilities, like black people, and gay people and people with mental health issues, chronic illness etc are just that ...people. Some, are good, some less so, some are likeable, some less so, some funny and some serious, but they are people who are deserving of the respect, kindness and the opportunities afforded to everyone.
My personal nirvana is Equity.
A recent short list.
In February of this year the DWP IDepartment for Work and pensions) was accused of a cover up when the suicides of people with disabilities awaiting benefits was uncovered https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dwp-benefit-death-suicide-reports-cover-ups-government-conservatives-a9359606.html
Health inequalities are well known and the current pandemic has seen the death of people with learning disabilities receiving care, double .
https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2020/06/02/deaths-people-learning-disabilities-receiving-care-double-previous-year/
In 2019 a Panorama programme exposed the systemic abuse of people with learning disabilities in care establishments https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2019/05/23/reaction-panorama-programme-abuse-learning-disability-hospital/
I could go on.
Have there been protests? Where was the outcry, the rage, the demand for change ? I heard very few angry voices in response to these reports. They went unreported on the news, never made any real headlines. Swept under the carper like so many acts of absolute discrimination against disabled people. It seems that unless one is invested in disability politics on a personal level, there is little interest.
.
In 2020 why are disabled people still largely on the periphery of society?
I will try to explain...
The notion of disability is
complex and contentious . Who is disabled, who identifies as disabled and whom
do others identify as disabled are both surrounded by, and part of, a complex
web of social, cultural, medical, historical and experiential perspectives.
Definitions of disability depend on who is defining disability and for what
purpose.Legal and governmental
definitions determine people's legal and practical entitlement to assistance
e.g. economic, training, mobility appliances. Socially accepted
definitions determine the recognition of disability by friends, family and
co-workers. Definitions are important.
They are influential in the recognition of people with disabilities in the
political forum, but they are also important because they affect self-identity.
As Oliver (1990) suggests, human beings give meaning to objects in the social
world. Therefore, if disability is viewed as a tragedy, people with disabilities
collectively become victims.The way in which disabled
people view themselves must be a focus for a workable definition, and yet such
a definition is likely to be very different than one outlined by a person who
identifies as being non-disabled.
Sabilios-Rothschild (1970)
claims that:
'The disabled, like all
other minority groups, tend to be evaluated more on the basis of their
categorical membership than on their individual characteristics…
And the fact that (a person)
is disabled will colour all his activities and potentialities in the eyes of
the non-disabled in such a pervasive way that he will either be considered weak
and inferior, incapable of doing anything, or possessed of exceptional
capacities and abilities.'
So why does this happen? Of course I could (and indeed) did write a thesis on this but I will endeavor to reduce the word count to something that can be read whilst enjoying a hot drink. A whistle stop tour if you like .
Historical perspectives.
In ancient times those with disabilities were killed at birth or kept as playthings and objects of ridicule by the wealthy. Cut to the middle ages and they were seen as unworthy or as being punished for wrong doings in a previous existence.
In the eighteenth century people categorised as crippled, and seen to be undesirable, were sacrificed for the common good, a practice that was reawakened in Nazi Germany with the massacre of some sixty five thousand people in the 'mercy killing' programme. This practise survives today under the guise of 'ethnic cleansing'.
In more recent times children with disabilities were assumed to be less intelligent, expectations lowered and they were/are hidden from the public eye in special schools which still rarely exist in the heart of communities. They are removed from their communities, segregated from the wider world, and expected to be grateful for whatever they are offered.
Representation in the workplace.
There is a substantial amount of quantitative evidence to illustrate discrimination in the field of employment opportunities. In a study by the then, Spastics Society (Graham et al,1990,p.5. Cited in Barnes 1991) able-bodied job applicants were in the region of one and a half times more likely to receive a positive response than those with an impairment, and a disabled person was six times more likely to receive a negative response.
Barnes 1991,p.96 ) said:
'Institutional discrimination against people is prevalent throughout the British labour market. Clearly, widespread prejudice and ignorance regarding disabled people's work potential persist among employers and able-bodied workers'.
Today it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of disability, but believe me it happens daily.
I am pleased to see an increase in number of people who have disabilities in the mainstream media. Until quite recently this was not the case., and children with disabilities are still a charity staple drawing in huge amounts of financial support.
'Stereotyped assumptions about disabled people are based on superstitions, myths and beliefs inherited from earlier times.
They are inherent to our culture, and part of the reason they persist is that they are continually reproduced through TV, radio, films, advertising, books and both local and national newspapers'
(Colin Barnes 1991.)
Documentaries that focus on educational issues such as inclusion and exclusion generally portray those who do not 'fit in' to the system as maladjusted, angry, delinquent young people. Often the blame is laid at the feet of an undesirable peer group, bad parenting, or an individual undesirable personality trait. Society is exonerated.
Programmes assigned titles such as 'The Undatables' could be considered as some kind of glorified freak show.
The media, then, can be considered to have a huge responsibility for the persistence of disablist imagery.
Even our young children are unintentionally subjected to disablist attitudes. Characters in popular and long lived stories portray the 'baddies' as those with disabilities. Captain Hook and the Mask being examples. Fortunately in the years that have followed my studies there are now a growing body of stories with representations of capable and colourful disabled characters. There is a growing representation of disabled actors but it is still incredibly difficult for them to earn a living from what they do. Doing things voluntarily seems to be accepted and the disabled fulfil a huge percentage of the roles available in the voluntary sector and are supposed to be grateful for that.
I am sure that there are many parallels with racism in the USA.
All the time people are seen as 'other' , discrimination will exist and proliferate.
General Observations.
I could go on, but by now you should be getting a real understanding of a very long and deeply instilled negativity around disability.
All the time people are seen as 'other' the negative imagery, and stereotypes of disability infiltrate our lives and being on an almost continual but subliminal basis. Pregnant women don't mind what sex their baby is as long as it is 'healthy'. The choice to abort a baby who is considered 'abnormal' is viewed as morally responsible by many. My son had five fingers and five toes, was and is very healthy but just happens to have a whole range of co morbid, hidden disabilities.
Disability activist, Jenny Morris (1996) suggests that:
'The idea that disability means our lives are not worth living is so powerful that it creeps into both medical and moral judgements.'
The truth is, if asked many parents would (and do) say thank goodness that my child doesn't have a disability because that is based on everything around them, but that does not need to be. Disabled people have a place, a role, a part to play in what should be a diverse, but equal, footing. That is sadly far from the truth.
Children with disabilities are placed in special schools, away from the public gaze, in the assumption that these children cannot learn well or that they need some kind of special protection. Building and public facilities are often inaccessible to those with physical disabilities. Access to public transport is extremely limited (but improving following legislation) . This reinforces a dependence on others. Underlines the 'otherness. 'It is worth noting that able-bodied people consider they are independent, but independence can be viewed as a self-deception. We are not independent. We are mutually inter-dependent.
From where I stand
My own introduction to minority discrimination started when I was a child and my sister 'came out' as gay. Back in the 1960,s it was very much frowned upon and she was submitting to unbelievable persecution at that time. Then I became the mother of a child who at age three was discovered to have disabilities, the nature and complexity of which were to slowly percolate through my knowledge and understanding. An often frustrating and painful journey, and so it continues to be.
He has been victim of unimaginable exploitation and discrimination in my own small community, the focus of two harrowing criminal proceedings, both of which amounted to nothing in the end, except that he was guilty of innocence. The knock on effects have done untold harm to him and my family and continue to do so. All due to a lack of understanding and an assumption that because he doesn't look disabled he is isn't disabled. A non acceptance that those with disability are equal, desirable, wanted. He is invited to participate in activities which favour segregation. To spend his life in a disabled world. It is not what he wants. He is the most non discriminatory person I know and wants to be with everyone, not noticing difference, or colour or sexuality, just the person. And that is what I hope and dream one day will happen in our wider world. I can but dream that we will enable people with disabilities, who are black, outrageously 'different', or who have mental illness challenges to just 'be'. To be included, given chances.
How is society to learn and accept if they are not exposed to people who function differently, not less than themselves.
Like the black people in America who weep for the loss of one of their own, I weep for the loss of opportunities and participation and inclusion in my sons life. Having battled for so long, I attend everything ready armed for warfare. I am changed, set apart, lonely but not ashamed or non accepting or wishing it was different.
I just want that everyone could see his worth, learn from his kindness and inclusive thought . It is what I have worked for tirelessly for the last 26 years and as I retire from the campaign arena, I look forward to seeing more steps towards this inclusive culture and more active representation of this minority group in our future success. I will keep my big toe in the waters of disability issues.
People simply need to embrace difference as part of an important and desirable diversity.
I write this for George Floyd and all other minority groups. May we all read more, learn more, invite those with perceived differences into our normal lives and activities. Exposure leads to de sensitisation, and that it turns allows us to see the positives in everyone and their potential worth and rightful place in our world.
.
Barnes, C. (1991) Disabled People in Britain and
Discrimination. Pub: C. Hurst and Co Ltd. U.K.
Morris, j (1996) Encounters with strangers : feminism and disability
Rothschild, S. (1970) The Sociology and Social Psychology of
Disability & Rehabilitation Pub:
Random House, New York.
Yawson, Jude (2020) The Truth about Racism in the UK' Creative Insight.
