Deaf journalist Rebecca Atkinson has written an article for the Guardian arguing that Prime Minister David Cameron has betrayed deaf and disabled people.
Extract:
“It takes one to know one,” or so the saying goes, but when it comes to David Cameron, it’s more a case of “It takes one to belittle, humiliate and vilify one”.
When David Cameron came to power in 2010 I thought he and I had a connection; stuff in common, a sort of unspoken understanding of sorts.
I wasn’t with him on privatisation or lower taxes, but both of us had a real, lived experience of disability that I thought might make us somehow birds of a vaguely similar feather.
I was partially deaf and partially sighted, and he had a son, who later died, and a father with disabilities. Perhaps on some level, this shared understanding of the nuances of disability was where my red would meet his blue and merge into some sort of purple swirl of commonality. (I don’t mean Faragian purple – let’s not even bring him into this, it’s far too messy already.)
Read the full article here: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/15/david-cameron-betrayed-disabled-coalition-retrogression
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pennybsl
April 16, 2015
The excellently-written article deserves wider publicity as there MUST be almost every household in the UK who has been affected, or know of others being affected.
Rightly, the fault lies with ANY UK Government in charge who failed, absolutely FAILED, in carrying out the Equality Act’s Impact Assessment in each strand of cuts.
The consequences have cost a great deal more in human terms – morale, energy, time and finance.
The accountability by the last Government is COLLECTIVE – why is there still silence concerning IDS and the planned forthcoming further cuts in billions?
The lack of transparency, lack of due respect for Deaf & Disabled people in whatever circumstances they are in, is undemocratic and frightening.
It is eugenics in motion.
That particular lack of respect towards a significant segment of the UK population insults all who nurtured, taught and worked with Deaf & Disabled young people and adults – parents, carers, teachers, professionals, etc..
The hypocritical nature of whoever in charge is now becoming the norm.