Where were you when Saddam Hussein was gassing Kurds?
Personally, since 1978 I had campaigning to stop it and trying to exposing
the role the Imperialists had in the whole affair!
With regards to Tom Shakespeare and the ideas expressed Ron, I personally
found them helpful because they addressed points I've been struggling with.
Ouch is a public site own by the BBC and edited by a Disabled employee - the
Messageboard allows free debate within the usual constraints, the
contributors, however, are hand picked.
I am prepared to accept Tom believes there's no contradiction in his politics
- that, however, doesn't mean I agree with him because I don't. I think he's
naive if he believes the ideological differences between the dominant
approaches towards medical research and genetics can somehow co-exist with Disabled
People's civil and human rights.
Unfortunately, I'm preparing for an important job interview at present so I
am unable to write up issues Tom has asked me to address; hopefully, towards
the end of November I will be able to respond.
In the meantime, I would question the framework of the impairment / social
model debate Tom referred to. I am more than familiar with Liz Crow's arguments;
in my opinion these fall into the same trap I found myself in during the late
1980s .
What do social models of disability seek to address? The aim wasn't to write
a blueprint for a Crip Revolution or to address the personal realities of
living with impairments - the central aim, in my opinion, was to present a
critique of dominant ideologies and practice in relation to the social situations
facing Disabled people and to offer an alternative pole of attraction.
I agree with Vic Finkelstein when he said there is no such things as a single
model; I see a difference, for example, between Finkelstein's articulation
and Mike Oliver's.
At the same time, I disagree with both of them on their appraisal of
Conductive Education because I believe they fail to "separate out" the issues
associated with "disability", which I agree with them on, and other questions which
relate to the self-management of living with an impairment such as Cerebral
Palsy.
Questions around the self-management of impairments, for example, require an
approach which can relate to the social model but is recognised as addressing
other issues - part of this might be what kind of relationship these other
issues has with disability related issues.
Why do some people offer such a crude appraisal of the Disabled People's
Movement's position on medical research and medical intervention? I've had this
nonsense debate on the Ouch Messageboard - "What right have you to stop me
having treatment?"
The stand up comedian in me wants to come back with: "No, you misunderstand
me, I'd gladly support a cure for stupidity!"
The Activist bites his tongue and says that the debate isn't a crude for or
against treatment; the debate is about the underpinning approaches towards
"treatment" and "research". These are the issues that concern people like me.
Bob Williams-Findlay
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