SUbject: Re: FW: Re: DISABILITY-RESEARCH Digest - 13 Jul 2009 to 14 Jul 2009 (#2009-165)
Not sure what you mean there Jenny, 'disabled representation'. Do you mean in DPOs (disabled people's organisations)? Clearly DPOs are led and controlled by disabled people, i.e. have a legal and constitutional majority. But that wasn't my point really. I take personal issue with the word 'representation', i.e. one is set up to be a representative without any real accountability. Been there, done it!
I was posting from a personal political perspective. Allies are fine but I do still find it rather disturbing if not unsuprising that 'influential' allies from the so called 'oppressor' group give a movement more credibility and are listened to than the individual disabled person. This to me sounds very much like the ruling bourgeoise ideology one of tolerance and ameliorating reforms. Yes, these may improve the lives of disabled people slightly but do nothing whatsoever to change the way society is constructed. It will just continue to be the same, same, same and disabled people will always be considered 'other' as opposed to 'normal' and we all know from the women's movement it will be us that will have to fit into the 'norm'. The very unpopular word, these days such as 'class' has some bearing on the issue. Some disabled leaders have become incorporated and clearly whilst speaking on behalf of disabled people, in terms of rights etc have become detached from the movement. If you are rich or indeed even moderately/comfortably off you still face disabling barriers but with money, as in everything, they are more likely to be overcome. The grassroots organisations that work with disabled people from all 'walks' of life work with many poor people that have very little access to education, benefits, housing least of all disability research. Many of them do not have a clue what the social model is. Do you think they are listened to?
Influential allies can help in this but the grassroots needs to lead the way and academia needs to listen.
People who have been discriminated against; have been subject to hate crime and or violence/abuse are still not often listened to. Perhaps this is because it so out of the realm/environment of some people's understanding because they are perhaps, white, non-disabled or straight and haven't encountered it themselves.
I and my ex partner who is Black african were consistently harassed - graffiti on our house, windows smashed, car smashed with even my leaflets at work scrawled upon with racist expletives (I lived down the road from main office/dpo). This went on for five years with various inept police investigations. I keep quiet about it now because people, mainly white non-disabled people don't believe it because it hasn't happened to them. Sometimes they need almost a paradigm shift to do so.
This is why in our case Disabled people should speak on behalf of themselves.
Message Received: Jul 17 2009, 01:15 AM
From: "Jenny W"
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc:
Subject: Re: FW: Re: DISABILITY-RESEARCH Digest - 13 Jul 2009 to 14 Jul 2009 (#2009-165)
Agree with Claudia. The work is more important than the messenger.
P.S. Colin seems to be arguing that having members of oppressor group speak out is a bad thing. In fact, it generally gives more credibility to the message. Colin's social movement examples were successful precisely because of the many privileged allies who spoke up.
Judith - what percentage of disabled representation are you hoping for (e.g., 55-45, 60-40, 80-20) ??
--- On Wed, 15/7/09, Judith Stephenson wrote:
From: Judith Stephenson
Subject: FW: Re: DISABILITY-RESEARCH Digest - 13 Jul 2009 to 14 Jul 2009 (#2009-165)
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Wednesday, 15 July, 2009, 8:39 AM
Subject: Re: DISABILITY-RESEARCH Digest - 13 Jul 2009 to 14 Jul 2009 (#2009-165)
Call it 'essentialism'. Interesting term. Perhaps non-disabled people should do a 'Bob Connell' and give themselves an impairment if they feel so strongly about the systematic oppression that we face as Disabled people in our everyday lives. I jest, of course but the point is Men do speak on behalf of women, white people do speak on behalf of Black and minority ethnic people and so forth. This is not to say that those individuals do not identify with groups of people who are seemingly oppressed by those that hold the power but as Colin says - it should be disabled people first and foremost that speak on their own behalf until we have some semblance of equality.
'Disability scholarship' is an interesting phrase as well. Yes, of course academia and the study of disability may further the social movement but it is disabled people themselves that should be challenging and revolutionising the social construct that notwithstanding disability scholarship, legislation, direct payments is not suited to the human being and in particular the human being with impairment.
========================================
Message Received: Jul 15 2009, 12:58 AM
From: "Malacrida, Claudia"
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc:
Subject: Re: DISABILITY-RESEARCH Digest - 13 Jul 2009 to 14 Jul 2009 (#2009-165)
I'm not so sure that essentialism is the answer. Bob Connell was a very
articulate and positive critic of gender and power and although a man,
was well-accepted as a member of the women's movement and seen as a
strong contributor to women's studies. I think one of the strengths of
having Bob Connell 'on-side' was that he was seen by hostile outsiders
as a person who didn't have a personal 'agenda' because he was not a
woman. In fact, I have heard from some essentialist women that, now that
Connell has transitioned to being a woman and goes by the name Raewyn
Connell, that her position as a disinterested profeminist scholar has
actually been undermined! And of course, there are also feminists who
feel that Raewyn isn't a 'real' woman because she wasn't born one, and
so she's disqualified on that score as well. Seems you can't win
sometimes.
I'd say the same thing goes for disability scholarship - if we're going
to say that someone has to have a disability in order to
speak/write/advocate, then perhaps the next step will be that they need
to have visible disabilities, or that they have to have been born with a
disability rather than acquiring it, or it has to be physical rather
than sensory, or some other ratcheting up of policing the body. I wonder
if it isn't more important to evaluate what people have to say in terms
of their ethics and the usefulness of their work for the greater social
movement than it is to assess their credentials on a scale of whether,
or how profoundly, they are disabled/gendered, etc.
Best wishes,
Claudia Malacrida
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Subject: DISABILITY-RESEARCH Digest - 13 Jul 2009 to 14 Jul 2009
(#2009-165)
There is 1 message totalling 61 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Would you expect a 'white' person to represent the voices of BME
community
, so.....
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Date: Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:43:56 +0100
From: Colin REvell
Subject: Would you expect a 'white' person to represent the voices of
BME community , so.....
Would you expect a 'white' person to represent the voices of BME
community =
and 'speak-out' their basic human and civil rights struggles?
=20
Would you expect a 'hetrosexual' person to represent the voices of LGBT
com=
munity and 'speak-out' their basic human and civil rights struggles?
=20
Would you expect a 'men' to represent 'womens' voices and 'speak-out'
their=
basic human and civil rights struggles?.....
=20
...so for god sake why are well still allowing non-disabled people
(includi=
ng professionals) to control and represent the voices of the Disabled
commu=
nity and 'speak-out' our basic human and civil rights struggles=2C under
'N=
othing About Us=2C Without Us'... times really need to change within
attitu=
des and behaviour =2C including politically too=2C to understand
'inclusion=
' what it means to Disabled People.
=20
Disabled People=2C like other minority groups need allies=2C but their
need=
s to be time for reflection of what people think 'Becoming An Ally'
really =
means in practice.... Some people need to be taught how to let go of
their =
'power'
=20
How To Be An Ally?
Food for thought: ?Becoming an ally to oppressed people.
Excerpt from =93Becoming an Ally Breaking the Cycle of Oppression=94 by
Ann=
e Bishop.
Published by Fernwood Publishing=2C Halifax
=20
"How To"- Becoming an Ally
http://www.daa.org.uk/index.php?page=3Dhow-to-be-an-ally
Colin Revell
_________________________________________________________________
MSN straight to your mobile - news=2C entertainment=2C videos and more.
http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/147991039/direct/01/=
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End of DISABILITY-RESEARCH Digest - 13 Jul 2009 to 14 Jul 2009
(#2009-165)
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