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Hi Ron wrote... > Ok, I give up. Here's what I think. I enjoyed your response Ron. I notice that the Mailbase administrators advise list owners to plant seemingly innocuous questions in order to revive list debates after quiet holiday periods. I must remember to tell them how well it works :-o, ;-). As the person who inadvertantly started this rather intense thread, maybe I could suggest that we continue venting our views to the media concerned rather than the listserv - where they might (or might not?) influence the practices we complain about. How many of us did write in with our opinions I wonder? (I enjoyed Vic's complaint to the BBC and Bill's letter in the Guardian newspaper). Perhaps we could broaden the debate a bit, and link it the current thread on attitude change? As a researcher, I think I am more concerned with changing practices than with changing underlying personal attitudes, although both would be good in the longer term. I'm not sure that this necessarily reflects a materialist view of culture on my part, so much as a degree of political pragmatism. Although it's probably fair to say that I do have a broadly Marxist view of history. Whether or not we can change attitudes, we CAN change some practices and remove some disabling barriers in the 'real' world. In many ways that is why the social model has been so important - not so much a social theory of disability as a political strategy for change. It is fun, and very helpful, to pick holes in each other's theoretical positions but most social model researchers also want to change the world. More importantly...there are one or two who have. Best Wishes Mark Priestley Disability Research Unit University of Leeds LEEDS LS2 9JT UK Tel: +44 113 2334417/2334418 Fax: +44 113 2334415 E-mail: [log in to unmask] http://www.leeds.ac.uk/sociology/dru/dru.htm %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%