The complainant has asked me to forward his response to my response to the
mailbase., Best wishes, Mairian
>
>Dear Marion,
>
>Thank you for your letter. While I completely acknowledge the lack of
>accessility of the adverts so far and I hope such issues are being
>considered and resolved. However, I feel the 'disability movement'
>obsession on civil rights with any other attempts to improve attitudes,
>however badly done, is concerned.
>
>This is not a neive concern but has come from my time doing a MA in
>Disability Syudies in Sheffield and starting my PhD in impairment,
>identity and lifestyle.
>
>As an accessibility consultant, I can some benefit for civil right for
>some disabled people who are independent and active enough to use it.
>However, the focus of civil rights in on being productive within the
>socially construction values of mainstream society. I feel this is not
>only irrelevant to many people with severely impairments but may also be
>oppessive.
>
>I would prefer human rights, giving disabled people the right to be
>disabled, to right to suitable equipment, quality personal assistance,
>employment or worthwhile daytime activity and the right to wants not
>just needs. None is this is in civil rights because the disability
>movement is too independent to understand the realities of impairment.
>
>I did a research product on the needs of people with CP in Coventry and
>Warwickshire and found that the main need was emotional support and/or
>personal development and a single point of information and services.
>No one mention civil rights, not even the most active people.
>
>Therefore, the reliance of civil rights as a golden gate for equality is
>a falacy with I am amazed is allows to exist. I fear civil rights will
>instead widen the gap between people with acceptable and unacceptable
>impairments.
>
>My concern with the disability movcement is that I find them more
>patronalising, discriminatory, imitatory and even bullying. I have been
>told by 'disabled people', what I ca and can not say, what I must do and
>even I must feel oppressed otherwise I am a traitor. This is exactly
>what is likely to happen now, you have put a value judgement into my
>actions.
>
>Right, with reference to explodation. I am being not being explodated
>but rather exploding an opportunity for my future. I do have prinicipals
>but I am not against these posters. I don't believe on sitting on
>the opposite side and build a ivy tower of myth and counter myth,
>the myths I hear about individual able bodied is often
>unbelievable. I am being selfish and why not? Not only will this help me
>pay off a loan and put my accessibility consultancy on a more stable
>business, a business will aims to improve of quality of life experience
>for a;l impairments in a stronly way tham many organisations. My
>participate mau put me in a stronger position for more work to further
>my imrpovements. Therefore, while I regret the level of imitation I may
>face by the civil rights activists, it is a stepping stone for me to
>make a real impact of improving the life experience of everything, the
>breaking down current ways we all think about disability and impairment.
>
>Thanks for your reply, could you pls pass on to the disability research
>maillist as I am having difficulties using it.
>
>Best wishes
>
>PS: every advert could be analysis in the same way this one has and the
>whole world can be constructed as oppressive and 'wrong' but sometimes
>you do have to bite the bullet and live.
>
Mairian Corker
Senior Research Fellow in Deaf and Disability Studies
Department of Education Studies
University of Central Lancashire
Preston PR1 2HE
Address for correspondence:
111 Balfour Road
Highbury
London N5 2HE
U.K.
Minicom/TTY +44 [0]171 359 8085
Fax +44 [0]870 0553967
Typetalk (voice) +44 [0]800 515152 (and ask for minicom/TTY number)
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"To understand what I am doing, you need a third eye"
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