This is a blog in response to the questions raised about the hardest hit campaign.
I can really understand what it is that concerns people about the wording of the Christmas card and the way in which the charities have seemingly taken over. If we look back into recent disability history, wasn’t this how grass roots disability campaigning took off? Were they not sick and tired of charities hijacking their lives for their own purposes? Did they not do something about it by organising their own movements?
And so we see the start of this happening all over again, the D.A.N has re started as a result of the cuts, and the increased conciousness in disabled people. I went to the hardest hit rally in Leeds, which inspired, encouraged, motivated and spurred me into action. As a direct result of that I have got involved in my students union and more disability campaigns.
The hardest hit is a high profile campaign because of the charities behind it. But before they had their Christmas card there was a bunch of people on twitter doing the same. There are other campaigns that are starting up as well.
The hardest hit campaign is engaging with the mainstream by using mainstream language and mainstream charities. It is uniting disabled people under a banner, but let this just be the start of the revolution, not the only revolution. After all it is the disabled people who are fighting for their survival.
No comments:
Post a Comment