Disability Arts Online

Great minds think alike eh?! Both Colin and I have looked at the subject of disability v mainstream arts this week, and I for one expected a flood of comments from our disabled peers. But when I look, no-one has bothered to comment on Colin's blog and I've got just three! Come on you guys, what do you have to say? We honestly want to know ... or are we just whistling in the wind here?!

Such a Powerful and Profound piece of writing .....

Thanks you for this Colin,

Lots of Love,

Marisha =^.^=

Dear Colin, I thought Liz Crow's 'Protest on the Plinth' was very good. I am aware of the history of what they call T4 and the final solution. When I was Director of Footsteps Arts every January 27th was Holocaust Memorial Day and our little group would carry out a small service with readings, prayers and a minute’s silence for the victims of the Nazi holocaust.

The first of which were the disabled. We also included lesser-known holocausts. I am also aware of the huge rage that is part of the disability movement against mainstream society.

I wrote a poem called Mad Anger because I was so badly treated by one psychiatrist who stood in the pathway of my getting a job, a job that I was very keen to get and I was prevented from getting by this poor specimen.

MAD ANGER

I do believe I have mad anger

Abuse abuse psychiatric abuse

I am an innocent person defiled

Don’t talk down to me mr arrogant psychiatrist

You have credibility status and power

You smile but you speak with forked tongue

I’m a nobody a poor individual with nothing

You who have sworn a vow to care

When I am at my least that’s when I need your regards the most

I have the anger that that is hard to express

‘’ It’s not the policy of the health authority to employ a person who has had psychosis’’

I have the anger of the righteous one who has been defiled

That’s why I have mad anger

I am a firm believer in the late Robert Kennedy’s quote. He said, "don’t get mad-get even." I really think we should be concentrating our energies to identifying definite targets on how we can improve disability influence and disability arts. In User-dom we have two important problems .The first is individual isolation and secondly collective isolation.

Regarding individual isolation - if every day centre and user community group in the country had access to the Internet it would make a significant difference. Access to reliable up to date information would be the beginning of a more coherent movement. Collective isolation-that are about 4 or 5 prominent organisations in Userdom but no overall principal leader of our movement to speak on our behalf. Therefore we are less effective as lobbyists, net workers and reformers.

At the moment I am talking to colleagues who think along the same lines as myself who are working towards Unity in Userdom.

If you think as a reader of this Blog you have your own views please send them to me Joe Kelly shanakee@talk.talk.net or to the editor Colin Hambrook.