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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why people care so much about refugees but not disabled people?

163 replies

elementofsurprise · 05/09/2015 11:17

... I don't know where disabled refugees fit in...

... and why we can influence policy about refugees but not the cuts to disability benefits?

It just doesn't seem to add up. And, as a disabled person, it's frightening.

I suspect the government are happy to allow refugees in without bothering about providing for them, eg. house building, infrastructure, NHS and so on. From their POV it's just more competition for jobs, enabling further driving down of wages making their business chums happy, and increased demands on the NHS so they can say "it's not working" and have an excuse to privatise everything! Oh, and us disabled people are just lazy, look the refugees are (being exploited and) doing a 60hr week and happy to live ten to a room! Type thing.

In addition so many apparently left-wing people (usually men) seem to sacrifice one cause for another, eg. it's ok to laugh at/demonise/criticise uneducated or unintelligent people, or the unemployed, if it's in favour of immigrants/refugees. Or it suddenly doesn't matter about sexism if the sexist people are immigrants, in case it comes across as 'racist', whilst those people hold discrimatory views about half the population Hmm. Meanwhile every other 'ism' seems to trump the demonisation of the mentally ill, which is barely a cause, let alone with enough support to influnce policy so drastically!

The government are bastards imho, but it's the selective compassion of fellow left-wingers that is frightening and upsetting...

[To be clear on my position: I think we should help refugees but there needs to be some joined up-thinking past "let them in".]

OP posts:
HedgehogAtHome · 05/09/2015 11:25
Biscuit
FuzzyWizard · 05/09/2015 11:25

People can and do care about both. If you think people should show more compassion for the disabled then I agree. I can't see any reason why you needed to make a dig at refugees in order to make that point. The situation for disabled people in this country is not great and I worry about it a lot but you can't pretend that it is anything like the situation these refugees are facing. I dislike sexism but refugees shouldn't be left to die because a cultural generalisation says they are probably sexists.

SuburbanRhonda · 05/09/2015 11:26

Two separate issues, OP.

But I'm sure you know that.

Oysterbabe · 05/09/2015 11:28

I think most people care about both refugees and the disabled. You don't need to pick one.

XCChamps · 05/09/2015 11:29

"People" haven't cared about refugees, quite the opposite in fact, until this week, when they were finally faced with images they couldn't ignore.

It's the same for every cause, however worthy , there's only so much cash and caring people can muster, so those that get the "best" (worst?) publicity win.

OurBlanche · 05/09/2015 11:32

Currently one is an immediate humanitarian issue, the other is not.

OldBloodCallsToOldBlood · 05/09/2015 11:33

I have enough compassion to care about both. It sounds like either you don't, or you're bitter about the treatment of disabled people and trying to pass that bitterness on to a group of people who really don't deserve it.

Shame on you.

hackmum · 05/09/2015 11:34

I think the thing about the refugees that has galvanised people is that it's a new and urgent issue. It's a bit like when you get an earthquake in Haiti and people suddenly want to donate aid. People like to feel they're doing something useful. (I know that's how I feel.)

Supporting people with disability is important too but a longer-term project. Over the years people have worked successfully to make life better for disabled people in this country though much still needs to be done.

Samcro · 05/09/2015 11:34

i think you have a point op
people are missing the point a lot.\kent ss have to pay 6 million pounds to look after 700 migrant children. bet getting help if your disabled sucks there..
but you will get shouted at a lot because people do care.....thats why they voted tory!!

ArendelleQueen · 05/09/2015 11:36

YABU. There is a huge movement which has been consistently supporting disabled people and advocating for their rights. It's been going on for years. You're just not looking in the right places.

ArendelleQueen · 05/09/2015 11:38

"kent ss have to pay 6 million pounds to look after 700 migrant children. bet getting help if your disabled sucks there.."

Different departments, different sources of funding. Perhaps you don't know or perhaps you are being deliberately obtuse.

Samcro · 05/09/2015 11:40

i do know actually
I deal with ss a lot

PausingFlatly · 05/09/2015 11:40

I was at the huge anti-austerity march a few months ago. Hundreds of thousands of people who cared about disabled people.

So no, I'm not feeling left out that people also care about refugees in desperate circumstances who don't know whether they'll still be alive come the end of the year.

MadgeMidgerson · 05/09/2015 11:41

Why did you write a post about disabled people, do you not give a shit about victims of domestic violence? You monster.

Newsflash- people can and do care about more than one thing at a time
Funding for different things comes from different sources
Refugees are not stealing the roof over your head or the food from your plate

Ffs

XCChamps · 05/09/2015 11:42

I don't know what the answer is, I think it's terribly sad we can't support both groups better, but of course if a county council suddenly has to deal with increased costs through supporting refugees it's going to have to make cuts/spend less somewhere else.

ArendelleQueen · 05/09/2015 11:42

Samcro Do you know Kent social services? They are shockingly appalling and have been for years; migrants or no migrants. It's nowt to do with funding from govt. and everything to do with poor allocation of resources, bad management, difficulty in recruiting effective frontline workers and more.

MorrisZapp · 05/09/2015 11:43

So this 'different departments, different sources of funding' argument. Are we also applying that to 'yes we can afford mass immigration, we just have to scrap trident' argument?

niminypiminy · 05/09/2015 11:45

Perhaps it's just easier to know what you think and feel about a single, quite simple issue - in contrast to the endless complications and compromises of dealing with people's actual lives, whether they be disabled, or a newly-arrived refugee, or a family in poverty, or whatever.

Keeping compassion going over the long haul rather than the surge of feeling that burns brightly and then fades, that's the hard bit.

PausingFlatly · 05/09/2015 11:46

In fact, at the risk of outing myself, I'm a disabled person who did voluntary work for charities assisting refugees in the UK (until health and benefit changes ruled it out).

TheLowKing · 05/09/2015 11:47

Sort of what hackmum said. Plus I think people like to solve problems. Disability is not a problem that can be 'solved', because new disabled people are being born/experiencing disability all the time. But many people have decided that the refugee crisis can be solved, and there will be a nice, neat, ending - and so they rally to the cause and try to help.

If they anticipated (as I do) that the waves of refugees will keep on coming, probably for decade upon decade, they might not rally so enthusiastically. Plus compassion fatigue/normalisation with disability. Plus humans are interested in 'new' things. Plus it's headline news right now, due to news-reporting choices. Myriad reasons, I suspect.

Moregravyplease · 05/09/2015 11:49

The web means we all have access to more information than ever, most of it manipulated to suit the medias own ends and the ramblings of individuals online who would never have reached such huge audiences.

It also means keyboard warriors abound and can feel good about themselves by blurting out xy and z in support of whatever online whilst not actually doing anything about it.

Lurkedforever1 · 05/09/2015 11:49

I think most people do care about both, and more besides. But there's always a few people who like to be seen as charitable and caring etc, whilst doing it for the appearance, not the result. Not just with current refugees, but with anything big and well known. Quite often people who are quite happy to decide on what others should be prepared to do, whilst knowing full well it doesn't impact them. Eg when dd was a toddler one mum decided she was the saviour of tsunami victims, and decided everybody should willingly pay an extra £5 a week for playgroup, and donate all surplus clothes/ toys. Because that was nothing to her. And made her look a lot better than say the quiet fundraising/ support others were doing for either tsunami victims or less well known but equally important causes. Or a few people I've heard stating how lovely it is a lot of refugees have been housed not too far away. Which yes, it is, but if you're the family living in the overcrowded/ unsuitable/ upper floor flat who can't get a wheelchair down when the lift is broken yet again, chances are you'll be thinking the refugees should have got your flat, and that it's not up to someone in a 4 bed detached to say it's the decent thing to do.
However I do think 'look at me' crusaders of that nature are a tiny minority, it's only the fact they are noticeable that makes them look more numerous. The vast majority of caring people aren't limited to only wanting to help the most popular current cause.

Lj8893 · 05/09/2015 11:52

I care about both.

I also care about all the homeless people living in Britain before that one also gets thrown in.

XCChamps · 05/09/2015 11:55

I actually think, politically, suddenly changing face and accepting the refugees is a dangerous strategy.

The public made it very clear at the elections that they're a selfish bunch opposing immigration and supporting benefits cuts. Many have decided we must "do" something because of the news this week but when the reality of them moving into communities and the resulting pressures that will bring on schools, healthcare, policing and housing hits home, they will go back to their old stance and hold the government responsible. This may be Labour's only hope at the next election - Tory's promised us they'd be vile and they didn't keep the promise Grin

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 05/09/2015 11:58

Picking up on the housebuilding and NHS comment. There are not enough trained construction workers or HCPs in this country. We depend upon immigrant labour to supply this for us. One of the reasons housebuilding has stagnated is because not enough people are training as a bricklayers, carpenters, roofers, plasterers and opening their own businesses.

My mum works in the care sector in a very remote part of the UK and she is one of the few native English speakers in her work despite living in a mostly white British town. I live next to sheltered housing for adults with special needs and have NEVER seen a native English speaking carer with the residents.

This could actually be a positive thing for our country.