It's time that woke and identity politics ends, but not before the disabled get their turn

[SensibleGuy]

Hi,

I am the least likely person to agree with the woke agenda or identity politics. We all know that this insidious craze has resulted in some serious crazy shi* in recent years. Yes, various historical injustices clearly needed to be fought and corrected, but identity politics plays into the hands of the far right and divides us like never before. It is one of the many reasons why Brexit happened and that Trump will likely win later this year (probably on a landslide.)

I've never been a fan of diversity targets or quotas either (for many reasons.) But given that many groups have already benefitted from such things, why should other groups continue to be excluded?

It always amazed me that disabled people are excluded from the diversity and inclusion agenda. Even when they are included by the BBC or mainstream media, they are only included as an afterthought. This is despite the fact that they are arguably the most economically and socially disadvantaged group of all. People talk about female or black (or Asian) presidents/prime ministers or CEOs, but the chances of a US president/British prime minister - whether white/black or male/female and having a clear or obvious disability is basically zero.

You only have to look at the current make up of our parliament. The media takes great pride in telling us how diverse it is, but there are, at most, only a handful of mps (out of 650) with any kind of disability. And that's before you get to the more controversial subject of mild v severe and visible v invisible disabilities.

I realise it's a complex subject. Take autism. If the Labour party goes ahead and mandates disability reporting for all medium and large UK companies, the cynic in me says that only those who are 'high masking' individuals will benefit. Meanwhile, those who aren't able to mask very well/at all will still have trouble gaining employment. It think such a scenario will be true of all disabilities, where those with dyslexia/dyscalculia etc. will be employed over those who need more significant adjustments and adaptations. I hope I'm wrong, but I seriously doubt it.

The main problem is representation in the media. This is why the abuse of disabled people and the disability wage gap etc. are seldom discussed. We still have a situation where the likes of the BBC etc. still seem reluctant to move forward with disability with the sort of fervour and determination that is the case with gender or race. As with our parliament, disability rights are still seen as (largely) optional.

This was summed up by a recent article I read in the Independent. A woman who worked for a company who was holding a diversity and inclusion board meeting, said that one of the senior board members mentioned how important such things are to corporate and societal progression. But when the woman mentioned disability, he simply laughed dismissively.

I've noticed this phenomenon when talking about violence and hate speech. Whenever anyone is violent or openly ableist to disabled people, most people claim it derives from genuine ignorance. Of course, were this to be said of gendered or racist behaviour, the anti-racists/feminists would rightly be livid.

You only have to look at this forum. There is no doubt that the moderators do a very difficult job admirably, but whenever any discussions come up about PIPs or disability benefits the usual ableist posters come out of the woodwork, spouting their vitriol. Similarly, when the topics turn to autism, particularly non-verbal autistic males are often painted by some as sexual predators and rapists (numerous studies show that it is virtually unheard of for non-verbal autistic males to commit violent or sexual crimes.) The relationship section of this site is also a case in point, where there are numerous threads frequently insulting (and generalising about) autistic partners (mostly males), the vast majority of whom - surprise surprise - are undiagnosed or are simply diagnosed by the OP (or other posters on the thread.)

The frequent threads about autistic people making excuses about bad behaviour are a case in point. Yes, I have no doubt that some do (though, from experience, it's not normally they themselves, who do this, but usually their parent(s)) I also have a strong hunch that the few who do this themselves are mainly self-diagnosed.) But, anyway, in the age of self-entitlement and victim culture, why should they be singled out? Afterall, haven't many high profile politicians and celebrities used their protected group status (of various kinds) as a go-to-excuse for bad behaviour. You see this a lot even on Mumsnet. Like with disability, it's a minority of people, but still...

Which takes me back to my original point. Even though I am neither a fan of identity politics nor the woke agenda, it is clearly here to stay for the foreseeable. If it's good enough for other groups, surely it's only right that disabled are invited to the party. Starting from now.

Well, what do YOU mean by woke??

Myself, I see it as a lazy and inaccurate term used by Daily Mail readers to denigrate those fighting for that very equality and inclusion.

It's the new "political correctness".

This was my first thought too.

But you're parroting terms popularised by the far right.

Again, "virtue signalling". Any concrete examples? Because anybody I've known to make a noise about injustice and who fights to combat it is almost painfully earnest and committed (possibly because there is a very high percentage of ND people on the activist scene? The perfect example I suppose being Greta Thunberg).

Repackaging autism to neatly file it with dyslexia and dyscalculia and adhd? But only those of us who speak and articulate ourselves? I've fallen out of love with the neurodiversity paradigm.

@SockQueen Yeah, but the sad thing is that he never appeared in his wheelchair in public; he only used it in private.

There's F. D. Roosevelt of course for the US, though to be fair to OP I believe he went to quite some lengths to conceal or at least downplay it.

@crackofdoom They're widely used phrases by both those on many on the political spectrum - by those on the left as well as the right. Most posters on Mumsnet use them widely, especially with regards to trans rights. Does it make many/all of them part of the far right?

For many people, social injustice and woke are not necessarily the same thing. But if you prefer to see them as interrelated, that's obviously fine and I understand.

Diversity and inclusion is all about fashion, money and influence.
Disability meets none of these criteria hence will be forever on the fringes.
Did anybody watch Right to Fly on channel 4? Summed up what we face.
I recently was shot down on MN for having the temerity to expect access to a pub.
Neurodiversity is having a fashionable moment but there is a growing backlash. Influencers who have self diagnosed do those of us with genuine issues no favours as their sheeple followers copy and fancy themselves “special”.
For other disabilities there is generally some degree of empathy for children but for adults nobody gives a toss.
Disability rights groups are toothless. Perhaps we need a return to the 90s and direct action but then we would probably be sent to prison as protest is not allowed anymore.

I've always felt that people who can't articulate or speak up for themselves, whether it's ND, or some other physical cause, are generally at the bottom of the pile unless they have someone to advocate properly for them

And I mean advocate properly not just paying lip service. The world has still a long way to go

That'll teach me not to reply without RTFT!

@110APiccadilly Yep. As with my previous post, he did indeed conceal his disability and didn't appear in public in his wheelchair, which is sad.

Thank you. I was going to mention that. Mind you, he did hide the extent of his disability from public view.

Churchill had a serious mood disorder, possibly bipolar or unipolar depression, hearing loss and alcohol dependency. None of which excuses the racism and Bengal genocide!

@AgnesX,

Yes, I was diagnosed with ASD and dyspraxia from early childhood. I had pretty severe developmental delays. I am in my 40s now and don't drive, never been employed, haven't been in a shop in over 15 years, still live with my parents etc. BUT I still consider myself to be luckier than most.

It's the non-verbal autistic people and those with severe physical and learning disabilities that I empathise most with. They really are the voiceless.

People told you off for wanting equality of access to a pub? Assholes. Unfortunately, I have found that MN is chock a block with a particular type of uptight, peevish bullies who sneer at anyone who is different.

Truth. For example, if you have an ill relative in a long term care home you need to be there every day to insure the care is up to snuff. The ones with nobody to advocate for them are routinely neglected.

Disability is a protected characteristic and I would have thought that most people acknowledge that policies and actions need to take account of that. I think in the media there has been genuine attempts to be more inclusive in terms of roles for people with disabilities on tv which promotes the fact that we are an inclusive society. I don't know about percentages but I think that some groups (not this particular group) are over represented on the tv which I think is a bad thing.

Well, perhaps give me an actual definition of "woke", and I'll tell you if I agree.

I have never heard anyone on "the left" using the term "woke" in RL, or on social media, and I was active in the Corbyn- era Labour Party, the leftiest of the left 😆

And, about the handful of posters on here using it and claiming to be left wing, I have suspicions 🤔

OP, I think you've got the wrong end of the stick about the relationships threads. If anything, people are too quick to jump on ASD as the cause of assholish behaviour and urge the woman to be more understanding.
In most cases, the partner in question is clearly a nasty individual, which has nothing to do with ASD. I have never seen anyone link ASD to sexual assault.

However, I have seen people being cruelly mocked about perfectly harmless things which could be symptoms of ASD in the AIBU threads. I haven't yet seen any slurs like r#tard, but that's likely only because they can get banned for it.

@crackofdoom

Examples of 'virtual signalling'? Multinational companies using slogans pretending to care about people's rights. LGBT rights as an example. The cynic in me says it's more about profits and popularity.

I think that would probably be more accurately covered by the term "pinkwashing".

By the way, it's VIRTUE signalling, not VIRTUAL signalling....🙄

@XChrome

Yes, maybe. I obviously don't think anyone should be an ass. There is obviously no excuse for that. I would never knowingly insult or offend anyone (even though my social skills are not the best) but if I did I would be sad and expect to take the consequences and apologise with no excuses.

@crackofdoom Yep, silly typo. Thanks.

Never heard of pinkwashing.

Good on you. Sadly, I find that not a lot of people are willing to take accountability. That's probably because they were being mean on purpose and feel no guilt about it. The world is full of people like that.