Disability hate on MN

[IClaudine]

Hi MNHQ

Since Sunak’s announcement on disability benefits, there has been a big increase on MN in hostility towards people who receive then.

The abuse, hate and outright lies (my neighbour’s son’s cousin’s wife climbs Mount Everest but gets PIP etc) being spewed on MN towards disabled people, a group with protected characteristics, has been dreadful and very distressing for disabled people and their loved ones to read,

Please can you do something?

Here is a small selection of the threads where the disability benefit bashers have paid a visit and had a field day. There may be more, but I can’t face searching for them!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5064828-to-be-terrified-about-pip?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share  

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5065470-people-who-work-have-anxiety-too?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5066670-aibu-to-hope-that-able-bodied-people-will-support-disabled-people-against-the-tory-attack-on-pip?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/money-matters/5064856-pip-vouchers-to-replace-money?reply=134966246&utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/money-matters/5066331-do-you-feel-bad-for-receiving-a-high-amount-of-uc?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

I agree with every word.
I am fed up with the articles in the media and the threads on here talking about SEN children bankrupting councils due to needing transport etc. .Not that it isn't true but surely it is the failure to fund services adequately and slashing budgets whilst extending the responsibilities on councils to deliver that is at the root cause.
I have even seen some threads debate whether children with high level needs should be kept alive at birth because they have no quality of life etc etc. I have a couple of children with high level needs and it is deeply distressing to see how much actual vitriol is out there towards disabled people in some sectors of society.
And you can call me a conspiracy theorist but I think the sudden push for assisted dying running alongside this narrative is v chilling indeed.
It looks to be heading into law and I really believe the boundaries will soon be moved to accommodate other scenarios.
That way all the people who can't get support and have no quality of life will have an alternative. I think we are in scary times and I have seen a huge shift in people's attitudes towards disability in the last few years.
And yes I am aware that it sounds mad now but just take a look at Canada .

You are correct about this being a shift of the Overton Window towards killing disabled people. I was branded "hysterical" for saying this and citing Canada. Others supporting my views have had similar treatment.

Yet another active thread bashing benefits, those who claim PIP and parents of disabled children. People are even scrutinising children getting free transport to SEN schools.

I did get the post about ADHD getting you a free BMW deleted!

I said it was disinformation and intentionally goady, not sure if that washed more than ableism

Well done @CrocusSnowdrop

It has been absolutely disgusting on MN in the past few days. I have given up reporting because MNHQ mainly are not responsive. I guess the mods are only able to delete what they are allowed to delete. Perhaps as far as Ms Roberts is concerned it's all traffic to the site, so all good. The anguish caused to disabled people and their families is a price worth paying.

I’ve been hiding threads all over the last few days, it’s a sad and scary time for disabled people and some posters are absolutely gleeful about it. So depressing to see what people will say when they can hide under a fake name. Guarantee the same people will be outraged when people they regard as “genuine” get their PIP cut….

Yeah... And when disabled posters express their worries, they get told 'well you seem like a genuine claimant, so you have nothing to worry about. We just want to weed out the fakers'. As if the proposed changes won't affect us all and we're silly for worrying. Whenever I see that kind of post I get that sound that trended for a bit on social media in my head, the 'next time you say, the government wouldn't do that... they would' one.

Or the people most worried and vocal about it are the piss takers, because they "know" they will lose money.

@CrocusSnowdrop I will almost certainly lose points in this redesign and I have 3 disabilities. No one who knows me or has met me would say I wasn’t genuine. All these cuts will do is real world harm to vulnerable people. The vast majority of people on here are celebrating this as though to be disabled is to live the high life. I would gladly swap my health and PIP for their health and lifestyle.

Even before these expected changes, a life on PIP was scary. You can’t plan for anything as you never know when they’ll change your award. I’d rather not be crippled by anxiety and PTSD and actually be able to leave the house and earn a salary than get £549 every 4 weeks.

The high rate at which refusals are overturned on appeal would indicate that a) people are not "pisstakers" and b) PIP claimants have excellent reasons based on prior evidence not to trust DWP to get it right.

I'm stressed about it because I already can't afford to be alive.

Some of these people have got to be trolling. Do you know that one person even said that nobody can agree on what makes an autism diagnosis. A lot of these people either lack intelligence, empathy or both. Also one person saying that WW3 is about to break out so we can’t afford to help disabled people any more

They never want to hear the actual truth and they think it’s acceptable to just talk over people who have first hand experience.

The nastiness is never far below the surface and any talk by the government of reforming PIP always brings out the bigots with the pitchforks. These people are angry because they've seen their own standards of living drop, not due to disabled claimants but often their own stupid voting choices. But it’s much easier to be gleeful about vulnerable people suffering so they can feel better about their own lives(!)

On another forum, well over a year ago people constantly had the knives out for a teenage mum who has fibromyalgia, severe endometriosis and is in pain all the time and has to live with her mum all the time. Despite the fact that she laid her whole life out on a TV show, they were saying that she was cheating the system and pretending to be more disabled than she was. Even though she had to call an ambulance for the pain she was in.

Yup, it's all there on the latest BGT thread, too...

I think it’s become a bit more than a few unpleasant people. The goading is horrific. We won’t be impacted financially because we have so very many points but I am affected by the unpleasantness. What can you do to help HQ?

The last week or so has been disgusting. I have hidden nearly 30 threads now.

I am afraid MNHQ seems to be fairly blasé about the effect all this is having on members who are disabled, their families and carers.

BGT?

Britains Got Talent I assume. Every day there are new threads to hide. Tired of it

I’ve been posting here for decades and I have always found MNHQ to be extremely reasonable so I’m a little baffled by the lack of support to be honest. MN used to champion the families of disabled children. I guess the question is what would really help?

I agree - they have left a lot of disgusting posts up.

I have to say it's been rough on MN recently. I've seen a lot of disabled people having to defend themselves. I feel like I have to defend myself.

Time to give this thread another airing. The disablism continues apace on MN thanks to Labour's disaster of a bill and the moderation continues to be sub par.

It seems that MNHQ deems it acceptable to suggest that disabled people's vehicles should have some sort of symbol on them to mark them out.

I think most disablism is caused by peoples jealousy.

Some of my neighbours think I shouldn't go on holiday because I receive PIP.

Even though a holiday needs to be pre planned many months in advance and a bed booked in the local hospital for 3 dialysis sessions per week!

Fancy being jealous of that?
Weird....