400K+ Blog-Views

Thank you all so, so much…

My blog has breached

400,000

viewings.

Blimey & WoW!

%DDD

P.S. Being a tad OCD, I love the fact that I snapped the image of the count when it had attained a palindromic number, i.e. 400,004! %D

International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2015

Today is the United Nation's International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD2015).


United Nation's Perspective 

According to the UN's webpage:

Theme for 2015: Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities

The estimated one billion people living with disabilities worldwide face many barriers to inclusion in many key aspects of society. As a result, people with disabilities do not enjoy access to society on an equal basis with others, which includes areas of transportation, employment, and education as well as social and political participation.

The right to participate in public life is essential to create stable democracies, active citizenship and reduce inequalities in society.

By promoting empowerment, real opportunities for people are created. This enhances their own capacities and supports them in setting their own priorities. Empowerment involves investing in people - in jobs, health, nutrition, education, and social protection. When people are empowered they are better prepared to take advantage of opportunities, they become agents of change and can more readily embrace their civic responsibilities.

The sub-themes for the 2015 observance of the International Day are:

• Making cities inclusive and accessible for all
• Improving disability data and statistics
• Including persons with invisible disabilities in society and development

More information about the International Day and the UN Enable programme is available at UN Enable.

Retrogression of Rights

Wonderful aspirations to be sure. After the United Kingdom signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and in the preceding few years, matters were ameliorating little by little. Unfortunately since the ConDem co-alition from 2010-2015 and the Conservative government elected this year until 2020, our gains have been disappearing at an alarming rate. Search my blog or the internet for fuller details. However, I list a few examples below:

* The restriction in the number of benefit awards via tightening of eligibility criteria as people are re-assessed for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is replacing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for adults, and Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), which replaces Incapacity Benefit (IB).

* The introduction of a "Bedroom Tax", the Under-Occupancy Penalty, which massively & disproportionately effects families with a disabled member - two-thirds of those effected!

* The reduction in local councils' budgets has had a concomitant knock-on effect in the amount spent on social care, with many more folk unable to access help with toileting, bathing, cooking, etc. The English Law has even ruled that care can be removed from individuals as long as they are placed into adult nappies, whether or not the individual concerned is in/continent!

* The reduction in access to Motability vehicles, due to the reduction in the amount of disability benefits paid out, the benefits that were handed over to the charity in exchange for the lease of a car or motorised wheelchair. This effects tens of thousand of disabled people, some of whom have thus had to give up working!

* The reduction in access to justice in the jurisprudence system via Legal Aid, due to drastic cuts to its budget and eligibility criteria.

* The closure of the vast majority of Remploy factories, places where disabled workers could work in a supported environment. At last count most of the employees had not found alternative employment despite government's promises of every assistance being made available.

* The removal of part of ESA benefit to those classified as NOT being fit for work, but able to work in the future, so that they are paid the same as job-seekers - this group includes groups with cancer, degenerative diseases, fluctuating conditions and even folk with issues such as cystic fibrosis - which will NEVER go away nor ameliorate, save for a miracle or wonder-drug!

* The reduction of Access to Work grants, despite government insisting that they want and that disabled folk ought to work.

* The abolition of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) which supported the most severely disabled to live &/or work as independently as possible.

* The removal of the obligation to conduct impact assessments, which determine whether a proposed or planned action will be advantageous/neutral/detrimental to various groupings, one of which is people with disabilities.

* The removal of assistance to support prospective, disabled MPs, in order to increase the woefully tiny number of MPs with disabilities.

Cumulative Impact Assessment

There have been so many changes that disabled people and their carers & supporters gained over one-hundred-thousand signatures for the WoWPetition to request a cumulative impact assessment (cia) of all the cuts and changes. The government refuses to do so, despite other organisations having done the best they could without access to governmental data. One of those is the Centre for Welfare Reform. In the following four-minute video, "Counting the Cuts", Dr. Simon Duffy gives a brief overview.

Localism

In a single example of how the changes in the UK have effected me this year, my local town ran a survey to determine residents, workers & visitors' attitudes and desires for the run-down town-centre, nationally embarrassed in the media for same. I replied as a disabled person, expressing concerns for others like myself and also for the elderly with whom there is a commonality of needs, such as seating and toilets. I also contacted my local council and requested under FOI for details of what account, if any, had been taken of the disabled/elderly needs & requirements. Despite two requests they refused to respond. Alterations have gone ahead, including the removal of parking, and replacing conventional paving with cobbles. I now can no longer visit parts of the town centre due to my inability to walk very far. I, and presumably those in a similar position to myself, have lost amenities. Only yesterday I read that Southampton is planning on removing ALL its disabled-parking spaces. Ay - overt disability discrimination!

Legal Perspective

The UK Parliament's Human Rights Joint Committee, in their report "Implementation of the Right of Disabled People to Independent Living", stated:

The impact of current reforms

While we recognise the exceptional economic circumstances facing the UK, we conclude that there is a risk of retrogression of the UK's obligations under Article 19 as a result of the cumulative impact of spending cuts and reforms. There has been particular concern about the effects of reductions in funding for local authorities, changes to Disability Living Allowance under the Welfare Reform Bill, caps on housing benefit and the closure of the Independent Living Fund, and the way in which these might interact to restrict enjoyment of the right to independent living.

Many local authorities are restricting eligibility criteria for social care support. We argue that this risks breach of Article 19. We recommend that the Government's forthcoming Disability Strategy includes measures to monitor the impact of restrictions on eligibility for adult social care on disabled people's access to independent living.

Since the aforementioned report, matters have pejorated for those of us with disabilities.

Governmental Attitude to IDPD2015

The government seems not to care, but obdurately continues steadfastly with its dogma of permanent austerity. It is therefore unsurprising to view the government's disdain for even acknowledging IDPD2015. Today is the United Nation's International Day of Persons with Disabilities Day. I shall iterate, as they cannot be bothered. The UK government, as per previous years (see relevant blog-posts), appears to be ignoring it as per usual. Below is today's page from the Office for Disability Issues (ODI):

Apparently broad issues for folk with disabilities on access & empowerment across all levels and areas of society are of no concern to the agency supposedly looking out for disabled people interests.

Is it any wonder that the UN is investigating the UK for serious breaches of UNCRPD?

Lords & Ladies Troubled By Your Sexual Practices!

Warning: this article refers to anal sex; do not continue if the subject matter might offend!

*

Apparently, peers of the realm are at it again. All my adult life they have been discussing this sexual practice or another. They are as obsessed as the modern main-stream media and popular culture. On this occasion they were caught trying to blame urban, pornography-using, heterosexual males for the spread to the rest of the country of the practice of anal sex.

[Image description: scene of man engaging in anal sex with woman,

on ancient Greek pottery; photo © u/k]

Utter poppycock*! This kind of sex has been going on for æons. When I was at university, it was then known that anal-sex, so-called sodomy, was more widely practised amongst hetero couples than between gay folk. Contrary to popular opinion homosexual men do not necessarily desire to be stabbed up the derrière. Whilst folk may have tried it, they have not enjoyed the experience and so refrain. Of course, contrariwise, other individuals enjoy the experience. As with most things: some like, some dislike. Some straights like, some dislike. And remember, dear reader, in this day and age any female partner is quite capable of giving her male partner a good rogering up the backside, and thus rubbing the all-important prostate-gland, whilst simultaneously stimulating her own genitalia, for example with the aid of a strap-on dildo.

What someone gets up to sexually is no-one else's business, as long as it is consensual. I personally would not wish to participate in sexual activity involving cutting, and so on. To me such practices are personally repugnant. But that is no reason for me to condemn nor police others' activities.

Conservatives are meant to be Libertarians or at the very least laissez-faire  i.e. hands-off approach and small state. I suggest the Tories, along with all other Parliamentarians, keep the state out of citizens' bedrooms!

* From Dutch 'pappekak' meaning 'soft dung' and thus nothing to do with penes other than a serendipitous co-incidence.

Disability Activism Relinquished

With the exception of my long-standing friend Michelle (who made a genuine Barnabas attempt to keep me at it) and a couple of folks over at Manchester DPAC (with a well-meaning exhortation resulting in my feeling guilt-ridden and even more demoralised with the whole activism-thing!), there was no resounding endorsement of my continuing as a ‎disability-rights activist despite over a hundred views (113) of my blog-post, A Disillusioned Activist: Falling Down the Rabbit-Hole.

Therefore I have exited all the disability groups to which I was aligned, unfollowed news-feeds and switched off most activist feeds.

Moving forward I am going to attempt to carry on being a bedtivist by continuing my support for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (shortened to M.E. and known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or C.F.S. in the USA) and other invisible-illness causes.

However, if I still feel as if I am being dragged down, I shall stop such too. My all-round health (including physical, psychological, emotional & spiritual) has to come first, however much I should like to help.

I hope folk will understand and accept my decision. Bless us all! %)

*

Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), including the Manchester branch, do need support; so, if you are able, please offer to volunteer or donate.

[Image description: Manchester DPAC's logo ©]

Introvert, Extrovert or Ambivert?

Extroverted Introvert

I have considered myself since the mid-1980s as an extroverted introvert (after Dorothy Rowe's The Successful Self), as - more than my need to be social - I HAVE to have alone-time; I start to get very tetchy if I cannot grab time to myself. Don't get me wrong, I love being with friends; but being alone on a desert-island does not fill me with horror whereas being in the Big Brother house with nowhere to go away from others really does mortify me. When alone for my sojourns in Spain, I am more than content - as long as I get to go somewhere familiar and have a brief chat with someone I know at least once per day.

Myers-Briggs Personality Types

About three weeks ago a questionnaire appeared on my Facebook timeline from the i newspaper. I took a short Myers-Briggs test and came out as an INTJ, Introverted INtuitive Thinking Judging, personality:

[Image Description: the results of my test plotted on a W8 web-graph]

"Expert - Unique and pursuing excellence. 

You have many creative thoughts. You always try to turn your ideas into fact tirelessly reaching your goal that you set for yourself. You can understand the connotative model of the outer world and think with a long term perspective. Once you make a commitment, you make a plan and accomplish it. You are very independent and skeptical. You always have a high standard no matter if its for yourself or other people." {all sic}

This past week, I did a different, more complex and much longer Myers-Briggs test and came out ENFJ, an Extraverted (sic) INtuitive Feeling Judging personality.

It seems it depends how the questions are framed alters whether I am introverted or extroverted. I think the issue is that I am very close to the border between introversion/extroversion (recall I consider myself an extroverted introvert) and thinking/feeling, both of which I consider important and use in decision-making.

Ambiversion

This past couple of days I discovered a term I have never previously encountered "ambivert", which originated in the 1920s - a person who is neither an extrovert nor an introvert, but rather someone who is in between, or, as my computer's dictionary states:

"a person who has a balance of extrovert and introvert features in their personality."

I suppose that is the top of the curve on the standard bell-curve.

"Ambiverts fall somewhere in the middle of the extrovert-introvert spectrum. Ambiverts gain energy from both time spent with others and time spent alone. Socialising and meeting new people may be important to an ambivert, but they also value time for themselves. Typically, ambiverts are good socialisers, as they keen to talk as well as listen to others. In the work place, ambiverts make efficient and adaptable workers as they are able to work well alone and within a team."

Which Label?

Now I have discovered ambiversion, I am unsure what to label myself. Is it more correct to aver I am an extroverted introvert or to say I am an ambivert? Maybe, I need to put both terms out there and let others decide. After all, I am still me on the inside, whatever label is affixed me. And I am certainly not going to attempt to alter aspects of my personality to conform to someone else's labelling system. Still, something to ponder. %)