Hard News: Total Attitude
75 Responses
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...there's a lot of talk of being reflective practitioners, and you certainly were a part of me taking stock of a few of my attitudes.
Thanks Jackie.
To this day, I still constantly doubt that what I am doing is the best thing (in fact I've developed a model that I use in my work that focuses on reflecting on the best thing to think, say and do). I think confident self-doubt is critical to generating quality practice. I think many -- not all -- areas of social services, education, govt, industry etc suffer from a lack of reflection and commitment to questioning practice.
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I've long had an interest in art therapy and using any of the creative arts as an extra dimension to life - a way to live, especially for those of us who feel we don't fit. There's a huge gap where those creative ways of being could be nurtured. i do believe that finding a creative process is fabulously empowering. Whatever it is - writing, painting, singing, music. There used to be quite a strong movement around art therapy but it seems to have waned in the last two decades. It's not about making stuff to sell, purely for personal satisfaction.
As far as sanctuary goes, wouldn't it be grand if there were publically funded Relaxation Lodges where one could have Time Out for a month or two? Honestly, we could do this whole 'civilisation' thing a whole lot better.
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Have run out of steam (and this is just too much like work for both of us, Philip) so will be brief and then away for a while.
without having to be part of some kind of freakshow
Not a direct response but you know better than me it's how difference has been presented in our past (and interesting context for an awards show). I was thinking feeding tubes on ponsonby road - and how most other people would react now, before the better future we are undoubtedly creating arrives.
Not everyone is keen on taking on all that intense interest from others or the work of changing their attitudes, and all I was saying is that some personalities are more likely to. We all get good to some extent at blocking out the superficial.
performers, politicians or small children
Heh. I guess my description does bear a resemblance, although I can reassure you that we're both politicians in a way and I was thinking of certain young drama queens I have known..
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Oh, and rather than just belonging perhaps think of it as paying attention to what is common rather than what is different. Many people value that, and I disagree it is inherently a bad thing.
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Special v unique.
Unfortunately, special is too often a synonym for being different in a negative way - ie special education, special needs. It implies a problem which requires fixing in order to fit in with the normal world, but resources are scarce.
I much prefer unique as there are no underlying value judgements, or cultural ideas of otherness. And we are all part of the diversity of humanity.
If people think this is being picky about words, think how much negativity is associated with 'afflicted with', 'suffering' 'wheelchair bound', let alone the old words of deficient, feeble minded, handicapped or that awful word 'retarded'. Who wants to be labelled as these?
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And sorry Joe. I use the word theory probably because I'm living in the academic world at the moment. I mean opinion or personal reality from observation or lived experience - or whatever you want it to mean.
Words are powerful tools.
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And finally for now I would like to thoroughly recommend the DVD Philip made for the Health and Disability Commissioner last year (I think this is right, and hopefully it is still publicly available, Philip?).
It shows how to turn around all that negative anti-disability stuff that most of us do in common situations such as the receptionist addressing the person behind the wheelchair rather than the person in it. And it has several fascinating stories of lived experience of disability. I lent mine to someone and must get it back...
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And sorry Joe. I use the word theory probably because I'm living in the academic world at the moment. I mean opinion or personal reality from observation or lived experience - or whatever you want it to mean.
Words are powerful tools.No problem Hilary, appreciate being able to talk about these things. While I don't believe that changing attitudes will cure all problems, it's heartening to hear of the great things happening. More power to you.
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As far as sanctuary goes, wouldn't it be grand if there were publically funded Relaxation Lodges where one could have Time Out for a month or two? Honestly, we could do this whole 'civilisation' thing a whole lot better.
Hear, hear, I'm in :-)
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DVD Philip made for the Health and Disability Commissioner last year (I think this is right, and hopefully it is still publicly available, Philip?)
Sure is:
Making it Easy to Do the Right Thing - Disability responsiveness training - a DVD with supplementary training notes to help providers understand the issues that need to be considered when working with disabled service users.
http://www.hdc.org.nz/resources/videos
...top of the list
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As far as sanctuary goes, wouldn't it be grand if there were publically funded Relaxation Lodges where one could have Time Out for a month or two?
Possible use for the Kimberley Centre? It's currently mothballed, and there are far worse places to chill out:
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Words are powerful tools.
People are powerful tools. One thing I discovered on partying one night was my man told me he fell in love again (happily it was with me :) A woman at the very enjoyable party, on asking a question, responded with an answer I couldn't understand. Thinking, this could be an accent, a different language, or that she may have been out of it,(remember it was a good party), I approached her and explained my dilemma. I didn't understand. This beautiful woman then told me she was deaf and had people walk away all the time, and not to worry, she was used to it. I explained that when it came to deaf people, it was my ignorance that put us in this situation, of which we then continued to educate both of ourselves and solve the problem of no one talking to either of us, and if my memory serves me right (I have an excuse, brain haemorrhage) We shared a smoke. Smiles all round. My man later told me that to see the ease in which I conversed with her was a pleasure. I commented that it was easy, no question about it. People is people anytime.
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I'm inclined to think the desire to belong, socially, is core instinctual stuff.
Well, it's all about connectedness, isn't it, this life of ours? And finding your peeps.
My fear is of the rejection I'l suffer if people discover how mangled I am within my fully functioning apparently sound and 'normal' exterior.
You'd be surprised, or maybe not, at how many internally mangled people there are around, Steven. That's the problem with the word "normal", as I see it. Everyone rushing around trying to be something they're not by trying to fit in to what they percieve is the norm.
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I'm inclined to think the desire to belong, socially, is core instinctual stuff
Ae. We all "find our peeps" by seeking out similarity as well as difference - watch any teen. The balance varies for different personalites and at different stages of life, but it does seem quite instinctive and tribal:
"He seems different from our hapu or village" naturally leads to feelings of both wariness and fascination. The application and negotiation of cultural and social values comes in after that. Old fashioned thinking and fear are not our friends.
I like hearing people make connections between different experiences of disability - including mental illness. There is an extreme lack of connectedness between both groups of disabled people and the silo-ed organisations we work with. I guess that's one reason I focus for now more on commonality than difference, although I agree we need both for respectful understanding - and it's good to have people working both ends. As Joe noted, de-institutionalisation and accompanying lack of investment in connectedness has reduced the opportunities for some disabled people to forge bonds and to belong.
how many internally mangled people there are around
A wise counsellor told me that it is common to compare our insides with other people's outsides - and so they always seem more together than they actually feel. It's another wrinkle on "normal".
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Well, I spose someone had better pimp the show (where did everyone go today?).
Tune in tomorrow from 9.30am on TV1 for Attitude's look at the award winners, and then there's another show about the awards at 10.30pm on TV1 (don't know anything about its focus).
Here's a clip from CloseUp yesterday about Tanya's fashion show segment (direct asx, 4m16). I haven't seen any other models referred to as "gutsy", but then that's the risk when you let Sainsbury's producers loose on content like this when all they're armed with are stereotypes.
Anyway, enjoy the shows..
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And the official blurb about the CloseUp story has a fantastic trailing typo:
**Guts and Glamour**
They are sexy, sassy young things showcasing the latest fashions. Eleven women are modelling for the Attitude Awards; an event celebrating outstanding achievements of New Zealanders with disabilities. And yes, these women might be in wheelchairs or have a physical disability, but they tell Laurna White they are still gorgeous, glam and gusty. -
Tune in tomorrow from 9.30am on TV1 for Attitude's look at the award winners . . .
Thanks for the heads-up Sacha. Big respect for all involved in that, particularly those who must have sacrificed something of their precious privacy for such a vital cause.
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they are still gorgeous, glam and gusty.
That would be the winds of change, then?
It's a shame Close Up didn't talk to someone who wasn't a gorgeous former athlete though. Kris from Pearl, who provided the dresses, told me the young Down's woman had plenty to say.
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You could try interviewing her for Media7...
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Completely apropos of nothing... why is it so quiet this morning? Did everyone posting from work get found out and fired?
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Completely apropos of nothing... why is it so quiet this morning? Did everyone posting from work get found out and fired?
Well, usually, y'all have me firing out some starters for 10 ..
But for the next little while, Media7 is being recorded on Monday mornings as part of our summer season.
The Monday thing must have seemed like a good idea at the time, but it really was a bit of a chore getting out of the house today. I'm surprised that the whole "going to work on Monday morning" thing is so popular, frankly.
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Trust me, it's not
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I watched the abridged version of the Attitude awards, thanks for the notice.
It is a great start, and must have been a huge understanding, but if this is going to be a new tradition I have some comments
I would like to see an education award as this is where disabled people have faced great discrimination - and it is a lifelong thing, so not just for young people.
It was such an Auckland event and reflected the line that to achieve (usually in a very individual way) you just need a good attitude. However, the personal is political - in disability as much as any other area of discrimination and human rights.
If it had been a Wellington event it probably would have had an activists award, or a NGO of the year award.
I hope Ruth Dyson was there and that some of the speakers recognised her contribution which has led the huge political changes, including major law changes, over the last 9 years.
Disability has been intensely political and my experience is of endless select committees, lobbying, trips to parliament supporting legislation etc. Attitude will only get you so far if you face legal discrimination because of your disability.
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Hilary, I agree it's a good start. Disability organisations have been talking about such an event for years, so good on RSVP for making it happen. I hope the producers are open to working together to strengthen the awards in the interests of all disabled people and in the service of the broad change that's needed.
You make some good suggestions for improvement. I personally enjoyed seeing Sam win for his wheelchair export enterprise, and Suze for her choreography and study, not just her dance. I wasn't so comfortable with how some of the other award categories were positioned, although I understand the tension between promoting change and getting easy buy-in from sponsors and attendees who may be more "charitably" motivated.
In general, I'd like to see the awards take a more consistent focus on disabled people as contributors to society rather than individual performers or grateful beneficiaries of support. Those stereotypes have enough legs already and the only disabled people we see on telly are exceptional plucky battlers or dribbling objects of pity. Let's make the most of this rare opportunity to change the way the public look at disabled people.
I reassure you that the "it's all about my attitude" approach is not an Auckland thing - it's elite sports thinking as I noted upthread (and reflected in 4 of the 8 awards going to people involved in sport).
Although even then it's like naively assuming that only the athlete's motivation and character counts, rather than access to good coaching and management, modern equipment and venues and regular local and international competition to keep standards up. And of course the supported income, transport, education, nutrition, family and social buy-in and myriad other factors that enable individual performance.
Those have absolutely nothing to do with the recipient's "attitude" and a lot more to do with the hard shared political work that secured them in the first place. Recognising that is surely a simple matter of respect.
And finally, Sunday's Marae show direct ASX, first 12 mins of 29 min file had a brilliant story on Dargaville's Circus Kumarani and their work with hunga haua (disabled Maori) and local iwi. Great to see a down to earth and respectful take on disability smoothly woven through a story that captivates on many levels.
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You could try interviewing her for Media7...
Please do - if it is handled well, disability can be a natural part of many other shows, as the Marae example shows rather well. It doesn't have to be the main focus of the story, just as disabled people's lives are about far more than disability.
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