Posts by Hilary Stace
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Up Front: An Open Letter to the Labour…, in reply to Sacha,
Yes I think I've mentioned it before.
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I think it is very unfair to judge people by the politics of their fathers. Mine was on the Mazengarb Royal Commission into Juvenile Delinquency and in his spare time when I was young helped run the local version of the Citizens and Ratepayers Assn.He mellowed in his old age fortunately. And my mother's family covered the political spectrum. James' father stopped being a cabinet minister when James was still at primary school. All I know about the similarities are that they are both very smiley.
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Hard News: Not good enough, Eden Park, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Don't forget disabled people. Rugby is a special interest for several people I know and going to a rugby game a real treat. Doesn't take many taunts of 'retard' to take the shine off the experience.
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The two conservative apparently heterosexual men on Jim Mora's panel today thought this hate speech was perfectly acceptable. Unless it turned into physical harassment, when it might need to be addressed.
However, hate speech is only a short step away from physical violence. They must have never been the target of homophobic, racist, sexist or ablist comments or witnessed how cruel and disabling this can be to the victims. Or reflected on what witnessing such attitudes and behaviour teaches young people. To accept it as just the way things are is just unbelievable.
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There's an idea that I quite like as a guide to all of this and that is the idea of 'right relationships'. Originally a Buddhist concept about our human and ecological interconnectedness, it has been developed by Michael Kendrick as a philosophical underpinning of the whole area of human services of disability support - but has much wider application. It is about ethics, respect and reciprocity, challenging power imbalances and speaking up about abuse (by people or organisations). He's written and presented about this overseas and in NZ (he's from the US) over the last decade. He gives checklists about how to get the relationship 'right' which could be useful in such situations as have been raised in this thread.
Probably a bit waffly for many posting here, but I have found it a useful concept.
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There's a link here with the fallout over the Glenn Inquiry. Good people are leaving that because the structures are not ensuring a safe and confidential space for women (and others) to tell their stories. The Confidential Listening Service in the Department of Internal Affairs provides a better model. Run by Judge Carolyn Henwood it has found a safe and respectful way for those who were abused in state care before 1992 to tell their stories, be listened to, believed, acknowledged, and practical steps to be taken such as ensuring access to appropriate counselling or benefits. There are good ways for so-called 'vulnerable' people to tell their stories,and for the rest of us to learn from them. Doesn't sound like the Glenn Inquiry has found that way.
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Notes & Queries: Paul, in reply to diversitynz,
Ben & David have made the same points that have been made for centuries and have led you to feeling grateful for something less than you deserve.
I agree. And many people on this thread know about poor, inadequate, inappropriate or non-existent disability services. Yet we are still meant to be grateful. I have long admired Philip for his work speaking up about abuse of disabled people, often at great personal cost. In various ways, he is trying to change the paradigm.
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Haven't read the report itself but this looks interesting http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1306/S00138/disabled-people-speak-out.htm
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Regarding the point about how to tell the stories of disabled people including those who may be non verbal, here are two examples of how to do it well:
People First NZ (2010) A place of our own; living with the legacy of institutionalisation (People First members tell their - sometimes quite shocking- stories to other People First members who are doing the interviewing. One interviewee at least does not use spoken words to communicate)
Spectrum Care. (2010) Extraordinary journeys. (Several quite severely disabled adults who are clients of Spectrum Care have their stories told through a mixture of their own words, family members and other sources) -
Philip Patston has written a wise and slightly sorrowful blog post about this blog about Paul.