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Jamesy
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25 Mar 2014, 11:25 am

In terms of human rights how many years behind in the UK is the disability rights movement compared to the racial/civil rights movement?

I heard 50 years from someone 8O



pete42
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25 Mar 2014, 11:55 am

Legally, they're both the same. Disabled people get the same protection from discrimination as any other minority.

Culturally though it's harder to say. On the one hand, far fewer people are hostile to disabled people than are racist, or homophobic.. On the other hand, disabled people, particularly those with mental disorders, probably suffer more "unintentional" discrimination, since people don't understand them and make incorrect assumptions.


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Jamesy
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25 Mar 2014, 12:34 pm

pete42 wrote:
Legally, they're both the same. Disabled people get the same protection from discrimination as any other minority.

Culturally though it's harder to say. On the one hand, far fewer people are hostile to disabled people than are racist, or homophobic.. On the other hand, disabled people, particularly those with mental disorders, probably suffer more "unintentional" discrimination, since people don't understand them and make incorrect assumptions.


I heard in America it's 50 years behind the racial movement



Willard
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25 Mar 2014, 1:28 pm

pete42 wrote:
far fewer people are hostile to disabled people than are racist, or homophobic.. On the other hand, disabled people, particularly those with mental disorders, probably suffer more "unintentional" discrimination, since people don't understand them and make incorrect assumptions.


"people don't understand them and make incorrect assumptions" - how is that different than any other form of discrimination?

I have suffered vicious and hostile abuse specifically because of my autistic limitations, by people who were well aware that I had a disability, but couldn't be bothered to understand what that disability was. After 6 months of explaining my anxieties and handicaps and that I was not merely "shy" but suffered Selective Mutism when thrown into unexpected social interactions, a state licensed instructor screamed in my face "Why can't you just be like everybody else!?"

And in my experience, there is no legal recourse for the autistic when discriminated against. If you're paraplegic and need a wheelchair ramp, they'll rush to your aid and sue anybody who gets in the way, but when you're autistic, they'll agree you were discriminated against and abused, but they have no clue what to do about it and will pass the buck from agency to agency, until you give up and go away.



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25 Mar 2014, 3:38 pm

Jamesy wrote:
pete42 wrote:
Legally, they're both the same. Disabled people get the same protection from discrimination as any other minority.

Culturally though it's harder to say. On the one hand, far fewer people are hostile to disabled people than are racist, or homophobic.. On the other hand, disabled people, particularly those with mental disorders, probably suffer more "unintentional" discrimination, since people don't understand them and make incorrect assumptions.


I heard in America it's 50 years behind the racial movement


Don't know about that. I agree with pete42. Legally, discrimination against both groups is not allowed, and culturally they are both still far behind where they should be.

There is still plenty of pretty overt racism in the US, including among politicians whose racism then informs legislation and policy, so I might even say that legally the racial movement is behind the disability movement. For example, no one is passing laws to purposefully make it harder for disabled people to vote, or to decrease the impact of their vote, yet that is quite the trend among Republican-controlled states right now as far as minorities are concerned. Including the state I live in :-(

There is probably less general awareness of disability issues than racial issues though.


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