Cringe....

[davidgillon]

I thought we were getting the message out to politicians that patting disabled people on the head is infantilising, but this clip from twitter showing Joe Biden interacting with a wheelchair user is the most egregious example of crip-stroking I've ever seen:

Check out @JoeBiden on #inclusive #education. Thanks for sharing this video with us, Samuel. Let us know if other candidates are talking about these critical issues. #CripTheVote #PwDsVote #RevUp #VoteDisability #RespectAbility #NHPolitics pic.twitter.com/iKjRvunSWU

— Disability Rights Center New Hampshire (@DRCNH) January 31, 2020

Text Description: A young man in a powerchair, using a communication device, and wearing a teeshirt saying "Without communication there is no freedom", approaches Joe Biden with a question on how he'll support inclusive education after identifying himself as a college student. Biden responds saying he'll fund ADA and that all his classes should be accessible (as far as I can tell he implied they were) and then tells him "You're smart, you're smart, you're smart. The disability does not define who you are. It doesn't define who you are.' while reaching in to stroke his face, adding "So proud of you. Presumptuous of me to be proud of you, but I am". Basically a masterclass in how not to respond to any disabled person.

I hadn't really noticed the repetition - too busy cringing - until I sat down to write the text description, but it's almost as infantilising as stroking his face, as though he can't believe any disabled person might be able to understand him first time.

Comments

[vass]

Ewwwww. And thank you for the description. I'd heard bits and pieces about the incident and knew I didn't want to watch the video but did want to know what actually happened.