Linkspam: Just the Shovel Down, Ted

[davidgillon]

Brilliant analysis by Lisa Egan (a friend of mine) on the TEDx Sydney Stella's Challenge disaster

Points she picks out:
TEDx Sydney have erased all evidence of not just the screw-up, but of their apology. I'm not certain the apology was there for three whole days, it certainly wasn't there for four.

She managed to find the google cache of the original page with the questions TEDx were telling people they should ask disabled people as part of Stella's Challenge, which are far worse than I'd imagined. They would also have horrified Stella Young, who had spoken out against just that kind of questioning of disabled people.

They referred to Stella as a 'Person With a Disability', when she was explicit in her TED piece that she rejected the PWD label and followed the Social Model use of 'Disabled Person'.

Perhaps most seriously on an ethics basis, TEDx were encouraging paid carers to violate their duty of privacy towards their employer.

For supposedly smart people, TEDx Sydney really screwed this one up. And then they kept on digging.

Way past time for them to put the shovel down.

Comments

[davidgillon]

Given the difficulty people had in finding the page with the questions, and the possibility of it disappearing from the cache, I'm going to cut and paste it in here for future reference. References to 'the app' are to StoryCorps, which I think is unconnected (certainly one of the activists explicit in condemning this is partnered with them on another project). Anyway, here's how to annoy every disability activist across three continents:

Here’s your easy step-by-step guide to capturing your Stella’s Challenge conversation.

+Download the app to your iPhone or Android.

+ Create a user account.

Now you’re ready to go.

+ Before you hit record, set your phone to flight mode.

+ Follow the prompts to record your conversation. We’ve created suggested question sets (below) to guide you

+ Once your conversation is recorded, follow the prompts to tag your conversation. Please tag your conversation with:

#StellasChallenge #TEDxSydney #TEDxSydneyImpact

Thank you! Your hard work and collected insights are the basis of our campaign

Suggested questions sets:

These conversations are about being human and are a two-way street. Listen actively. Ask lots of “why” questions. Leave spaces for your companion to consider their response.

The below is a guide only, but we do request you ask the final question – What one thing can we do today to make a change towards social inclusion for disabled people?

If you’re talking to someone with a disability:

Thank you for taking time to have a conversation with me. I’m taking Stella’s Challenge, to learn more about what life is like for people with disabilities. I’m interested to learn what you like to do with friends and family, and to see if your experiences navigating the world are different from mine.

Would you mind if we talked about your disability first, so that I can understand how best to refer to it, and would you mind if we explored how it has impacted your life?

Have you encountered attitudes that you would like to change?

What one thing can we do today to make a change towards social inclusion for disabled people?

If you’re talking to a carer of someone with a disability:

Thank you for your time and for sharing your experiences with me. I’m taking up Stella’s Challenge to learn more about people with disabilities and their carers.

Can you tell me who you are, what role you play for someone with a disability. How long have you done this and for whom?

What impact does this have on family life?

How do you think Australians view people with a disability? Can you give examples of why you think this?

How does that make you feel?

Have you encountered attitudes that you would like to change?

What one thing can we do today to make a change towards social inclusion for disabled people?

If you’re talking to someone in your community to wants to participate in social inclusion for disabled people:

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with me. I’m taking up #StellasChallenge to gain a greater understanding of disability.

What is your experience of people with disability?

Have you ever felt that you’ve handled an interaction with a disabled person in a weird way? Can you give any examples?

What do you consider to be the greatest social barriers to disabled people?

How would you love to see society changed in its dealing with disability?

What one thing can we do today to make a change towards social inclusion for disabled people?

[davidgillon]

And having mentioned both Lisa and the PWD/Disabled Person dichotomy, I should probably point at her XOJane piece: I'm Not A "Person With a Disability": I'm a Disabled Person

[thamesynne]

Oh. Dear. God. What a total fucking mess. Smacks of Fabian's Disease (the unshakeable conviction of people with privileges that good intentions and sympathy are all they need to do the right thing, because how could they possibly not know or understand everything?) And the "oh, I know, we'll delete everything from the webpage" is basically just trying to distract people from having dug a bloody great big hole by digging another one right "in front" of it... on a two-way road.

To misquote Severance: "Keep digging, Ted, we can still see you..."

[jesse_the_k]

Total shit show.

StoryCorps is a continuing QUANGO in the U.S. which facilitates and archives oral histories. They've actually done some wonderful pieces with disabled people speaking for themselves.