Entries tagged with activism

Current Mood: Rabble-rousing

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The Speed of Social Media

I just went from first hearing about a new Social Media platform to having its CTO tell me I was wrong in about two minutes ;)

Someone tweeted a link to a blogpost by Noam Bardin, founder of "Post News", in which he talked about all the things they aren't working on, one of which was "Accessibility".

So I checked his twitter, and about fourth down was where he'd posted about how "discrimination comes in many shapes and sizes". So being a rabble-rousing little shit I replied "Like not working on accessibility?"

Which got me an almost instant reply from their co-founder/CTO, quoting a reply he'd already written to someone else about how accessibility was core to the re-write they were doing and just "not something Noam actively tracks".

I pointed out if he's going around saying it's not being worked on he clearly considers it optional, and someone might want to have a word in his ear about what constitutes discrimination. And possible legal liability for that matter.

Current Mood: Annoyed
Current Location: On the barricades

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Activist Coffee

I met a fellow local disability rights activist for coffee this afternoon - we've known each other on line for years, but because her job was in London until recently it's the first time we've actually met.

It was interesting, in the worst way, in terms of finding anywhere we could both go. I may be a wheelchair user nowadays, but if I run into steps I can hop out , they can't. That ruled out the place I meet friends on Saturdays, and while the place I go in the week is accessible to me in the chair, they didn't think they could get their powerchair in. Nor is the new Costa accessible - they gutted the entire place, took floors out, but left a step at the entrance! Ultimately we ended up in the tourist info, which has a cafe at the back - ironically she then had to ask if I would be able to manage the internal slope in the building - effectively a 50 foot ramp from front to back - to get back out again!

Cue an hour and a half of comparing notes, on activism, ridiculous disabled loos we have known, and experiences of discrimination. It shouldn't be like that, but it is. I had to give her the prize (?!) for worst experience - I've never had a doctor look at the chair and try to decide not to treat me for something life threatening (emphasis on the try, she handed him his head).

Lovely to meet her finally, but also sobering. So much still to do.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: Fighting the good fight against the Dark Empire of IDS

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Political piece: Does Universal Credit herald the end of Medical Privacy?

I've just done my first piece of political writing for months (six months when I look at it, which is scary), which is up at Where's the Benefit, my usual venue: Does Universal Credit herald the end of Medical Privacy?

The basic situation is that the Department of Work and Pensions just gave themselves the right to pass on medical data about anyone claiming Universal Credit (which eventually will be just about everyone of working age, including those in work) to a variety of outside bodies (councils, CAB, social landlords etc). Needless to say those of us with medical data held by DWP are a trifle disturbed. But there are already a couple of good articles about that, so I combined it with what other data we know DWP has tried to get hold of in the past (such as the database of every hospital admission), and a bit of speculation about them wanting access to Care.Data (the very controversial database of GP's medical records) that I initially thought was just me thinking aloud, but I actually turned up the Health Select Committee wondering exactly the same thing, then stirred it all up with what we know about DWP's aggressively punitive nature to paint a fairly disturbing picture of where things could go for medical privacy if we don't put a shot across their bows.

I've already seen one of the prominent Care.Data activists retweeting it, so it's clearly being heard in the right places.

Current Mood: cranky
Current Location: Flat on my back - again?

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Wonderful tribute...

... to disability activist Lucy Glennon from Kaliya Franklin, who knew her much better that I did, Lucy Glennon 3/12/1985 - 29/1/2015 It celebrates her life without once straying into inspiration-porn, and absolutely excoriates Cameron (personally as well as politically - read the storify of when Cam met Lucy) and the Tories for what they did to her.

In other disability news, I had Labour canvassing at the door, and the guy I ended up speaking to is apparently head of the Labour group on Medway council.
'Can we depend on your support?'
'Only if Ed guarantees to save the Independent Living Fund'
'Ah, he did that last week!'
'Er, sorry, no, Labour HQ has refused to confirm that what he said last week actually means keeping the ILF'
'Oh...'

If Labour have even their own senior councillors confused as to what their policy is, then it's not exactly a good omen, is it....

(And their candidate for the general election looks about 12 {sigh})