Thanks TeriOriginally Posted by Teri
Yes it's just the label the term disabled and any other to classify a person is not right and then using it to describe a person to simplify the policing of a system is wrong, how the system could work with anonymity is the tricky part
And thanks yes I'll get that covering letter sorted soon
Paul
Again, I do not see how using a blue badge discriminates against me? Labels have never bothered me. I am disabled, that's what I am. As I said in my first post, I have a very visible physical disability so I have no choice about this information about myself being made known to the world.
The blue badge scheme and the marked parking bays help those who need them to identify where they can park. It also identifies to others where NOT to park so that they do not take a space that someone needs. The blue badge also indicates to other blue badge owners that someone who was in the parked car had a right to park there.
I've lost count of the times when out with a friend who desperately needs the parking space (so there is enough room to get the electric wheelchair out of the back and my friend transferred into it) see the parking space taken by someone who has not displayed a badge.
Making the scheme anonymous in the way that's being suggested does not address these problems. In fact, I think it creates more problems.
hi rich ward
the thing with discrimination is that it doesn't matter if you don't mind the label (whatever it is) if it (the label) places you as other in society then it is discriminatory, it doesn't really bother me either to be described as disabled because it is true i am disabled so thats fine, what is a problem is the reason the label is used by the state and the sentiment behind it.
it is wrong for the state to use any descriptive term of any of its society and to then use that term too describe that individual to the outside world (it is not the disabled persons responsibility to help the able bodied to make parking decisions). for example the DVLA could provide the option of having disabled or exempt on the tax disc, then you/i/anyone could say well i am disabled and proud so i would choose to accept the term so you have a tax disc which says disabled and mine says exempt but the point is we have chosen not an enforcement. but at the moment the state prescribes the term there is no option but to participate, and it is because of that enforcement of the term that it is a form of indirect discrimination.
take the n word for example that was/is used to describe/catogorise a section of society who were a minority, different, so you attach a name to it and thats whats used until someone says hang on i don't want or need to be described in that way i i don't accept it, now thats an extreme example but it has been flipped on its head by the black community and is seen (by some) as a term of empowerment, but many in the black community see the word as a negative and question its use, but the point is that they have control of the word, the disabled don't, i have a tax disc and a blue badge and they say disabled on them whether i like it or not, i must accept the term to participate in the scheme.... there is no choice other than complying with the state therefore it is discriminatory
and like you say within that there is a huge spectrum of disability from the severe to the less so, visible and not, so going back to the n word if you are an african black person are you more black than a afro american are you more entitled to use the word or it be used against you? are you more disabled than me? or even just because i have a disability does that mean i am disabled?
the arguments for how to administer a revised scheme are very complicated i agree, but again the complication is not a valid excuse, again a flippant example but it must have cost the ANC a lot of money to remove the "coloured" drinking fountains. my example of the olympic parking goes some way to showing that systems can easily be changed the DVLA could put "scrounging bastards" or perhaps "exempt" on the tax discs today and roll it out, they just can't be bothered with the hassle thats the problem
thanks paul
Disabled people face all kinds of problems throughout their lives and encounter far more serious discrimination than any supposed discrimination from having a blue badge or tax disc with disabled on it. I still do not see how using the blue badge, which I chose to apply for, makes me a victim of discrimination?
Having been called all sorts of names in my life, being stared at, having little kids laugh as I pass by, being patronised by people who think my disabled friends and I are thick and stupid, I can assure you being called disabled is hardly a problem.
I find your analogy with the n-word , rather unfortunate, to say the least. It was a term of abuse. Removing the coloured drinking fountain was a positive move. The fountains were used to keep people in their place and apart from others. The blue badge scheme is hardly the same thing.
Last edited by rich-ward; 08-10-2012 at 04:11 PM. Reason: Spelling
Hi
Yes the dispute I have is as you say a drop in the ocean but I believe the use of disabled as a title for a vast array of people contributes to the publics lack of understanding of the disabled aided by the wheelchair as a symbol which represents some but by no means all
Hence my reference to terms used to describe other minorities in the past and present the n word is I think the most extreme example of a reclaiming of a term by those whom it was used against to catagorise, of course it is not on a par with the term disabled but another example might be chants used against the Jewish fans at tottenham all minorities face descrimination on so many levels everyday, polish builders to a disabled person parking in a bay we are all judged and opinions formed right or wrong
But I genuinely can't think of a minority who are part of a system which they must abide by to claim a benifit, the blue badge provisions are fantastic a testament to our society and who can argue with a free tax disc
It's the conditions attached which are the problem,,,, I think
Pcorcoran's first post . . .
I am still disabled I just have no desire to be known as disabled to anyone that doesn't know me. The second part is that we have to mark bays as disabled so that the able-bodied don't use them,
Blue Badges . . . you obviously have an old style badge.
If you don't want any wording relating to 'blue badge', 'disabled' or a visible wheelchair symbol, number plate etc then phone your local authority and tell them you've lost your old badge. Fill out a new form, go for an interview and have your new photo taken by the staff and your details and digital image will be sent to a central processing house. As you'll be a priority you'll get your new 'all singing, dancing' permit back in under two weeks. Identity problem solved
Second part of your issue. Simple - don't park in an accessible bay - save them for wheelchair users. Park in a standard 'pay and display' bay - problem solved.
Last edited by Lighttouch; 08-11-2012 at 03:09 PM.
Again, there ARE NO problem conditions attached, only in your head.
As for "Minorities" being targetted, I would say in this screwed up society we now live in, its the Majority who are discriminated against.
As for Jew chants at Spirs, teaches them right for being fans of a Larrndon club :-)
in a previous post and another previous post response to you light touch i talk about my reluctance to park in marked bays and my preference and willingness to pay especially if my medication is working well, i avoid bays that other people may have more need for wheelchair or not, a note on this point is that a parkinsons sufferer could in certain circumstances find it easier to be mobile in a wheelchair rather than walk yet can and should choose to walk if they wish
blue badge cannot change, it runs in all 27 eu countries so brussels have to agree change
Thank you for your e-mail of 13 August to Customer Enquiry Group. This has been passed to the Corporate Affairs Directorate and I have been asked to respond.
We are currently looking into your suggestion of entering a code onto the disc in replace of the taxation class “disabled”. We are currently conducting a feasibility study into the contents of what is displayed on the tax disc.
As soon as an outcome of this study is known, I will update you on the way in which we intend to move forward.
Yours sincerely Sent via e-mail- no signature
Claire Rush
Corporate Affairs Directorate
Corporate Affairs Directorate D16/DVLA
Longview Road
Swansea
Mr Paul Corcoran
Dear Mr Corcoran
SA6 7JL
Telephone Fax Textphone Email Website
Your Ref Our Ref
Date:
01792 384565 www.direct.gov.uk/motoring
VPG 3/1/14
17 August 2012
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