"The one with the crutch"

Cher_Alumni

Amy Callaghan, MP for East Dunbartonshire, has shared a news article on Twitter in which she was described as "the one with the crutch" by journalist, Quentin Letts.

Callaghan added to the photo of said article,

"Debased and humiliated to nothing more than the support I need to walk. Lovely. Would you say this about someone in a wheelchair
? Or anyone else who had survived a stroke? Ableism passed off as Westminster patter. Sickening." @thequentinletts

Over to you:

• Do you understand her feelings?
• What do you believe motivates such comments about disabled people's aids?
• Have you ever dealt with similar remarks?

Let us know in the comments section below.

Adeline

I can't recall all of the details as my memory isn't what it used to be, but I recall an article I read recently where it was talking about a guy who had won an Oscar and it referred throughout to him as 'actor with down syndrome' and barely mentioned his name. It was shocking really. 

It reminds me a little of how women used to be (and still often are) referred to in media as 'mother of..' or 'wife of..' even when they have huge acolades of their own. Same with minority groups. 

Cher_Alumni

Absolutely @Adeline That is one thing that really infurtiates me. When the person is lost to an inanimate object, their physical condition or a partner's supposed greater standing. We don't address people as 'non disabled actor so and so..' do we?

I guess it speaks to who is privileged in society and who isn't, but maybe that's a rant for another day 

Cartini

I`ve just read the article and I don`t see anything wrong with it.  He addressed her by her name, where her ward was and was just adding additional identifying information for clarity.

Andy: "See that bloke over there, I served with him on several ships"

Dave: "Which one, there are several"

Andy: "The one with the walking stick"

This is in contrast to the example that Adeline gave above, an example which is disgusting.