It is time this Fascist government faced reality.

Recent comments about closed curtains at "worktime" reveal how out of touch they are with the realities of working class life and even of the work that goes on to sustain the working infrastructure WHILE THEY SLEEP.

They have attempted to begin another smear and hate campaign just as they have done to the disabled with the help of their "tame" media, the Sun, the Mail, the Express, ITV, Sky and the BBC.

Apart from those who are ill, others who might need to sleep in a darkened room during the day include Nurses, Doctors, Police, Firefighters, Cleaners, Aircrew, Railway Staff, Catering Workers, Bus Drivers, Underground Maintenance Staff, Road Cleaners, Social Workers and thousands of others who help run the 24 hour a day world we all live in.

Every policy of this government reveals a hatred of those of us who are not like them. This is Fascism and I pray the country will wake up to this before the followers of this party of persecution perpetrate a modern Kristallnacht against one of these sustained, government inspired, scapegoated groups of decent, mainly working class, groups of honourable citizens.

Why "Calm down Dear" furore goes beyond "Political Correctness".

It is less then 24 hours since Emperor Cameron told Labour MP Angela Eagles to "calm down dear". She was importantly challenging an incorrect statement he had made when answering a question about the NHS During Prime Minister's Question Time yesterday, yet the media is already playing the government's game of trying to turn criticism of Emperor Cameron's patronisation and bullying of Eagles into yet another example of "political correctness gone mad".
In the manner of Emperor Cameron and his role model Empress Thatcher I would now like to make it absolutely clear in an unequivocal, calm and measured way why what went on in the Commons yesterday demonstrates something much more sinister than "political correctness gone mad". I will of course do this by drawing your attention to 3 (yes: three) "bullet points" on that invisible flipchart Emperor Cameron would like us to imagine he is pointing at whenever he speaks to us as if we are class full of schoolchildren.

1. Equality: since becoming elected the coalition has treated all areas of "Human Rights" with absolute contempt. Emperor Cameron has made what amount to racist speeches both in Germany and here in Britain, the coalition's way of ensuring the protection of the rights of disabled people is to try to prove that there is no such thing as a disabled person, and: finally: the coalition's misogynistic attitude to women, which has seen both Emperor Cameron and his lieutenant: that protector of tax cheats, William Hague, use their wives to protect them from media pressure, has now been made even more visible through Cameron's patronising and bullying treatment of Angela Eagles yesterday. The reason why the media has to take a much more serious line on Emperor Cameron revealing his inner self yesterday is because his party is seeking to remove the Equality Act through the back door. The government "Red Tape Challenge" website has set up a discussion here http://www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/equalities/%20 inviting the folk like you and I to tell them why equal opportunities legislation is "red tape" rather than being essential legislation which for many provides the only protection they have from the world which views them as inferior or dysfunctional beings. In trying to enlist public support for the abolishment of the Equalities Act Emperor Cameron is once again demonstrating his belief in his absolute autonomy over the British people and their parliament. Without a mandate to do so he has already altered the boundaries of many political constituencies in favour of his own party, and, while telling parents why they must let their children go hungry and the disabled why they are not entitled to protection because the previous government left no money to keep established benefits and practices in place, he has somehow conjured up "from the reserve" enough money to allow him to posture on the world stage by practising "Imperialism", the very thing that has led to many other countries in the world viewing ours with contempt. Emperor Cameron and his senators are very good at attempting to dismiss matters of global importance by reducing them to the content of a simple story about one constituent they have been speaking to. I assume that if a constituent came to them at one of their constituency clinics saying they are no longer able to feed their children but that they will still be taking an expensive foreign holiday to promote the image of Britons abroad, that constituent would be told to cancel the "image building" and to feed their children with the money. Why isn't "The Media", The Liberal Democrats and The Labour Party suggesting to the Emporer that he stops killing people and uses the money to reduce our loan and the interest we are paying on it? The media should be pointing out right now the obscene anomaly that is taking place while Emperor Cameron continues his global image building at the expense of the less fortunate members of British society. Emperor Cameron and his lieutenant's have no respect for the concept of equality which has been one of the things which historically have made the British what they are. It was these things, not a lack of insight regarding political correctness that Emperor Cameron betrayed yesterday, and it is these things that the Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party, and the media should be drawing attention to today.
   
    
2. Bullying: whatever the conservative party and the media be trying to say today, the expression on Emperor Cameron's face as he attempted to face down opponents who were confronting him with his own mistakes betrayed the disdain with which he views those opponents. The bullying nature of the coalition government has been endlessly illustrated through its treatment of children, the elderly, the sick, and the disabled, illustrations of which can be found throughout the pages of my own, and many other blogs which focus on mistreatment of the sick and disabled. The media should be reminding people of the determination that the Emperor applied in his attempts to get us all to believe that his predecessor, Gordon Brown, was a bully. The media should be reminding people that the Emperor's bullying of Gordon Brown is still going on through his intent to prevent Gordon Brown assuming a role of world importance with the International Monetary Fund and, on a more petty level, through the influence he has undoubtedly brought to bear in ensuring that neither Gordon Brown nor his predecessor Tony Blair have been invited to the Royal Wedding tomorrow while the ambassadors of countries we are at war with because of their infringement of the civil rights of their citizens will be there. Emperor Cameron's bullying, like that of other dictators, Hitler, Stalin, Gaddafi, Hussien, etc. extends to trying to remove from history the importance and influence of any of his political predecessors. It was these things, not a lack of insight regarding political correctness that Emperor Cameron betrayed yesterday and it is these things that the Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party, and the media, should be drawing attention to today.
   
    
3. Economical with the Truth: that this government has no respect for accuracy has been illustrated from the minute they came to power after spending a week presenting the country with the charade of discussions between the Liberal Democrats and other parties supposedly in intense discussion regarding which party the Liberal Democrats would align themselves with to form a government. We later learned from Danny Alexander, Liberal Democrat secretary to the Treasury, that in fact the decision had been made prior to the election, this is an underreported fact even though it illustrates how the claim of the coalition that they could not wait to tackle urgent problems, left by their predecessors, and that these issues must be tackled "immediately", was hollow nonsense. The thousands of us who make up the disabled community in this country have been made more aware than most of this government's contempt for the truth as on at least three occasions Chris Grayling has, unchallenged either by the Emperor or the printed media, distorted statistics in an attempt to give credibility to his victimisation of the long-term sick and disabled. Yesterday: it was because Angela Eagles was pointing out an untruth in what Emperor Cameron had said, that he turned on her and told her to "Calm down Dear". He was already flustered at that point because Ed Milliband had been pointing out to the house discrepancies in other "facts" the Emperor had previously told both the house and the media regarding things that are happening to the detriment of the National Health Service. In fact that session of Prime Minister's Question Time began with an untruth as the Emperor sought to claim economic growth that simply has not occurred. It must be said that the media has begun to draw attention to the fact that when he is placed under pressure the Emperor makes inappropriate brusque remarks which illustrate his true, bullying, nature. See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/wintour-and-watt/2011/apr/27/davidcameron-michael-winner even so, it is all of these things, and not a lack of insight regarding political correctness, that Emperor Cameron betrayed yesterday and it is these things that the Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party, and the media should all be drawing attention to today.
   
   
   Now, having made that all absolutely clear, in case you are thinking that this piece has been written by someone who is so sated in the ideology of equality that I am a "lefty" embodiment of political correctness gone mad, I ask you to consider the following:
   In the advertisement which Emperor Cameron claims informed his "comedy" yesterday we see Michael Winner using the phrase to disarm and to "shut up" someone, who just happens to be a woman, who is questioning the things that he said. It has never been regarded as a funny advertisement, in fact, it is one of those advertisements that achieved notoriety for being in such bad taste. I wonder how many people who voted for Emperor Cameron and his party were aware that his personality is influenced by such things.
   
   
   In conclusion: "Political Correctness" in the form of legislation such as the 2010 Equality Act, is necessary because obnoxious, insensitive, uncaring bullies use their intellect and/or their physical presence to intimidate, denigrate, humiliate and disenfranchise those who are less able than they are to protect themselves. Emperor Cameron, his lieutenant's, and Private Clegg, are attempting to rewind this country to the way it was in the 1970s before some of them were born and before most of them would have been fully aware what was occurring around them, I can assure them, it was not a very pleasant time, as my father-in-law used to say, "be careful of what you wish for - you might get it".

A heartfelt contribution to: One Month Before Heartbreak: A Broken of Britain Blogswarm

Today I feel quite anxious, almost afraid.

I have lots of reasons to feel this way. My son, my daughter and her partner might all lose their jobs in the current recession. My two granddaughters aged 10 and 8 are daily fed images of the female form airbrushed, enhanced by plastic surgery, and Botoxed, while being told that if they do not grow up to look "this way" they will not be accepted by their peers, or by society at large. I watch the son of a close friend struggling to pay off a 10-year-old student loan while the son of my niece has just begun university and is about to accrue an even bigger debt.

But I live with these thoughts every day without the physical symptoms of anxiety so what is it about today that is causing the headache and the gastric churning.

Well: it's this: Just this. These words appearing on my monitor while I talk to myself. But here again, I write for a part of almost every day. Poetry, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, I've even started to write a book about my love of music, so why, today, is this very familiar and natural act causing a physical backlash?

I'll try to explain.

I am writing these words today because many of us, concerned at the way the coalition government is bullying, victimising, stereotyping, abandoning and, stigmatising those of us who live with disability, have decided to publish blogs almost simultaneously to draw attention to these injustices being perpetrated in your name. As someone who feels it is important not to write things that cannot be corroborated I have been doing some research just in case (although I was fairly certain of my original opinion) I had misunderstood what I have been hearing and reading.

The results of this research are quite upsetting. I discover that none of the three major political parties are prepared to support us in combating ill-conceived legislation that will affect every member of the disabled community. I have discovered that major charities, who have taken our money and yours claiming it would be used for our benefit, have been colluding with the government and have assisted them in stereotyping and stigmatising the disabled of this country by labelling them as benefit scrounging thieves. No dissent from any major public figure on our behalf. Ex-politicians like John Prescott and David Milliband, seem to re-tweet on Twitter almost any request to do so, regardless of the dubious origins of some of the tweets, yet they do not acknowledge requests from the disabled community to support it. We have, to all intent and purpose, been politically disenfranchised.

Now that all makes me angry, not afraid, bloody angry: so what is this anxiety about?

I'll try and explain. As I began to write this I realised that without the support of the media in this country; without the support of the politicians (both past and present) of this country; without the support of the charities who have taken your money and mine under the false pretence that it would be used for our benefit; and without the support of the public who have been fed lies and misinformation by all of those named above: I, and all of my colleagues, could be "at risk" simply for writing these words.

That sounds ridiculous doesn't it? As if I'm describing the extreme violation of human rights once prevalent in Communist Russia and now prevalent in other countries. But it is here, and it's will work like this.

The plans to brand disabled persons as workshy include an assessment of our capabilities. That sounds reasonable doesn't it, but this assessment will be carried out by a private company and will take no account whatsoever of the reasons why medical professionals consider us to be unfit for work, or, of any change in our circumstances since that assessment was first made. The assessment will be based on a number of "descriptors". That is, aspects of illness, impairment, or disability that have been reduced to a single line of description. These “descriptors” are deemed to be the same for every person who receives additional benefit to enable them to live more enriched lives regardless of their disability.

"Okay" you say, but what's that got to do with your ability to write this?

Well, I could understand it if, at first glance, anybody, even you, might say that if I am able to write these words then I must be perfectly able to sit in an office and use a word processor. Understandable, yes. Except, in my case, while you are reading this, you cannot see the headset I wear to enable dictation directly into my computer. I need to do this today because my arms feel extremely heavy and painful so typing, today, would not be possible. Headset aside, you have not been able to see the number of times I have needed to alter my position while doing this. At the moment I am leaning backwards so that my whole body is at an angle to the floor. When I began I was leaning forwards. I've not needed to during this exercise, but at some point of everyday I will need to lay on the floor for a while. On occasions I need to adopt the only position which offers me relief from the most extreme pain, that means laying on the floor with my bum against the sofa and my feet on the seat of the sofa in a Z shape. I'm not sure how many offices could accommodate my needs in this respect.

Another descriptor refers to the ability to concentrate. "Well surely you have just demonstrated that you are able to do that". I hear you think, and am not surprised, because I often say that to myself.

The truth is though that for a number of reasons, although I can do this today, it might not be possible tomorrow and it might not have been possible yesterday. It also might not have been possible earlier today and might not be possible later today. In my case this is for a number of reasons. Maybe the pain in my back and legs on any given day or night is so severe that I need to take painkillers in quantities that affect my cognitive functioning and render me both unable and unsafe to drive.

Maybe, physically I feel quite well. That, in my case, means the pain I experience can be "relieved" by finding my most comfortable sitting or laying position for a while. But then again, it might be a good day for my spinal condition but a bad one for my depression. Oh, did I mention that. I've been "a depressive" since I was about 11 years old. The extremes of my depression, come upon me roughly every seven years or so. In between times, until my spine collapsed, I was able to remain employed and was very skilful at masking my depression from others who remained unaware of it until such time that it once again overwhelmed me and began to influence my judgement and my actions. Because of my depression, I might have gone to bed last night with my ideas for this piece already formulated in my head, but, I might have woken up this morning a different person in a different body in a different place, and it might have been several days or even weeks before I was able to sit here and complete this.

I would love to be able to go to work again but specialists in both disc disease and depression tell me this would be unwise. In the case of the former this is because certain movements could lead to me losing my mobility completely, in the case of the latter it is because subjecting myself to intense pain for whole days will aggravate my attempts to overcome the depression. So, I am frustrated and angry that after several years of chastising myself for this, and several years of input from others convincing me that that work is not a feasible proposition, suddenly, just as I have come to terms with the reality of the remainder of my life, people who do not and who will not know me are about to make judgements about me with regard to this.

So there you have it. I hope that by reading this you have gained some insight to my world which, as disability goes, is not such a bad one. I hope it will help your understanding of the unpredictability of disability and of the ridiculousness of a proposition that the same "descriptors" can be applied across the board to all persons who live with disability. If I have succeeded you will now understand why the simple act of putting a few words onto a piece of paper, or a computer screen, can be fraught with anxiety and even danger for those who live within the disability culture at this time.

I also hope I have added to your understanding of disability and the folk who live with it as an aspect of everyday life. I hope I have been able to undo some of the damage being caused by a callous, cynical, vindictive, publicity campaign being waged by the government and some charities, to convince YOU that people of disability are not deserving of your support and consideration.

brokenbrian: January 2011.

The Cost of Dismantling the Welfare State does Not Add Up

This was my response to an article in The Gaurdian headlined as above.


It adds up if you are a Tory Boy and Dealer Dave Cameron is certainly one of those.

His comments "The thought of prisoners getting the vote makes me feel sick" and "People (on housing benefit) should not be living in houses they could not dream of owning" place him somewhere out there with Hitler. Dave of course plans to starve us to death instead of murdering us.

How can Nick Clegg continue to ally himself to the dealer while he is taking the food out of the mouths of children and the sick with one hand while slipping £35000 a year to the man who takes his photo with the other.

What we are paying for with the money Dave has stolen from us is the re-inforcement of Tory ideology.

Cameron was NOT GIVEN A MANDATE TO DO THIS. HE DID NOT WIN THE ELECTION. HE IS IN DOWNING STREET BY DEFAULT.

We saw how Thatchers destruction of the welfare state could not be repaired by Labour over 13years. Dealer Dave realises he probably only has one term to achieve his aims so he has set out immediately to undo the repairs Labour were able to afford to make.

The "URGENCY" behind his cuts is to protect the Banks and the Stock Market. The "Urgency" has nothing to do with the ordinary people of this country

Because of the actions of those with money in this country, those without money are being kicked while they are down.

The dismantling of the Welfare State, while stigmatising those too ill to work, and outrageously labelling as "work shy" those who are unable to find work, especially at a time when the actions of the government are about to cause millions to lose their jobs, are criminal acts.

It must be clear to even the stupidest fan of Dealer Dave that as the Job Market becomes flooded with those whose jobs have crumbled, that the disabled, the sick, and the long term unemployed will have no chance of obtaining the jobs that are available.

I still wait for an MP or a Paxman or a Non Murdoch Journalist to ask how these radical changes are being funded. If 85% of Incapacity Benifit desicions were overturned at tribunal how much did those tribunals cost, and how does that compare to the money "saved" from the other 15%.