Disability Hate Crime. Why?

Disability hate crime is at its highest level since incidents have been recorded.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/aug/14/disability-hate-crime-increase-reported-incidents-data?INTCMP=SRCH

Has anyone on the forum witnessed such incidents? Does anyone have any idea why disabled people are being abused in such numbers?

I have not heard about such a thing in Ireland. Cannot understand why it is going on in such numbers in the UK.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060067/Disabled-benefit-Just-form-200-000-got-handouts-year-face-face-interview.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2184519/David-Adams-Cheat-caught-working-football-referee-despite-claiming-20-000-disability-benefit.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2114356/Waterslide-disability-benefits-cheat-caught-camera-luxury-south-France-holiday-forced-sell-house-pay-thousands.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096373/Mick-Jean-OShea-claiming-disability-benefit-6-YEARS-10m-Lottery-win.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1353111/Disability-benefits-Half-claimants-asked-prove-eligibility.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2097157/If-public-opinion-turning-disabled-disability-charities-blame.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023913/Number-young-men-disability-benefits-fivefold-20-years.html

And it goes on ... a steady drip of rancid, toxic propaganda.

According to this view the "disabled", you see, drive BMW's, are either living a life of idle luxury or have jobs as sports coaches, and own villas in the south of France. It's a career choice - they don't really need those wheelchairs, they could come off benefit and work if they put their minds to it. They're just parasites.

Present that story for long enough and it's only a matter of time before the knuckle-draggers decide that the disabled are to blame for their own problems and decide to take action.

As with many stories, there is a grain of truth; there certainly are individuals who work the system. But papers like the Mail sieze on them and present them as typical; a grain of truth magnified and distorted becomes a huge lie.

Campaigns like the sun's "blitz" on fiddlers make out that it is not only Joe Bloggs' RIGHT to question anyone's disability (it's not) but that it's their RESPONSIBILITY.

http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/disability-hate-crime

This article references a survey which found people believed that fraud accounted for up to 70% of disability claims, whereas the actual figure is 0.8%, pretty small really. Yes it still needs to be investigated and prevented, but the way it's reported blows the issue way out of proportion.

At the risk of invoking Godwin's Law it's classic misdirection in times of financial hardship to whip up the ignorant into a frenzy of hate against a vulnerable minority.

Hya Charlie,
Why are disabled people being abused?
Because Media 'encourages' it by negative reporting.
Although I am disabled myself....I have not been discriminated against at work, not even positively. On the contrary I believe they expected 'more' of me....... but since I had to retire, I do feel that the Media and Government spokespersons are making us out to be a ''burden on society,'' which when drip fed enough into the public psyche becomes a fact.....
Mx

The "Paralympics" is an expression of the worth of a fit, not unfit, body; we even have cripples striving to meet the proper physical standard despite thier lacking limbs...As a disabled person myself, I find it distasteful to see the disabled cater for the competitative arianism our society supposedly rejects...The paralympics is no longer a worthy, admirable underground movement; it is a highly commercial, highly profitable franchise selling the disabled under the banner of "Equality"...

Pecking the disabled is in our nature. It takes a conscious effort to fight it.
It is not very long time ago when mental patients were tortured in the name of therapy.
Nothing but a justification of our natural tendency to get rid of what our 'animal self' regards as unfit to live.

The same phenomenon can be seen in many species.
Survival of the fittest in the cruelest form. (Then again, Nature does not care much of our moral principles)

I have witnessed some strange behavior while going out with my relative who survived a bursting aneurysm but lost nearly half of her brain tissue in the business. Taxi drivers are beasts. Shop clerks are idiots. I am sure they are not conscious of what they are doing, it comes all too naturally.
There is a lot of work to be done, there!

While the world invests in physical health, our intellectual health is allowed to decline. The UK government is pouring funds into competative physical sports while cutting funds to schools, colleges and Universities. Back to the Oxbridge brigade , eh? "Chariots of Fire" and all that hooplah, eh what? Pip Pip!

Hya FM
Interesting thought, that it is in our nature..... I would have thought that as we are NOT animals then it isn't in our nature, that is unless we are the species nearer to the knuckle draggers that inhabit our land along side us. And as I said previously: It is only those who are inferior who have no empathy and 'will poke a stick' at those less fortunate.
I was once in the position of being ''one of the fittest'' and resposible for fighting the corner for unfortunate children and young people; but then life dealt me a low blow, as it will every single one of 'you'.
Nobody.... is laid in their box, whole and perfect of mind and body.......
Climb, exercise, run as fast as you can... you can't escape it... but while on the road, why not spare a thought for those who ''were us'' in previous years, or who've had to carry the cross the whole of their lives.... they are the heroes... not the high and mighty fittest who we are encouraged to worship!

I think Fatman has a point, it is programmed in to us to find healthiness attractive and signs of poor health off-putting. We *are* animals, but we also have a level of empathy that other animals don't have, which should override the instinct to drive out that which could be threatening to our and our pack's survival.

However if someone is in a culture that encourages them to be suspicious of sick or disabled people that's going to bring out those deeply buried tendencies. The solution: stop reading trash and mix with all sorts of people, if these a***holes could relate the person they're attacking to a real person they cared about it would never get this bad.

True....

Just finishing this book: Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Murder where the scary conclusion is that there is absolutely no difference between the Nazi executioner and you or me that could the predict our behavior once we are in the situation. The drama is that there is no drama; it is us, the everyday people who commit massacres.

Of course, picking on the handicapped is much less of a spectacle but still an indication of the evil that is lurking there just barely skin deep. Given the chance it will take over.

Our real nature is racism and discrimination. According to Subliminal: The Revolution of the New Unconscious and What it Teaches Us about Ourselves our brain groups things to make fewer variables to master. In the process you get these ugly overshoots. We must use our rational consciousness to control them. Our nature is in conflict with the civilization we are living in and its basic values. Barbarism against rationalism.

All these folk discussing "disability" via lenses shaped by society. Good luck. You'll need it...

How does anyone discuss anything if not shaped by society's lenses? Even if you were raised by squirrels in the wilderness you'd be shaped by the lens of squirrel society.

Tallis: Squirells do not produce theological, philosophical, sociological, psycho;logical, critical or scientific theories for you to consider...The Lens of a squirrell is focused on nuts, not intellectual freedom. (then again, my focus is quite often my nuts...)

I think you misunderstand me, I'm not saying that squirrels are better debaters, I'm saying that *everyone* is affected by societal influences, even you, but that isn't a reason not to have discussion.

Tallis: No, I am not "influenced" by "society"...There is an unresolvable conflict between the individual and society (Society being the majority, not necessarily the right).

Look at a two year old's face when you say "Share your sweets with so and so". Any way , who writes these books and who says they're right?

Isn't it rather naive to claim not to be influenced? Although I disagree with your definition of society as "the majority" so maybe we're talking at cross purposes. I would define society as much broader than just the people around you (whether majority or minority), arts, language, history, even geography and climate can play a part in the way you see the world and we're all subject to millions of societal influences from when we start becoming aware as babies.

Easy: Does not your ideology and culture demand that the child refuses to share, in favour of competition..."Defeat me, and you can have the reward. And even then, I may still oppose you..Plato and Hitler were quite correct when it comes to "gain"...

Possibly, but I tend to put it down to family betrayal; kid's been good all day, get's treat off her adorable dad and the next thing you know mam's telling her to share it with some Herbert/Herbertess who smells funny. I mean, howay like, wtf!

Charlie,

My niece who was born with virtually no hearing has recently being classed as non disabled,
As she copes very well with her disability and is well supported by her family an ATOS doctor said she doesn't need state support and therefore her disability living allowance has been curtailed.
She suffers tinnitus and dizziness on a daily basis and sometimes can't leave the house - Despite this she is doing brillantly on her Uni course.
This present government is determined to portray anyone who claims any type of benefit as a scrounger so the DM brigade focus on people such as my niece whose disability is not that apparent to low intelligence folk.
End result is that we are moving back to the dark ages in the way society treats the disabled.

Only those who are not disabled spout nonsense about equality and freedom...Make you money and we are your products. You love us as long as the profit flows.....cause a problem in the line of production or delivery and we are fired...

Your disability Spin is insanity.

Banal: Of course it is.....

Banal: PS: Glad to see you judge without knowing...I'm sure you will succeed in todays community...Good luck...