“Oh, here he goes again!” is the usual response, usually from non-disabled people whenever I bring up the subject of how the Tory government have been targeting disabled people and often using us as a scapegoat for their own incompetence.
Whenever I create a cartoon or blog about these issues, like for example that after more than a decade of austerity, the Tory’s continue to reduce its health and social care spending in real terms, leading to tens of thousands of excess deaths, many of them being disabled people, they sigh and give me a condescending pat on the head. Some even go to the lengths of pointing out the error of my ways and muttering about if only disabled people would try a bit harder and not be such a drain on the country’s resources. Or as one person put it, after reading my blog about disability hate crime, “we often only have ourselves to blame!”
So, when I mentioned that the Tories once again seem to be on a drive to rehabilitate their image for the upcoming general election by being seen to be tough on benefit scroungers along with its continued hostile rhetoric towards disabled people resulting in an increase in disability hate crime, this is no doubt seen as yet another example of my paranoia?!
If so, what about their refusal to give evidence on its progress since being found guilty of “grave and systematic violations” of the UN’s disability convention seven years ago. Is that not yet another example of showing contempt for disabled people?
And let’s not forget the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), the system that is used to assess a person’s eligibility for sickness benefits, which has long been criticised as demeaning, arbitrary and not fit for purpose. Or, as a recent report by the campaign group We Are Spartacus described it as being essentially abusive, demeaning and cruel!
How does it go? “Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean that they’re not out to get me”.
Crippen Cartoons 