Crippen Cartoons cartoons at the cutting edge of disability

Crippen's ATOS cartoon

Many disabled people who have been directly affected by the ATOS Work Capability Assessment have been trying to share their experiences by coming together on Face Book, on blogs and on web sites.

But several blog creators have already been threatened with legal action unless they closed down their blog. The most recent of these being the ATOS Victims Group blog.

And from personal experience I know how vulnerable the Face Book sites are to attack, as I’ve had several of mine hacked and then closed down. Other people are reporting comments being erased from their pages and in some cases mis-information being inserted which appear to come from the account holders. Protest groups like Disabled People Against the Cuts (DPAC) have been busy backing up their Face Book files in anticipation of being hacked and shut down in this way.

Some disabled led web sites are also under attack and a couple have resorted to hosting their web sites off-shore (through a proxy server) which makes them more difficult to hack. These sites include the Black Triangle Protest Group, a group dedicated to the memory of the life of Edinburgh based disabled poet and author, Paul Reekie, who, after being notified by the Department for Work and Pensions that his benefits had been cancelled as the result of a Work Capability Assessment, tragically took his own life.

The focus for these cyber attacks seemed to be centred around comments directed against ATOS, the company commissioned by the government to carry out work capability assessments against benefits claimants. You’ll recall a recent Crippen blog (‘Sledge Hammer Tactics’) in which I addressed some of the issues around the amount of money being thrown at this project by the government.

So, how do we go about collecting all of this hard evidence from people who have been wrongly assessed by ATOS? It seems a simple enough task, especially as there must now be hundreds of disabled people who have been abused of their rights in this way. Such evidence will prove that ATOS are not ‘fit for purpose’ and should be removed from the whole benefits process as soon as possible.

I do remember hearing on the grapevine that a couple of the bigger charities were addressing this issue. Does anyone have any information on this? And I know that Brighton based Green MP Caroline Lucas has been acting on behalf of several of her constituants who have been wrongly assessed by ATOS. Are there other MPs doing similiar work

I’m happy for this blog to become a sign posting facility if there are people out there collecting this evidence, and other disabled people needing to locate them with experiences of their own. Leave your comment in the appropriate section of this blog or, if it feels safer, send me an email to ‘daveluptoncartoons@live.co.uk’ and mark the subject heading ATOS experiences. I’ll be sure to pass the information along.

Update

Since writing this blog a new group has risen from the ashes. Click here to open the new ATOS survivors blog.

Precautionary

It strikes me as strange that this government haven’t safe-guarded themselves by keeping the police forces around the country happy. As more and more people take to the streets in protest against the ConDem’s slash and burn tactics, I would have thought that they are going to need the boys and girls in blue to maintain public order and keep party members safe. But with the various police forces up and down the country being faced with their own cuts, there’s now a strong possiblity that some police officers will be joining in the protests.

I suspect that this government would initially react by playing one force off against another – having the Met control a protest march by the Yorkshire Constabulary for example. Although apart from adding further to the North-South divide if they did do this, I think it would allow for the more anarchistic elements of protest to exploit this and capitalise on the divisions created. Not something that Mr C and his cronies would want I suspect

History has shown us that in this sort of situation governments start to manipulate information, creating an atmosphere of fear that allows for new ’emergency’ measurers to be implemented. New laws are rushed through that allow for people’s civil rights to be ignored or crushed under foot by those seeking to establish scapegoats for the situation that the country finds itself in … seem familiar?!

Let’s hope that there’s a whistle blower in government who is keeping watch for those signs of yet more political control appearing. Bulk orders for jack boots and black uniform material, the building of accessible internment camps to house those of us who are deemed too dangerous to be at large. It wouldn’t really suprise me as to what lengths the present government will go in order to recreate society in its own distorted image.

Keep a careful watch brothers and sisters. It’s not a big step for us to be branded tomorrow’s terrorists if this government has its way.

You can see more Crippen on the Disability Arts on Line blog by clicking here.

Crippen's riot police cartoon

I’m not so naive as to imagine that all police officers model themselves on Dixon of Dock Green (yes, I am old enough to remember him!) nor have I ever challenged the belief that there are a few bad apples in the constabulary barrel. But I must confess to having had my view of the local friendly bobby severely challenged of late.

I’ve spoken to a wide variety of people of all ages over the past several weeks who have taken part in the various protests organised against the cuts to services. These are ordinary, law abiding citizens who feel that the Coalition is doing too much damage to our society without them making some kind of protest.

Some of the people who have been on both local and national protest marches have spoken about the aggressive tactics employed by the police when ‘controlling’ these events; the officers seemingly viewing each protester as a potential trouble-maker, and treating them all accordingly.

One middle aged woman I spoke to had attended a local protest rally and had stood listening to speakers whilst holding a banner that read ‘no more cuts!’. When she decided to leave, her protest having been made, she approached the cordon of police who had surrounded the protesters and asked to be allowed through. A young woman officer, in full riot gear started to scream at her “get back you scum” and began pushing her back with her riot shield. The woman, who works as a support worker for a disabled person, told me that she had never encountered such violence from a person before, and that it had left her shocked and in tears.

Immediately after this encounter, she told me that the whole police line began surging forward and pushing into the crowd with their shields, starting a movement that resulted in all of the protesters being corralled into a nearby cul-de-sac. When people tried to leave they were forcibly pushed back.

When a small group of older protesters went forward to try and reason with the officers, they were confronted with batons being beaten against shields and officers shouting at them. The whole period of being ‘kettled’ in this way lasted for over two hours and resulted in our woman protester feeling that her right to peaceful protest had been torn to shreds by the people that she believed were there to protect her!

She told me: “If I hadn’t been there to witness it myself, I wouldn’t have believed how aggressive and abusive our police have become.”

This is not the only story relating to ordinary people who have tried to assert their right to peaceful protest and have been on the receiving end of what another protester described to me as these ‘storm trooper tactics’.

As another person commented to me: “It seems so hypocritical when our government is the first to point its finger at other regimes where the right to protest has been removed and violence inflicted upon ordinary people by soldiers and police.”

For further accounts from people who have attended some of the anti-cuts protests around the country, and who have experienced similiar treatment you can visit the ‘defend the right to protest’ web site by clicking here.

Crippen's ATOS hammer cartoon

I’ve had several messages from people who are challenging the views of disabled activists regarding the government’s drive against benefit fraud. They seem to have fallen completely into the trap set by Cameron and his cronies, that is, focussing only on the £58 million that they say is being fraudulently claimed without taking into account the other information that runs along with it (but there’s Daily Mail readers for you!).

What they don’t seem to take into account is the fact that the government is paying ATOS in excess of £800 million pounds (figures from Jobcentre Plus Medical Services Contract Management Team) to put every disabled claimant through a medical test and an inaccessible tick box questionnaire in order to ascertain their eligibility for benefits. The fact that ATOS do not accept any additional information from claiments GP’s for example, further exposes the invalidity of this process.

Maths isn’t my strong point but even I can see that already this exercise is putting the government £742 million in the red!

And to top it all the government is also paying ATOS an incentive bonus for every claimant that they can take off of benefits – of which, incidentally over 70% are reinstated on appeal with more claiments being reinstated on a second application process (figures from government.co.uk 12 April 2011) – which in itself questions the fairness and impartiality of the process.

In addition to this ATOS don’t have to pay back these bonus’ whenever their decision is successfully challenged,  which in itself is a real incentive for them to take as many people off of benefits as they can get away with!

Unfortunately no figures are available at the moment regarding the cost of these appeals, which all come out of  government funding and adds to the total amount that it is costing to track down the 0.5% of fraudulant claims.

Bearing in mind that the government already know how much is being fraudulently claimed (0.5% or £58 million) against the £16 BILLION that is not being claimed by people who are elligible for benefits (figures from Citizen’s dvice Bureau and Child Poverty Action Group 2010) the exercise exposes yet another example of how this corrupt government is undermining our benefits system.

To understand the history behind these issues you can read an excellent article by Bob Williams Findlay who points out that it was in fact the Tories, in an earlier manifestation who first encouraged people out of work to claim sickness benefit rather than increase the unemployment figures! Click here to go to the article.

Remember, don’t keep this information to yourself. Spread it around and encourage people to question just what this government is really up to regarding our benefits system.

Grave news

It seems that every day I get an email from someone telling me that the group or organisation that they belong to has had to close down due to funding cuts.

It started with several Disability Arts Forums having their funding cut to the bone and being forced to close down. This was followed by a variety of groups that were also run and controlled by Disabled people having to shut down as they felt the chill wind of change generated by the Coalition.

Earlier this week it was Mark Bagley of Choices and Rights telling me that their Disability Housing Service has had to close down. I know that this service has helped lots of disabled people sort out their housing problems and will be sorely missed. Although no longer able to help out with housing advise, Mark tells me that they’ll still be there, managing the Centre for Independent Living along with all of the other support services that are run from their office in Hull. You can find out more by clicking on this link  or by cutting and pasting this url – http://www.choicesandrights.org.uk/

The next day I got an email from Peter Little saying that SKILL: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities, has announced its closure. SKILL is the only pan disability charity that focuses on promoting equality for disabled people in education, training and employment.

SKILL has been a great champion of further and higher education for disabled students for some 40 years, providing guidance and support and keeping a close watch on national policy. It has played a hugely important role in improving access to post-16 education.

As well as the loss of a great service, 23 staff have also been made redundant!

The way things are going, we’ll be back where we started in the 1800’s with the only growth industry being the building of Poor Houses around the country and the issuing of begging licences to the deserving poor!

corporate funding

To read the blog accompanying this cartoon then go to Crippen’s blog on Disability Arts on Line

click here

Crippen's tank cartoon

I really think that we are beginning to get through to the CONDEMs that we are not going without one hell of a fight!

More and more disabled people are turning out for the various anti-cuts demonstrations that are taking place across the length and breadth of England and making their voices heard. And it looks as though the big rally planned by the TUC in London on 26th March will include members from all of the anti cuts groups run and controlled by us crips; in effect the largest turn out of disabled protesters that this country has ever seen.

Even those of us who can’t be there physically are being facilitated by groups like ‘Black Triangle’ (who originated this idea at the Inclusion Scotland Conference earlier this year)  and ‘Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC)’ who are both planning on carrying banners with absent disabled protesters names printed on them. There is also going to be a virtual protest blogs set up so that those who can’t participate physically can do so on-line.

Accessible transport is being arranged, a buddy support system is being organised and the TUC have announced the setting up of a large video screen for those who can get to Hyde Park but can’t access the actual march itself. I’ve also just heard that there’ll be a static protest point in Hyde Park for those of us unable to participate in the actual march.

And it also looks as though the mainstream press are starting to take notice of us too. The recent demonstration in Birmingham at which our own Bob Williams Findlay spoke was shown on television that night.  Also several excellent videos about the protests from the likes of John McCardle and Craig Lundie from Black Triangle, and Eleanor Lisney and Linda Burnip from DPAC are currently doing the rounds on UTube.

Protest groups that mainly consist of non-disabled people are also now beginning to realise that we have a vital part to play in the nation wide protest against this government’s punitive actions. Albeit with some heavy lobbying by disabled activists, they seem to be taking on board issues around accessibility and inclusion.

Call me optimistic but I think that after the 26th March demonstration, bully-boy Cameron and his cronies will be in no doubt that disabled people in this country are determined to put a stop to their slash and burn tactics. I can forsee the biggest U-turn in political history coming up with regard to benefits reforms and this will be down to those disabled people who protested and shouted ‘rights not charity’!

Some of you will be aware that my name recently appeared under a letter published in the letters section of the Guardian newspaper. The letter was from the organisation ‘Broken of Britain’ and was an open letter to the Minister for Disabled people Maria Miller.

My first reaction was to be extremely angry about the use of my name in this way, as I hadn’t given permission for this to happen. Since then however, following some dialogue with Broken of Britain it appears that a Face Book message was sent to me from them, which I then appear to have agreed to sign. Not having received such a message nor having signed anything, it appears that my phantom Face Book hacker has been making mischief again!

I do however stand by my original response to Broken of Britain in which I explained why I would not have signed anything in their name.  As a disabled activist who has built his work and reputation on the principles of the Social Model understanding of disability, this is at the very core of both my work and my personal experience as a Disabled person. The language used in the Broken of Britain campaign does not reflect my Social Model perspective and indeed runs contrary to this approach. In my view, the kind of language used in their campaign emanates from the medical/charitable model understanding of disability/impairment.

For those of you unfamiliar with the social model/barriers concept, here is a cartoon that I recently produced for the Disability History Month organisation.

Crippen's Social Model/barriers explanation

Please do not reproduce this cartoon as it is copyright to the Disability History Month organisation.

Crippen's Rights cartoon

Most people know how many of us feel about charitable organisations like Leonard Cheshire (LC). Apart from the institutionalised abuse experienced by many disabled people in their care, they continue to hijack our social model based language whilst still portraying disabled people as vulnerable and in need of their care.

So, what the hell are the United Kingdom Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC) doing, getting into bed with LC?

We’ve already seen how the big disability charities are being geared up to act as the sole representatives of disabled people in the UK (see my blog on 6th Jan ‘Wolves in more sheep’s clothing’), a move that will take disabled people back 30 or more years when the fight for ‘rights not charity’ first took a hold amongst the disabled people’s movement.

Desperate for funding like most of the other disability charities, LC is looking for credibility in its aims to attract the attention of future funders and government and be the sole focus for disability in the UK. By aligning themselves with a group like the UKDPC (a group that most of society wrongly believes is representative of disabled people in this country) they appear to be going a long way towards achieving this.

And it’s not as if UKDPC are unaware of the political aspirations of LC and the other disability charities. When it replaced the British Council of Disabled People (BCODP) a few years back, a few politically aware crips stayed involved with them and maintained their links with other factions of the disabled people’s movement. Information about the underhand tactics of the various charities and groups ‘for’ disabled people was shared amongst the groups ‘of’ and we all worked from the same song sheet.

Currently disabled people’s groups like the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network (DAN),  the Trades Union Disability Alliance (TUDA), Black Triangle and Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) are part of the massive groundswell of disabled people’s organisations who are protesting against this government’s slash and burn tactics. We are all united under the same banner ‘Rights not Charity’ … all except the UKDPC it seems?!

Anyone from the UKDPC like to comment and explain what’s going on?

Additional comments

Since publishing this blog, I’ve been sent a link to a blog article that takes the question a stage further. Click on -http://www.kingqueen.org.uk/blog/

Crippen's Beg Society cartoon

Quite often someone will say something to me, or I’ll pick up something from another person’s blog and an idea for a cartoon will emerge. The ghost of this particular cartoon has been sitting  amongst the other clutter in my head, just waiting for such a trigger to bring it forth!

So, if it was your original idea or part of something you said to me then thanks. Send me a message to remind me and I’ll be happy to stick a credit against the cartoon for you.

In the meantime, keep protesting brothers and sisters and don’t let the bastards get you down!

NB: No sooner had I posted this then I got a message from our mate Graham Findlay who told me that the term was first used by his friend Hilary Meuleman-Pfarrer. Thanks guys 🙂