More and more the language around the coronavirus pandemic is being framed around the ethos of ‘survival of the fittest’.
“Most people recover and it’s only the chronically sick and disabled that are more likely to die” says the media dismissively. It’s a sentiment that I’ve heard constantly over the past few weeks, as though it’s an acceptable outcome; our lives aren’t as valuable as everyone else’s.
In a culture where prejudice against disabled people is rife, this dismissal of our rights to equal treatment due to the lack of available equipment, is compounding the belief that we are worthless and not viable members of society.
As Guardian columnist Frances Ryan writes:
“If the wider public is complacent about the virus harming disabled and older people, they’re less likely to be vigilant of their responsibility to help contain it, through simple measures such as regular handwashing. This goes for the medical profession, too. Early reports warned that the “weakest NHS patients” could be denied lifesaving support if ventilators need to be rationed in the event of a severe coronavirus outbreak.”
Meanwhile, a leading former nurse, Professor June Edwards has stated a coronavirus pandemic “Would be quite useful” in clearing “bed-blockers”, because (some) people “would be taken out of the system” (she later said her comments were “ironic”).
What next. We must all wear some form of marker to identify whether we’re viable members of society?
Hmmm, wonder where that idea came from?!
Description of cartoon for those people using screen reading software
A group of disabled people of mixed ethnicity and impairment have all been given large stars to wear on their front. A piece of paper at their feet reads ‘lack of equipment to treat Covid 19’. A white woman in a blue suit is handing out the stars and is saying: “It’s just to indicate that you’re special when it comes to deciding what treatment we provide for you!” Behind her back she is holding a piece of paper with a star on it and the words ‘identifies bed blockers’.
Crippen Cartoons 