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Wednesday, 27 July 2016

Commentary on the attack in Japan: disability perspective

How do people with disability feel about the very recent attack on people with disability in Japan, and the way it has been reported?  As distressing as it is to confront, people with Down syndrome are not exempt from such actions, we cannot assume they will not know about it, and need to process unwelcome information and the feelings it engenders. There will be more commentary (perhaps not much in the mainstream press) - here is Dave Hingsburger's immediate response:

Japan, Hate and 12 Days
Dave Hingsburger, Of Battered Aspect, 26 July 2016
... His statement to the police upon turning himself in that 'it's better that disabled people disappear' isn't a deranged rant by someone out of control, it's a calm statement of fact that echoes the sentiment of many in society. People with disabilities know this sentiment, we hear it, we experience it and we have come to fear what it will do. Our lives are devalued, are needs seen as special and therefore burdensome, our rights are declared to be gifts rather than guarantees ...
And from disability journalist and blogger, David Perry (who is also the father of a young son with Down syndrome):

Violence, Disability, and the Lessons of Sagamihara
David Perry, Pacific Standard, 27 July 2016
The ableist attack on a residential center for people with disabilities highlights the violence that disabled people face around the world — and how far we have to go ...

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