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opinion

Language of rights needs revisiting

We are all able to act against injustice, but the way we discuss not taking our own values and ideals
human rights needs re-examining if we are to truly advocate seriously enough nor advancing these
and build communities, says Simon Duffy ideas outside our special communities.

Hunger for community
The idea of community makes sense. We
fter several decades of progress Note the caveats. I am not proposing that are hungry for community and those with
towards inclusion and human we abandon our commitment to rights. I learning difficulties are showing us how to
Arights for disabled people, we are think we will need to supplement it with rebuild this, by drawing people together
now in the midst of a difficult period. other ideas – and other ideals. around meaningful actions and paying
The last 10 years in the UK have seen attention to the gifts and assets in every
regressive government policies and, Limitations local area.
unless something changes radically, we The language of rights has always suffered Restoring the place of the genuinely
can expect this to continue for at least from limitations. For instance, there local neighbourhood community will be
another 10 years. seems to be a tension between saying we essential and we need to reach out to
These injustices are not happening on all have the same rights while others who feel this need.
their own – they are combined with also pointing out that Action We need to get
general attacks on people in poverty and a some of us are behind the ideas of
failure to address the growing different, face Limitations Evidence love and family.
environmental crisis seriously. extra barriers, Rights When all is
We are not robots and, for good or ill, or need more Regressive Disability said and
we can do self-destructive things, support or Citizens Barriers done, it is
whatever the rational evidence. We are money, or Hearts Language primarily
also capable of waking up, changing our that society families
minds and getting active. We are all should be Justice Advocates Local who do the
citizens in waiting. changed Love work of
So now is a good time to take a fresh in some Community Pity community
look at the language and rhetoric we have other way. life. It is
used to defend and advance the interests Increasingly, Rhetoric Family families we go
of disabled people – especially those with some are saying that Minds home to; it is a
learning difficulties. we cannot afford to family we aspire to.
respect human rights, we do Families can
Dark side of pity not even have the right to demand get screwed up
We know that the old style of advocacy them and, if we were really equal, we – like anything else – but the kind of love
was the advocacy of pity and this does get would not need these special rights. As that families create and inspire can never
a reaction. However, pity is not only the saying goes: “You can’t have rights be replaced.
patronising but also easily exhausted and, without responsibilities.” The battles between family advocates
as the well of pity runs dry, humans often I suspect we are entering a period and disability advocates are far too
turn to darker thoughts. where we will need to find new ways of damaging to our cause. Understanding
It is only a short step between seeing defining what is important and what we what it takes to value families is a ticket to
someone as pitiful and seeing them as must protect. connecting with the hearts and minds
dangerous and in need of removal. We need to recognise that rhetoric is the of millions.
More recently, disability advocacy means of persuading others and we need We must claim our citizenship. People
has operated in a more egalitarian spirit to find rhetoric that is truthful, ethical with learning difficulties understand the
and has achieved a great deal. and persuasive. Most of all, we need to everyday value of equal citizenship better
Deinstitutionalisation, independent living persuade people who are not within our than most.
and disability rights are widely accepted core group to understand our position. In my experience, they are also among
as hallmarks of a civilised society. The good news is that we have already the first to recognise the value of the
Today, in the UK at least, the done much of the thinking; our failure is responsibilities that citizenship brings.
government has learned how to blunt We cannot build a better world by
the impact of these demands and, so waiting for “them” to do “it” for “us”. n
far, we have not been able to ignite “ Our failure is not
the interest of the wider public in the taking our values and Simon Duffy is director of the Centre for
multiple injustices experienced by Welfare Reform and secretary to the
disabled people. ideals seriously enough international cooperative the Citizen
I want to propose that this is partly nor taking them outside Network. He recently spoke on this topic
because the language of human rights, when he gave the Norah Fry Centre
while important and truthful, on its own our communities and Sue Porter Memorial Lecture at
is inadequate. ” Bristol University

10 Vol 33 No 3 | Spring 2020 Community Living www.cl-initiatives.co.uk