A response to PHDisabled

C Ok first up What I said this morning was wrong and deeply offensive, I should have held back and just remained silent on the matter (thus disproving JS Mill’s point about freedom of speech which I am always happy to do). SECONDLY I regard the current governments attack on welfare and HE as a war on public morality. The ‘reforms’ to benefit amount to an dissolution of welfare rights in favour of bogus consumer rights. My point (which was not that clear) was that being an academic and disabled should not be fused together. What makes academia so special is that all that counts is words on a piece of paper (or screen). It is one of the few spaces in society where the content# of one’s mind trumps any difficulties an individual has. It is still not perfect, the place of mental health is fundamentally neglected within HE, but we are slowly getting there. My disagreement is over how to proceed. Society constantly pigeonholes disabled people “haven’t they done well getting a 2:1 in spite of all their problems”.. No one ought to accept this sentence as it ultimately suggests some quasi-feudal paternalistic view if disability. Thus by denoting that in an academic environment or any public space, MY disability is MY personal prerogative and not letting the two mix. That is why I have issues with the view (which I of course respect) taken by those who wish to identify as disabled academics.