Tuesday, March 31, 2009

I'd rather go to jail than die in a nursing home

Yesterday (30th March) there was a protest in Birmingham. This is just one example of where issues go beyond autism and neurodiversity, and why pan disability solidarity is a good thing.

I am sure many of my detractors will hate this, but here is reality. Incidentally I am the guy in the dark glasses you can see sitting in the doorway in the second video.



6 comments:

Clay said...

Not to argue or anything, but I do think that jails over here are far worse than jails over there.

I do agree with the sentiment, but my "better alternatives" would be to kiss a train, or jump out of a high-rise building.

Being the victim of *anyone's* abuse, is just not the way I want to go!

Casdok said...

I hope the protest did its job and your voices heard.

stevethehydra said...

We got one result in the form of a meeting with Peter Hay, BCC's director of health and social care, on Friday - tho what will come of that meeting, i don't know...

My report with photos here: http://biodiverseresistance.blogspot.com/2009/04/reason-i-havent-been-blogging-much.html

Larry Arnold PhD FRSA said...

I have just posted a video of a similar protest in Coventry 2001 I had forgotten I had footage of this.

The hard work comes on Friday, good luck, I hope we don't have to get arrested next time.

Larry Arnold PhD FRSA said...

Clay I do not doubt that prisons are unpleasant in the USA, which is why I would prefer that Gary McKinnon does not have to endure one. Unlike Conrad Black who has the money and the status to ensure privileges wherever he ends up.

If you have even spent a few hours in a prison cell I can tell you first hand it is not the place you really want to be, but neither are some of what passes for "nursing homes" the fear being in this current recession that it is going to get even worse.

My mum knew that without me, the only alternative for her would have been a nursing home, and she was equally convinced that she would not have lived long in that kind of environment because to her, her activism was everything, her reason to survive, what gave meaning to her life.

Clay said...

Yeah, I've worked in nursing homes for brief periods, a week in training for Health Aide, another week in training for Nurse's Aide.

Any nursing home is a "warehouse" and the resident's movements are just as restricted as if they were inmates in a jail. And the only thing they've done "wrong" was to get old! I just couldn't be part of that, so I didn't follow up on getting hired as a Nurse's Aide, though it would have given me a 50% increase in income! And I decided this after I'd paid $400 for the course, and graduated 3rd in a class of 30! Oy.

I also decided I would never go into one of those dull, dreary places again. I'd really rather kiss a train! It's good you were there for your mom.