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Jody McIntyre Continues To Thrill Me
Dec. 15th, 2010 01:13 pmJody McIntyre's got a blog post up at the Independent: Who's Apathetic Now?
I really admire Jody a lot - I think I mentioned before that I admire that he kept bringing the issues back to what he thought was important - less that he as a wheelchair user had been attacked by police, and more on how many other people were and how it wasn't even remarked upon. (Being that I get most of my UK news via blog posts, twitter, and outraged emails from friends, I had no idea that Alfie Meadows' near death experience that included the police demanding that the almost-dead bleeding in the brain kid be sent to another hospital, even though he might have died, was not reported in the mainstream media.)
Anyway, what I really like about McIntyre here is that he's seizing the opportunities given to him and using them effectively. He knows people want to hear his views right now so he's expressing them clearly and effectively in as many different venues as possible.
I don't think I could do the same. I've been contacted by reporters more often than you might think after standing up about disability rights and often try to firmly but politely refuse their interview requests because I'm going to come across as a screaming harpy who wants to kill everyone. (Note: I don't want to kill everyone. Just some people.) I get all red faced and blotchy when I'm angry as well, and thoughtfulness kinda slips out the back door while I'm busy gesturing wildly and talking about "rioting while crippled" and use terms like "work disincentive" without really explaining what they mean.
Anyway. Jody McIntyre is doing an awesome job of combating some of the stereotypes disabled people in the UK run up against all the time. He is both visibly physically disabled and an active activist. I think the reason he's getting so much attention is that this blows people's minds, even though so many disabled people/people with disabilities I know are like him in temperament and fierce determination to be heard.
I really admire Jody a lot - I think I mentioned before that I admire that he kept bringing the issues back to what he thought was important - less that he as a wheelchair user had been attacked by police, and more on how many other people were and how it wasn't even remarked upon. (Being that I get most of my UK news via blog posts, twitter, and outraged emails from friends, I had no idea that Alfie Meadows' near death experience that included the police demanding that the almost-dead bleeding in the brain kid be sent to another hospital, even though he might have died, was not reported in the mainstream media.)
Anyway, what I really like about McIntyre here is that he's seizing the opportunities given to him and using them effectively. He knows people want to hear his views right now so he's expressing them clearly and effectively in as many different venues as possible.
I don't think I could do the same. I've been contacted by reporters more often than you might think after standing up about disability rights and often try to firmly but politely refuse their interview requests because I'm going to come across as a screaming harpy who wants to kill everyone. (Note: I don't want to kill everyone. Just some people.) I get all red faced and blotchy when I'm angry as well, and thoughtfulness kinda slips out the back door while I'm busy gesturing wildly and talking about "rioting while crippled" and use terms like "work disincentive" without really explaining what they mean.
Anyway. Jody McIntyre is doing an awesome job of combating some of the stereotypes disabled people in the UK run up against all the time. He is both visibly physically disabled and an active activist. I think the reason he's getting so much attention is that this blows people's minds, even though so many disabled people/people with disabilities I know are like him in temperament and fierce determination to be heard.
