Pinned Tweet
Did you know - currently there's no legislation to prevent people from writing hateful comments about disabled people? This is why Helen Whately et al get away with shitting on us like they do. This petition aims to redress that.
petition.parliament.uk/petit…
Slowly and surely the Right have made benefits claimants and disabled people out to be the bad guys. The media shit on us. Ppl eat that up and shit on us too. Now we're pariahs, not people who are going through hell and need a bit of help.
Why?
the reason PIP etc is so complicated is that disability is not a one-size-fits-all thing. Someone can have the exact same diagnosis as me, and could be living with vastly differing symptoms. As soon as people realise that, the better we'll all be.
domino ♿️ retweeted
What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage. When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention.
So we're going on tour. All proceeds will benefit organizations supporting the Palestinian people and movement.
Sign up at macklemore.com
Hey people! If you have a disability, or love a person with a disability, then please repost this. It's *so* important.
Helen, stop. Read this.
Right now, someone on PIP is reading your timeline. They've seen eleven posts in three weeks calling their support "morally wrong." "Unaffordable." "Unfair." A "lifestyle choice."
They didn't choose their condition. They didn't choose to need help. They filled in a 42-page form describing the worst moments of their life.
They attended an assessment where a stranger asked them to prove they can't function. They waited months for a decision. They were told yes, you qualify, you ARE that unwell.
And now the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary the person who wants to run the department that assessed them posts every single day that their existence on the system is "morally wrong."
How does that feel? To the person with depression who already believes they're a burden. To the person with anxiety who already believes they don't deserve help.
To the person who already thought about ending it and decided to ask for support instead.
Your words have weight, Helen. You're not a random account with 40 followers. You're the Shadow Secretary of State.
When YOU say PIP is "morally wrong," the person reading it doesn't hear "the system needs reform." They hear "YOU are the problem. YOU are the cost. YOU are what's wrong."
Eleven times. In three weeks. Every day another post telling vulnerable people they're a burden on the country.
If one person reading your timeline today decides they're too ashamed to claim what they're entitled to that's on you.
If one person decides the stigma is too much and stops asking for help that's on you.
If one person in crisis sees "morally wrong" and believes it about themselves that's on you.
Words from the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary aren't tweets. They're signals. To 4 million PIP claimants.
That the person who wants to control their support thinks their existence in the system is morally wrong.
Please stop. Reform the system if you want. Publish a policy if you have one. But stop telling vulnerable people, every single day, that needing help is a moral failing.
It isn't policy. It's cruelty with a blue tick.
if you have a disability or are living with depression and these posts are making things harder you are not the problem.
You are not a burden. You are not "morally wrong." You needed help. You asked for it. That took courage.
Samaritans: 116 123. Free. 24 hours. Every day.
And if you're reading this and you're angry tell Helen. Reply to her. Let her see the people behind the numbers she posts every day.
.@johnpringdns please can we look into the disgusting and egregious comments by Helen Whately, and why time and again she is allowed to spout lies about people claiming PIP etc? Thank you
I’ve been saying this til I’m blue in the face. Surely Whately has a duty to her constituents - she is a “public servant” after all.
@stephenctimms
@patmcfaddenmp
Who will stop @Helen_Whately spreading false information? Motability customers surrender £320 every four weeks of PIP to lease a car they never own. Calling them “free cars” is false, stigmatising and deeply damaging to disabled people. @Ofcom @Conservatives @stephenctimms
Another day, and another lie comes out of Ms Whately’s gob. She knows this is incorrect information, she has been told again and again yet still feels it necessary to lie about disabled people. Why???
I've been told about "opioid induced hyperalgesia" and "pain hypersensitivity syndrome". Why is research into chronic pain about what DOESN'T work, rather than what DOES? Even with spinal surgery looming, I'm desperate for help with pain, yet get put off or gaslighted constantly
IMO there's not nearly enough research/thought given to chronic pain. It's okay saying "opioids are bad" but what do we get instead? Mindfulness? How does that help scoliotic pain? If a doctor can explain that'd be nice.
domino ♿️ retweeted
Hi @AndyBurnham!
MPs were just banned from even speaking about giving UK citizens equal voting rights.
In your 1st week at Parliament, democracy was blocked & SILENCED in your name.
Is this what we should expect from your regime?
If so, resign!
#PMQs
youtu.be/Age3KFeFovY
domino ♿️ retweeted
First it was the EU.
Farage said Europe was the problem.
Then it was the ECHR.
They said human rights were the problem.
Then it was refugees.
They said refugees were the problem.
Then it was foreigners.
They said foreigners were the problem.
Then it was disabled people.
They said they were the problem.
And each time, Britain was promised that once they were dealt with, everything would be better.
But Britain didn’t get better.
Farage simply found someone else to blame.
So when Nigel Farage points at the next group, don’t just ask whether you’re one of them.
Ask:
WHO WILL HE BLAME NEXT?
Show rightwing newspapers that actions have consequences. Add your name now goodlawproject.org/s/c9c589
Again, I feel compelled to write to the Parliamentary Standards Commission regarding the egregious comments from Helen Whatley MP. She knows PIP is NOT an out of work benefit, yet continues to use her platform to spout lies. Please consider joining me: rb.gy/lgk1gj