Catherine Delahunty

The Attitude Awards – A TABS Wake up Call

by Catherine Delahunty

Yesterday was World Disability Day, and last night the inaugural Attitude Awards ceremony was held at Sky City. The TVNZ programme “Attitude” that celebrates the achievements of people living with impairments created the “Attitude Awards” which were sponsored by a range of businesses and ACC. One in five people in Aotearoa live with an impairment, that is at least one person in everyone’s extended family. Last night, awards were given for contributions to disability action from community, arts, sports, and employer practice. The gold award was won by Suzanne Cowan for her fantastic work in dance and choreography on disability issues.

As the new Disability Spokesperson for the Greens I want to celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of one of the most marginalised and ‘invisibilised’ sectors of our community. The biggest barrier to justice for people with impairments is able-bodied attitudes and it is shameful that the programme called “Attitude” is shown early on Sunday morning when the people who most need to watch it are less likely to see it.

The New Zealand Disability Strategy has clearly identified the attitudes of able-bodied people as the biggest impediment to meeting the human rights of people living with impairments. The Awards event last night is a great start in naming the heroic efforts of many individuals and groups to break stereotypes and recognise the huge contribution that people with impairments are making to our community, youth, economic, artistic and sporting life. However it might be good to add another award category, that of “Most Constructive Troublemaker”.

The TABS (temporarily able bodied) is a group that I belong to at the moment. We think of ourselves as pretty good people, and no we don’t discriminate against anyone except maybe by accident. We don’t recognise our attitudes as a barrier to basic justice in the streets, the workplaces and our homes. The “Constructive Troublemaker Award” could be given to anyone who can specifically challenge us TABS on our ignorance and privileges at a systems level.

We are often in deep denial that we even have an attitude problem, some of our best friends have disabilities but we don’t realise we might be one of them.

Its not a simple matter helping us to change, as conventionally beautiful bodies and tidy minds are promoted as absolute ideals and bring many rewards.

However the Greens want to be part of the structural attitude shift. It is look in the mirror time for the TABs everywhere, from Parliament to the supermarket carpark. Let’s work on some worthwhile attitudes and real resources for implementing the NZ Disability Strategy and the articles of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

And congratulations to all the very first Attitude Awards winners!

Published in Economy, Work, & Welfare | Society & Culture by Catherine Delahunty on Thu, December 4th, 2008   

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