A lazy day of links

Not so much lazy, but busy; I've got a Things to do list so long it would take half the day to copy it here. Meanwhile

Disability Blog Carnival #5 is up at Planet of the Blind. I haven't had a chance to read much, but it all looks super.

Agent Fang's Twelve Days of Cripmas is worth a visit to the Ouch Messageboard.

And on the subject of Cripmas, I was going to write a great long essay, In defence of Tiny Tim. I abandoned this idea, but did accumulate some relevant links;

Empowering Tiny Tim - Pathetic cripple? Ha! Crafty little con artist is more like it - by Douglas Lathrop.

A crippled Christmas Carol - by the wonderful Kate Ansell.

or to be more serious

Uncle Tom and Tiny Tim: Some reflections on the cripple as Negro by Leonard Kriegal (1964 - the age shows in the language, but not the sentiment)

Or for something completely different, check out this news story - those poor people thought they were getting a drug which would help them give up smoking, but the drug only made it harder...

Christmas Music

For the more refined listener, one can download Away in a Manger performed by the Pavao Quartet for the cost of £1, all proceeds from which go towards Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

For the less refined listener, one can listen to and watch the video for the Xmas Baarmy Sheep performing Jingle Bells on the Cumbria Tourism Website, for free.

I reckon that's all tastes catered for...

The Goldfish Guide to Avoiding Homelessness

A few too many worthy posts in a row perhaps, but still. I have never been homeless, but having spent a considerable amount of time negotiating the safety net, I am all too aware of how wide the holes are and how very easy it could be for a person to fall through, especially someone with mental health or cognitive impairments. You don’t have to make very many mistakes to find yourself in serious trouble.

Somehow, I cannot imagine that many people reading this will find this information helpful for themselves. However, none of us know when we might have a friend in need. Homeless people are not some underclass who came from somewhere else entirely; they come from amongst us, they are people just like us who have fallen on hard times, made bad decisions or simply found themselves unable, for whatever reason, to ask for the help they need. I know at least one reader who has been down and out in London and Paris, or uh, possibly somewhere less romantic.

One of the most important things we can do for our friends and family members, in this context and many others, is to simply let them know that we are there if they need us. We may assume they know, but sometimes people need telling, especially at Christmas. (please use the paper bags provided)

Most of this advice is stuff I happen to know or to have learnt from my experience. If anyone has anything to add, please add it. Inevitably, this is about the systems we have in the UK, with a bias towards disability issues.


Responding to a crisis.

I guess people most become homeless because there is a sudden chance which they have been unprepared for. So that’s the first step in avoiding homeless; be prepared! If you think you are going to have to leave your current home, for whatever reason, then start acting now.

It is possible to apply for Council Housing as a homeless person up to twenty-eight days before youw ill be without a home. Remember, being without a home is just that – doesn’t matter if you are not yet living on the streets. If you apply for Council Housing as homeless, then they will provide for you in some way, shape or form, even if this means putting you up in a guest house or B&B for a short time.

There are other circumstances where a disabled person is put on the priority list for housing, such as someone whose current residence is physically inaccessible. Also young people whose health conditions make it very difficult for them to live in their current situation; for example, a person who needs rest and peace struggling to live in a chaotic family home. Naturally, having a home, even an inadequate one, makes you less of a priority than someone without a home.

Council housing can be very good for disabled people on low incomes, although luck has a lot to do with it. Some people are fortunate enough to be able to move into a place and have it adapted more or less to their particular needs. Not always.

There is also a Tenancy Support scheme for council tenants, where someone can come, have a chat and help out with basic things like finding furniture, managing bills and rent. Basically to help people to cope living in their home and to avoid those situations where they might become homeless. To find out about this I suggest that you Google "tenancy support" along with the name of your local authority (usually the borough or city council).


Advice about the Rent

Your rent is the most important expense after food. I know this sounds obvious, but I have seen folks in crisis who regard the landlord as their friend but are entirely intimidated by the threatening letter from utility companies. In other situations, folks regard the landlord as an impersonal figure so wealthy that they’d hardly notice a non-paying tenant. No such luck.

In a situation of such crisis that you have to make the choice, utility companies can wait; they may cut you off, they may eventually take you to the small claims court, but there will still be a roof over your head. Chances are that your landlord is relying more heavily on your rent for paying their own bills than any other company you owe money to. Your failure to pay is going to stir up all sorts of shit for them. Should you be evicted, you may not only find yourself homeless, but you will not walk away with shining references for your next landlord.

If you are ever in any difficulty paying any bill, it is essential to remain in communication with the individual or company you owe money to. People - including big companies - can be really very sympathetic and can help you find ways of managing payments, or postponing payments while a particular crisis is overcome.

If you have a condition which makes money and written information difficult to understand or cope with, then this is care need, as real as any physical need a person might have. You should speak to the Citizen's Advice Bureau or the National Centre for Independent Living.


Renting from a Private Landlord

Obviously, council housing restrict the locations that you can live. If you are hard-up, it is also possible to rent from a private landlord and receive Housing Benefit, which will cover all or most of the cost of your rent.

The most important thing to remember when dealing with a private landlord is that the landlord is a human being. If you work on this basis, you are more likely to get on finding a place to live as well as renting a property.

Both flats we have rented stated No DSS in their advertisements; i.e. they did not want people like us, who are dependant on state benefits. This is because the Housing Benefits system is so inefficient that benefit claimants are likely to struggle to pay the rent, regardless of good intentions and money management. The first one also stated they wanted a mature couple and I was still in my teens. This is because younger tenants are more likely to make a noise and trash the place than older people.

However, all the landlord really wants or needs is reassurance. This reassurance can usually be achieved through a combination of charm and hard currency. If you can produce references, the deposit and a month’s rent in advance, you can live pretty much wherever you like.

Always treat your landlord with respect; even if they are a very rich wheelchair-user called Potter. At the same time, you have a business arrangement and you are paying them even if the government foots the bill, so don't stick for unsatisfactory treatment. However, you find conditions intolerable, always best find somewhere else to live rather than allow relations to break down to a point where you need to leave in a hurry. Which reminds me, must send mine a Christmas Card.


Housing Benefit

The Housing Benefit system is the most inefficient and confusing wings of the UK Benefits system. Yes, it is worse than Disability Living Allowance. The first problem is that putting in a fresh claim can mean a wait of months before you get any help, or even know what their decision is. Naturally, you cannot ask a landlord to wait for months without rent while you are living in their property. And this is why landlords do not want to deal with people on benefits - pragmatism, not class prejudice. This must also be a major contributing factor to homelessness.

My advice is:

1. Be prepared for a wait in claiming benefits. That is, beg, borrow or steal the money you need to pay the rent up until the claim comes through. It might not be very long at all; local authorities vary in efficiency as well as the workloads they are dealing with.

2. Apply for Income Support if you are not already on it or if you don't already know that you are not elligible. This can mean automatic entitlement to Housing Benefit and speeds the whole process up.

3. Be prepared by getting all the paperwork you might need together and ready for handing in to them. In some cases, they want everything; one severely unwell friend was rejected her Housing Benefit because she could not prove her possession of a single premium bond (worth £1).

4. If in any doubt about the forms, consult a knowledgeable friend, the Citizen’s Advice Bureau or similar agency for help filling out the forms. They provide an invaluable service.

5. Housing Benefit might vary between local authorities, because it is calculated relative to local rental prices. Many councils have on-line benefits calculators to see if and how much you might be entitled to. Here are some examples from Manchester and Glasgow. Google "housing benefit" and your local authority (again, usually city or borough council) for more information

6. As soon as you know that you are moving and where, put in a claim. You can start your claim up to 13 weeks before the date that you move. This gives you a head start on any delay there is in the decision-making process.

7. If you are bad at handling money, opt to have the rent paid directly to your landlord. This way the money needn't touch your own bank account.

8. If you are not awarded full rent and are struggling to make up the difference, apply for Discretionary Housing Benefit. In this you have to specify various details of your incomings, outgoings and debts. They ask for a great deal of evidence for this, receipts and so on and even demand to know how much you spend on shoes in any given week. The process can be quite intimidating.

But when we were in this position (long story; irony in the system) we simply sent the form back more or less blank with an accompanying letter to explaining our precise situation of crisis and were awarded the benefit accordingly.

At the end of the day, the Housing Executive want to avoid making people homeless or forcing people into serious hardship. It is the system, not the individuals working for them which are at fault (although you get good and bad everywhere).




It can be hard work having not much money. I also advise all people in work to stay in work and to try to stay healthy. And to try to avoid debt. Which is perhaps another post, but I won't bore you with that just now.

I have a feeling all of this is very obvious, so if anyone has anything to add please do so.

Women like me

Women like me, who grew up in the same town and at the same time as me, appear to being picked off by a killer, their bodies dumped in some of the beautiful places that I used to roam. My mother counts her blessings; through that special combination of luck and judgement, her daughters stayed out of trouble, stayed off the heroin, stayed off the streets. But we are still women. Women who sell sex on the street are merely the most vulnerable, the easiest to remove and the women whose situation in life makes violent death seem somehow less shocking, less worrying for the rest of us than if it was nice young women being killed; women like me.

I imagine that’s the only difference in the mind of the person responsible. There ought not to be any difference in ours.

Oh, take me to the slaughterhouse; I will wait there with the lambs

Long and boring warning: this one I have been wrestling with for some time, so I thought I would have it out with myself here and see if it helps to write it down (it sometimes does, I fine).

Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas
Cos' turkeys just wanna hav fun
Turkeys are cool, turkeys are wicked
An every turkey has a Mum.
Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas,
Don't eat it, keep it alive,
It could be yu mate, an not on your plate
Say, Yo! Turkey I'm on your side.

- Benjamin Zephaniah, first verse of Talking Turkeys!

I should start by pointing out that I honestly don’t make any judgements about the choices other people make about eating meat or not. I never have, perhaps because I am myself so ambivalent about it. However, for my own threadbare conscience, this has long been an area of conflict.

For many years I ate no mammals or birds, consumed no food or drink that contained animal derivatives and refrained from wearing or using leather, suede or sheepskin. I did eat fish though and was quite happy to drink all the alcoholic substances denied to true vegetarians on account of the isinglass. Then I changed my mind.

I felt my abstinence from meat was decadent. It made me a greater inconvenience than I already tended to be. It caused a fuss and used extra resources when someone was cooking for me as part of a group. Then there were all the little ethical objections to what food I might be offered. I knew, for example, that it is far better for the planet to eat beef bought from my local butcher than to eat tofu which has had to be flown half way round the world, having had great swathes of rainforest cleared to produce the soybean. I have a habit of picking up that sort of information and worrying about it.

Added to this was my being pale and sickly. This was a time when I was getting progressively paler and more sickly and I was forever being told that I needed to eat meat, had a responsibility to eat meat if I wanted to get better. Then I was asked to take medication where there was no alternative to gelatine capsules – I had to break the rules or suffer the physical consequences for a tiny amount of gelatine.

But a philosophy module about humans and other animals was the real killer. I realised that even people who had thought very hard about this didn’t have any better or clearer arguments than I did. Suitably flummuxed, I resumed the default position.

Naturally, having felt guilty about my not eating meat, I have felt guilty about eating meat ever since.

Of course, we are part of an ecosystem whereby our interests as individuals and as a species are necessarily in some conflict with some of the interests of other organisms. We are forced to consume other organisms, whatever happens – organic matter is all we can eat – and we are also forced to compete with other organisms for our food and our own flesh.

In some cases, it would be in our best interests to annihilate other organisms altogether: it might have been a cave-man’s dream that he should stick a spear in the last sabre-tooth tiger, although these days we’re only intent on killing off our tiniest enemies like viruses and bacteria.

Is there a difference between a sabre tooth tiger and a virus? Well, yes; the sabre-tooth tiger was capable of experiencing fear and pain, a virus is not. A fundamental of most moral codes is that fear and pain are bad things which we ought to avoid causing and prevent wherever possible.

Its death, or at least its subsequent absence also has moral consequences although being the very last one, no offspring would suffer and the effects on the ecosystem would already be inevitable.

I don't see that there is any difference in principle whether fear and pain is experienced by a human being or another animal. But... Peter Singer and others argue that the reason that human interests are generally more important than those of non-human animals rests entirely on our increased capacity to suffer. It is assumed that our capacity for fear and distress is far greater because of our imagination and reason, our capacity to anticipate pain, the strength of our relationships with one another and so on. Singer also famously argues that by this score, the other great apes have just as much or more moral claim than some humans, such as those with severe intellectual impairments.

However, this assessement depends on some sort of measure of fear and pain which could be applied to all organisms. To even imagine that such a thing is possible is simply anthropomorphism (Ping! You were waiting for that word to feature, weren't you?). We can observe behaviour and physiological phenomena which suggest there is fear and there is pain in other organisms, but we don’t have the faintest idea of what that is like.

Many plants have physical or chemical reflexes to injury or even touch. They do not have brains, so we do not entertain the idea that they feel a thing. The humble goldfish exhibits physical and chemical reflexes to injury or any startling event. The goldfish has a brain about one fourteen-thousandth of the size of the human brain and no neocortex. As a result, the scientific community cannot agree whether or not its reaction to stimuli involves can possibly be described as pain. The only reference we have to the experience of fear and pain is our own experience, our uniquely human experience and there is no way that a brain weighing less than a tenth of a gram is going to have an experience comparable to that of a massively larger brain with a completely different architecture.

Which is not to say that a tiny wee brain cannot have a negative experience. Only, any organism, from amoeba up, can have a negative experience. Oh yes, Goldfish, but this is a red herring; you ate fish, you were presumably never unhappy about gobbling a goldfish – or indeed, a red herring? What about fluffy things with big eyes?

All non-human animals have dramatically different brain architecture from our own and from one another’s. Primate and human brains, impaired or not, are quite different, let alone the brains of the sort of animals we might eat. To compare the experience of animals from two different species is a bit like comparing a digital alarm clock and a satellite navigation system – both have certain, very basic components and mechanisms in common, but they are functionally very different.

Hmm no, I don’t like this argument either. We can’t help making comparisons; we know what distress looks like and we have all seen it in non-human animals, particularly other mammals. We just have no means of establishing degrees. And indeed, the selectivity with which we can transfer our experiences onto non-human animals indicates what appalling judges of these things we must be.

This is why our species bond, our need to put people first, is a rational evaluation as well as a defining instinct. Humans are the only animals whose experiences we even begin to understand. Humans are the only ones playing by these rules; the rules of reason and arguments and concern for the welfare of others. We are a squillion times more capable of helping one another, of minimising suffering and maximising happiness within our own species. This very post would be far more usefully and effectively used to talk about human affairs, and any energy I spend worrying about animals would be better spent on concern for my fellow man.

However, fear and pain are bad things which we ought to avoid causing and prevent wherever possible. I am fairly convinced that it is possible to decapitate a chicken without the animal having much idea of what is happening and without there being significant negative consequences to its death; unless it is caring for eggs or chicks at the time.

Yet we know that chickens are not individually taken in the farmer's arms and quickly decapitated after a pleasant life pecking in the dust. Some of the chickens we eat (and whose eggs we eat) have lived and died in conditions which even the most unsympathetic assessment would consider a deeply negative experience.

Hmm, I have run out of steam on this one and I notice that you have lost consciousness. I'm still wrestling.



My vegetarian icon was George Bernard Shaw, who is hero of mine for many different reasons. But he was a veggie ("Animals are my friends ...and I don't eat my friends.") and all along doctors advised him that he was putting his health and indeed his very life in danger. Shaw lived to 94 and finally died... falling off a ladder.

The best philosopher on the subject is Mary Midgely, who at 87 is still rolling up her sleeves to take on Richard Dawkins, another philosophical hero of mine. How I would love to invite those two round for dinner (or possibly, a food fight). Shame I don't agree with either of them.

Better

Feeling somewhat more cheerful today after a rather gruesome spell. Not quite sure what set that off, but thanks for your support.

Meanwhile I think I may have finished my Christmas shopping, unless there's something I have forgotten. I found these funky chocolate goldfish, but couldn't think of anyone to buy them for apart from myself. So I did. You get four in the box, by the way and they're not such a scary shade of orange. Don't know what they taste like because I have been very well behaved and wrapped them up straight away.

Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground

The demons have been out in force this last week or so, nibbling at my toes all day and climbing on my pillow at night to whisper in my ear. Such nonsense, really, but I can’t get away when I am asleep and in the morning it is difficult to dismiss everything that’s been said.

Part of what has brought them out of the woodwork is that the end of the year is hurtling towards us out of the blue – it feels like it was only September five minutes ago. And that’ll be another birthday and another year gone in which I haven’t managed to finish my book. Which I find depressing – would easily find deeply depressing if I thought about it for too long. It is so important to me, far more important than any thing ought to be in a person’s life.

The demons are eager to point out my many other failings; things I meant to do, things I said I would do and didn’t get done or got done a whole lot later than I said I would. Meanwhile I am seriously behind on both electronic and paper correspondences. They tell me I am constantly fucking up and I am.

Looking after [...] has only compounded this feeling. It is hard enough work doing the necessary things, but I drop things, I spill things, I break things, I lose or forget about things. All this doubles the amount of time and energy it takes to do things like cooking a meal. And it is impossible not to curse myself because I might have applied a smidgen more attention at that particular moment in time and saved myself a load of work.

See, it is obvious why they are here. They are here because of approaching landmarks and feeling generally disorientated about the time of year. They are here because I am very tired, not sleeping well and having to push harder than I ought to. They are here because of a mild case of the unbloggibles. They are hear because of a few misunderstandings that have shaken me up a bit. And they are here because I have been spending money, which always makes me feel guilty.

Oh, I'll feel completely different in a few days.