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Home > Opinion > Disability Bitch > Disability Bitch vs token gestures

Disability Bitch

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Disability Bitch vs token gestures

3rd December 2008

Well, readers, I don't know how you're feeling today, but I'm nursing a hangover. The celebrations for International Day of Persons with Disabilities are always a corker! My No-Legged Friend and I sat outside our local pub in the snow last night, sharing a pint to celebrate. Obviously we can't get inside because it's entirely inaccessible, but no matter. It's lovely that we have our own day. I do hope you are grateful too.
A £10 note
Everyone has lots to be thankful for this week though, my disablified brothers and sisters. See, not only did we get our own day to celebrate our collective unnormalness, but those of us in receipt of Disability Living Allowance will have witnessed a certain brown envelope dropping through our doors. Unusually, this missive from the Department for Work and Pensions does not demand intricate details of our medical history, does not mention in passing that our entire benefit income has been frozen while they carry out extensive investigations into the financial dealings of our second cousin once removed, and does not require us to fill in an entirely incomprehensible three hundred page form which seems to be asking for information we already gave them two weeks ago.

Not wishing to labour the point more than absolutely necessary, this particular communication notifies us that a £10 Christmas Bonus will be paid into our account in a matter of days! I realise that I should prostrate myself before Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling and thank him for my mercy, but I'm not going to do that. No. Because I HATE TOKEN GESTURES, and this one's no exception.

I mean, the famous Christmas Bonus has been £10 since 1972. If it was index linked, it would be worth so much that we could all buy small accessible cottages on the South Coast this year. But it's not. It's still worth £10. It will just about buy me a taxi to my No-Legged Friend's house for Christmas lunch, but he'd have to push me home in a wheelbarrow afterwards because I wouldn't be able to afford a taxi back.
Close-up of the corner of a £10 note
And yes, I do know that this time around our benevolent Chancellor is paying us an extra £60 bonus in the New Year too.

Frankly, I'm annoyed we're not getting the extra bonus until 2009, presumably to prevent meltdown of all online home delivery shopping services over the festive season, when disabled people all realise that they can afford mince pies this year after all. Or perhaps Alistair thinks that if we spend our sixty quid in the January sales, we'll get more for our money.

Such an unusual out of the blue payment, readers. Personally, I think relying on disabled people to kickstart the economy is proof of the desperate state it's in.

You know, it's not like me to complain, but pensioners have been getting winter fuel payments for ages. The value of that varies from £125 to £400, depending upon how old and how poor you are.

With that in mind, I'm a little confused about how come disabled folk are only entitled to an extra £60. Still, I might invest in a new walking stick. At least mobility aid manufacturers can rest assured that they'll make it through the recession now.

MillsWatch

Another week and still no sign of Heather. Is she even still disabled? If you've seen her lately, let me know. I'm worried about her.

Facebook

This week someone on Facebook invited me to give a speech. I had to decline, on the basis that my status as a fictional character is quite disabling when it comes to actually speaking. I was flattered, though. Someone else left a message in my inbox saying that my last article was 'moronic'. Interesting, because last time I looked, the word 'moronic' was highly insulting to learning disabled people, but don't let that stop you taking the moral high ground. Don't be put off becoming my friend, though. I'd love to hate you.

Wallpapers

If you'd like to shower me with insults but aren't on Facebook, you can download a Disability Bitch wallpaper to your computer or mobile phone, then swear at your screen all day. Why not!

Comments

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    • 1. At 7:04pm on 04 Dec 2008, Katie Fraser aka AbleGirl wrote:

      I dont get my Christmas bonus, all my benefits are put into my post office account! Hurrah!

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    • 2. At 09:46am on 05 Dec 2008, JoDeCass wrote:

      Hi Ablegirl, You will get your Christmas bonus because it will be paid into your account shortly as I have had mine and splashed out on a pair of gloves for me to wear indoors while we have this winter weather. I didn't know us Unables were to get a £60.00 bonus in 2009? Wow this means I acn have the heating on at Christmas day for a few minutes. Happy days are here again!!!

      Complain about this comment

    • 3. At 6:24pm on 05 Dec 2008, theMelster wrote:

      Government generosity is so overwhelming, isn't it? I get Income Support with disability premiums so I can earn as much from a part time job as I want ... as long as I don't expect to keep more than £20 a week of it.

      Complain about this comment

    • 4. At 11:28pm on 05 Jan 2009, ouchvideodemo wrote:

      This is just a test, DB, so please ignore me! :)

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