NOT 'BLESSED'. BUT PRIVILEGED: WHY MORRISON'S ELECTION DEBATE COMMENT ANGERED SO MANY...
0Not 'blessed'. but privileged: Why Morrison's election debate comment angered so many this week
Posted 10h ago. updated 6h ago Autistic disability rights advocate Michelle Swan was frustrated when she heard Scott Morrison say he was 'blessed' that his children hadn't had to deal with a disability in Wednesday's leaders' debate. But her six kids — all of whom are neurodiverse — had an even stronger reaction. 'They were more angry than I was. They could see that by implication if he was blessed not to have children like them. then I must not be blessed to have had them.' Ms Swan says. 'I thought he was trying to appear to empathise with a parent. but what he did was essentially say 'I'm glad I'm not living your life'. I felt that deeply. There's nothing wrong with my life. I love my children … they are amazing and a consistent source of joy and pride for me. They are the kind of people I wish the world had more of.' Mr Morrison has received widespread criticism for his response to a question put forward by an undecided voter and mother of an autistic son on the future of the NDIS. The Prime Minister has since said he is 'deeply sorry'. and that he had intended to 'respect the challenges [families] face. not the opposite'. Space to play or pause. M to mute. left and right arrows to seek. up and down arrows for volume. 'I accept that it has caused offence to people.' he said a day after the debate. 'I think people would also appreciate that I would have had no such intention of suggesting anything other than [that] every child is a blessing. 'But I can appreciate particularly that some of the ways it was communicated. and the way it was sought to be represented by our political opponents in the middle of an election. that it could have been taken in different context and I'm deeply sorry about that.' For many people who live with disability. however. the use of this type of language is far from an isolated incident taken out of context; it goes to the very heart of a disability rights movement that has turned away from viewing people with disability as only inspirational or deserving of pity. 'Exclusionary language frames people with disability as a burden. a blight and a punishment from 'up high'. regarding us as either pitiful objects of welfare and charity. or as brave and inspirational.' Samantha Connor. president of People With Disability Australia. said in a statement on Thursday. 'Therein lies the issue: people with disability deserve dignity and respect. not misplaced pity.' 'That is privilege' Frustrated by what she had heard on Wednesday. Ms Swan took to Facebook to explain the profound impact of exclusionary language on people with disability and their families. 'When disabled children grow up only hearing disability spoken of negatively the result is that they internalise that information.' she wrote. 'They struggle to self advocate for their needs because they think they are an inconvenience. They don't develop a healthy sense of their own worth. It is a form of trauma that has long lasting consequences on their lives.' The mother of six told the ABC that Mr Morrison isn't 'blessed'. but instead privileged. 'Scott has access to resources. information. advisors. and communities that could help him to understand better and to do better.' she says. 'He is not disabled and doesn't have disabled children. He doesn't understand our lives or our needs. 'He doesn't have to tell the most vulnerable and intimate details of his life repeatedly to complete strangers and then rely on them to accurately convey their needs to another set of complete strangers. waiting months sometimes for an answer. in order to access the basic equipment and support he needs to be able to leave his home in the morning. That is privilege.' Viewing disability through different lenses Curtin University Professor Katie Ellis. who researches disability representation in the media. says Mr Morrison's comment is a clear example of the 'tragedy model' of disability. She explains that this means...
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