Rustic disablism

Stuart

For a start we need a Stanna Stile Lift. After a wheelchair has negotiated a stile gate does it mean the countryside has to be paved to allow easy access to it? Will we have to smooth out hills and provide safety barriers of tires in case of brakes failing. Of course we must make provision for diabled people in public buildings and transport. Some things are just absurd. But wait! In a politically correct World shouldn't we also be providing more ablution facilities for religious minorities who wish to ramble. What about first aid kist every half mile in case anglers get their fingers caught in a hook.

Roger Welsh

completely agree. When will the madness end? Boiling point is being reached by the thinking public and it will spill over sometime.

David Raynes

Quite right. This nonsense has gone too far. I was dismayed to see earlier this year, that the National Trust has had a JCB working around "The Tarns" in the Lake District to create "a path suitable for wheelchairs" (as an NT employee told me when I complained). The scars will take generations to heal.

yonaton

LOL

Fargo

Shame on you Melanie. Perhaps if you were a disabled person you wouldn't think it quite so amusing.

sensible sam

Where has all the common sense gone in the world? Have we educated or bred it out of society? You're disabled right. sad and I feel for you all. But. Are you saying that every tourist attraction must make themselves accessible to you? In the world? Come on people lets get real. Common sense should apply. If a land owner wants to make a disabled friendly gate or entrance to their fields it is their decision. if not so be it. NOt legislated.

Allan Robinson

http://www.allterrainwheelchairs.co.uk/ http://www.allterrainwheelchairs.co.uk/ Try checking out these websites you may be suprised what we disabled wheelchair users get up to in our spare time. It is you who should hang your head Melanie for thinking disability rights is a laughing matter.

Allan

Just to say that I am a wheelchair user and use 2 kissing gates everyday when I take my dogs for a walk - it is not the gates themselves that are a problem it is how much space there is surrounding them.

Allan

oops made a mistake one of the websites should have been http://www.calvert-trust.org.uk/ sorry

Dr J Rowe

I use a wheelchair and enjoy getting out in the countryside. I do not see any problem in replacing styles etc. with a visually pleasing alternative. In America disabled access is assumed and any state park etc. would have accessible trails. Access even extends to ski slopes and I regularly go monoskiing at Winter Park knowing that even on Black slopes the chair lift will be accessible. I am readily prepared to accept that I may not be able to fully see some buildings. John Soanes house springs to mind. Providing full w/c access would disfigure it and I am happier knowing it is there in its proper state. On the other hand work at the Wallace Collection has improved access without any visual / aesthetic cost. Can I add that if improving access to the countryside annoys some of the previous posters then my enjoyment is greatly enhanced. PS - what about a wheelchair using ex SAS man crippled in Iraq who wants to re-visit the Brecon Becons? Would the above posters tell him to p*ss off?

Frank

My wife is has MS and has been confined to a wheel chair for many years. In happier times we used to walk in the woods for a couple of hours after work. If she could still express herself I'm sure she would say that she is happy that we have proper access to our apartment and within the town, that we can still travel by rail to visit our grandchildren in Holland and that our health insurance provides serious financial assistance, but she would be revolted to hear of the crass stupidity you report. (incidentally we are expats who have lived in Germany for 29 years)

Pedr Gogg

I have to say that I think Suffolk CC are quite right. During the summer i took a walk along the Thames from Cholsey to Wallingford (in Oxfordshire) and was shocked at the potential dangers. Part of the footpath was through some kind of nature reserve, and I was disappointed to see animal droppings - and even the occasional small dead animal - lying near, or on, the path: a real hygiene issue for small children. But far worse was the complete lack of wheelchair access to the river - indeed, only the hardiest and sprightliest rambler would have had any hope of getting near it. But the very, very worst were the riverbanks themselves, which were completely unfenced, so that any unwary stroller (disabled or not) might have fallen in, at Heaven knows what cost to the local council. I won't even mention the huge number of heavy and unwieldy kissing gates I had to negotiate, so I'm not surprised I didn't encounter a single wheelchair user on my outing. And please don't even get me started on the total absence of non-white people I met - what on earth ARE the authorities doing to ensure that a proper quota of Thames users are from the ethnic miorities?

Benjamin

Typical sneering unpleasantness from Melanie Phillips. The legislation is good - it helps give wider access to public areas for all members of the community. I know several people who campaigned hard for the changes. Of course, there are some instances where the changes may seem amusing or strange. But the principle is a sound one. Melanie's unpleasantness is perhaps as expected and ancient as the English countryside itself. She's settling in well for a long sneering tenure at the Spectator.

David Barnett

Of course Melanie Phillips is right and of course those who disagree with her are wrong. If I am ever unfortunate enough to become crippled I will not expect the entire universe to be redesigned just to allow we access to it. It's a mad, mad, mad world these days. And it's becoming madder.Fifty years ago no one would have predicted this nonsense.

jose garcia

I havent heard so much rubbish in my life till i arrived to england, the health and safety nazis, the anti cristian policies ( wrapped around the lies about offending minorities , nativity plays cancelled, ) the issue with the cristian adoption agencies having to close because fredoom of concience is not longer allowed , incentives to single women to be pregnant and fatherless, rampant abortion, apeasement to islamists, biased media spin and lies from goverment the police becoming a "public service" instead of just catching criminals, etc , etc this is all part of an ideology that wants to destroy all i hold dear. wheel chair users.....let's get something straight, if this "issue" with "gates" goes further, it will become law, people will be fined, persecuted because their "gates" dont comply..... like the other zillion stupid laws we have.... however if you assault rob or kill, u might get away with it .... it is an hipocritical joke, when 2 million christians have been massacred in Sudan,and the goverment does nothing england wastes billions in rubbish like this and all the quangos, think groups and policies , if all that money was used properly we could solve half the poverty issues in the world, not kidding. so leave the damn gates alone it is not YOUR BLOODY BUSINESS!!!!!!! if you are in the fields anyways you need somebody to go with you.... and open gates if you find them.... if i am disabled and want to see nature i will go to a park by the way ..... anyways anyone can explain to me how can we have 2.5 million disabled people in UK.(5% of the population?) what is this / the aftermath to world war 3 a or are the british born with a disability gene?

Grahame Priest

You think that's bad? Look at this! "British Sign Language (BSL) is the first or preferred language of around 250,000 Deaf people in the UK. It is a language of space and movement using the hands, body, face and head. Around 120,000 hearing people also use BSL, meaning it is used more than Welsh or Gaelic. Since the BDA started in 1890, we have been campaigning for Deaf people’s right to use BSL, to be educated in BSL, and to access information and services through BSL. We believe this is the best way for Deaf people to take part in society, equally to hearing people. That is why we campaigned for the government to recognise BSL. BSL was recognised as an official British language by the UK government on 18th March 2003, but it does not have any legal protection. This means that Deaf people do not have full access to information and services that hearing people take for granted, including education, health and employment. The BDA wants BSL to be legalised, which will give BSL users the legal right to use it, bringing years of language discrimination to an end." http://learntosign.org.uk/about-british-sign-language-bsl/ The last two paragraphs are the kicker. In order to end some sort of perceived 'language discrimination' this organisation wants people to have the right to be educated in sign, use sign in the workplace and perhaps even have the right to have their medical treatment 'signed' to them. I've got nothing against deaf people, I'm even a little deaf myself. But if we stop to consider the cost of adopting such a policy, we'd have to recognise that to avoid discrimination, employers and key employees, health-care workers and educators would all need to be fluent in sign language or risk being labeled as discriminators! I raise this just to highlight what happens (or could happen) when our natural urge to be nice to everyone overwhelms our common sense. Disability discriminates, but with the best will in the world, we can't universally eradicate the consequences of individual misfortune. But part of the problem as I see it, is that we live in a culture where every perceived discrimination is an opportunity to be an aggrieved victim. This encourages those providing services to be ultra-careful and overly protective, and those who're disabled consumers to be ultra-critical and too ready to castigate society for failing to compensate them for the hand that fate has dealt them. One of the other problems is that those calling for a little common-sense will often get vilified for insensitivity by those keen to publicly show their 'caring' credentials - or by those with an agenda to promote.

Seymour Paine

I don't know about England, but in the US (where I live) I have never been to a nature preserve type park, national or state, which someone in a wheelchair could easily (or at all) negotiate. The Adirondacks, Harriman State Park (both in NYS), Yosemite, Death Valley, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, might have a few paths which can take a wheelchair, but mostly, not. They are difficult to negotiate on foot. I have no problem with legislation making more parts of our country accessible to the wheelchair bound (where I might end up one day), but at some point, the significance of being disabled has to have some weight. People in wheelchairs or otherwise disabled simply cannot do what normal people can do, just as 30 year old normal men can do things 95 year old normal men probably cannot. You cannot legislate facts out of existence.

Steve

I really can't stand any more of this. Get real, some people are more equal than others!

C U Vaird

Both the erudite Stephen Pollard and the hysterical ‘Mad Mel’ are somewhat confused. They know full well, as I do, that whilst the majority of Israelis are Jewish the vast majority of Jews are no way Israeli! Nor would want to be. The issue is that the British electorate is increasingly concerned about undue Israeli influence on our parliamentary democracy – not Jewish influence – of which there is none. It is not the Chief Rabbi who has the ear of the Prime Minister, (both current and previous), but the Israeli ambassador. It is time that we put a stop to the interference in our (and the EU’s) domestic and foreign policy affairs by a small Middle Eastern state that is not even in Europe – and never will be.

Glyn

What is so wrong in trying to make life a bit easier for some of our citizens, we are a wealthy country after all? I'd hardly call that rampant political correctness and it's been on the statute book for 12 years.
Also the key phrase in the legislation is that public services should make ‘reasonable adjustments' which surely would rule out a Stanna Stairlift up Scarfell Pike.

I think you are making a fuss out of nothing Melanie.

Peter

"Shame on you Melanie. Perhaps if you were a disabled person you wouldn't think it quite so amusing."

Well I'm disabled and I laughed so much I fell off my walking frame.

"PS - what about a wheelchair using ex SAS man crippled in Iraq who wants to re-visit the Brecon Becons? Would the above posters tell him to p*ss off?"

I should imagine disabled ex SAS are quite capable of negotiating a stile.Remember the motto,it is "He(she etc) who who dares wins" not whinges.

David M.

Utopia? I'm all for it too. Good then, are you paying?

David M.

Peter, anyone wishing to visit the Brecon Beacons 'for pleasure' is already well provided for under the Mental Health Act and the provisions of the Disability Discrimaination Act need not apply.

steve

Hello all, you may or not be aware of this little story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/5326298.stm The comments section makes interesting reading, with the Antis pointing out the ridiculousness of it, and the pros talking in terms of rights.

Thomas

"In America disabled access is assumed and any state park etc. would have accessible trails."----
I volunteer for an organization that maintains the historic Appalachian Trail here in the U.S. There are a couple of sections in the back country - rugged terrain - where we can not restore old, primitive foot bridges because to return them to their whole state would not be up to ADA guidelines. Some of these are located in areas that require extensive scrambling to reach. And the same goes for some of the primitive cabins bequeathed to AT preservation groups.

MattB

Some people have wheelchairs that do allow them to go off road. Presumably it's not just wheelchair users who would benefit, but people with less serious mobility problems. I suppose disabled people are expected not to aspire to do things that others enjoy, like going for country walks, in Melanie-world, and stay at home watching Trisha all day. I agree that huge financial burdens shouldn't be placed on farmers etc, but apart from that, what's your problem?

Edward

A typically snide and nasty piece from Phillips, that reflects badly on the Spectator. Does nobody vet her blog prior to publication?

Peter

It is obvious that some commenters cannot tell the countryside from their backsides.Stile are simply access for those using footpaths,mainly to stop the gates being left open."Gates" I hear you gasp,yes, gates,how else do you think livestock,tractors etc gain access.Ask the farmer very nicely can you use the gate,it won't be that far from the footpath.
Do remember to close the gate afterwards.

James

I can only back up what Pedr Gogg said; on my last walk in the countryside (the Scottish Highlands) not only was there no guard rail around any of the rivers or wheel-chair access to the rivers, waterfalls, and craggy peaks - not even a simple stairlift all the way up Ben Nevis - there were also no protective gloves stated as manatory at trailheads to prevent the spread of germs and prevent cuts and grazes on hands, no protective head gear, and no kind soul from the council standing by to place stabalisers (which should be legally required) on the rear wheels of all bicyclists. I was also distressed - as you were - by the lack of ethnic minorities I saw on my walk. Not even the sight of animals frolicking in the wild as Greenpeace and Al Gore intended, free from the ravages of man, could make up for this. I've written to the relevent council and MP to demand action to redress this gross inequality, as I hope you and others have also done.

Arthur Lincoln

I regularly visit a training centre that specialises in training road and highway maintenance operatives. Under these rules the management had to find £30,000 in order to make the centre accessible to wheel chair users. In the twenty five years they have been in business no one in a wheelchair has ever been in the centre. They are not expecting people in wheelchairs to be engaged in manual work within the highway in the future.

Roland Mckie

We seem to live in a strange world where all minorities MUST have their way regardless of the impact on the majority. And yet, we are supposed to live in a democracy where the majority view is meant to determine how things are. When did we go from majority rule to the minority dominant state?....oh, silly me, in 1997! And I don't need any lectures on disabiity because my mother spent man years in a wheelchair

Herbert Thornton

Has no thought been given to the difficulties wheelchair-bound people have when they want to go mountain climbing? Sheer rock faces in particular are a terrible problem for them.

Obviously this ought to be put right. The government must appoint a Mountain-levelling Commission and give it an adequate budget to get on with the job. And we should petition Brussels to formulate some Appropriate Steepness of Slopes (Permitted Gradients) Regulations for the Commission's guidance.

The President of the Commission of course should be a member in good standing of the Flat Earth Society.

Mark

"And why stop there? What about dodgem cars? Ice rinks? Bungee jumping? Formation water-skiing?" Disabled people do waterski, you stupid, ignorant person. Look at http://www.bdwsa.org.uk/ You just think it's funny to ridicule people with disadvantages and those who seek to help them. What a sad pathetic figure you are.