Well written. View 1 comment. And there are some books I try and read quickly just so I can move on to something more cheerful, less despair, anger and shame inducing. This is in the second category. Detailing the horrific abuse, torture and killing of disabled people in modern Britain, this book also sets disability hatred and hate crime into a historical context over a well-written, grimly fascinating section covering the Greeks and Romans, witch-hunting, the industrial revolution, Victorian freakshows, the appalling eugenics movement and its bastard offspring, the Holocaust.
Depressingly, it looks as if the situation internationally is even worse. I did have a couple of issues with the book. The same cases are referred to again and again, which can make it a bit of a chore to read.
It sometimes comes across like a series of unconnected chapters that have been later stitched together. Whether you find him funny or not and I generally do Boyle IS a comedian. Those criticisms aside, this is an excellent, important book. Read it. May 03, Jo Tiffany rated it it was amazing.
Heartbreaking and fascinating at the same time. May 10, Courtney Williams rated it really liked it Shelves: kindle. The subject: A ground-breaking, in-depth study of disability hate crime in the UK and its roots.
Why I chose it: I will be Disabilities Officer at my university next year, have a disability myself and am generally interested in disability politics and activism. I spend a lot of time learning about mental health so am also trying to branch out. The rating: Four out of five stars What I thought of it: This was a difficult, but very important read. I learned a lot of new things, mostly case studies, but also history such as Ugly Laws , where people with certain disabilities were banned from being in public, in some cases until the s.
In addition to recounting all this information, Quarmby seeks to understand the patterns in the crimes and analyses them thoroughly and expertly. She puts forth the main point that disability hate crime is somewhat different to other forms and what effect this has: "One of the key reasons has to be that the victim is labelled as vulnerable".
It is awful to read both the descriptions of the utterly depraved crimes and, perhaps even moreso, how poor the reaction to these crimes from the police and the law has been. Quarmby has done an excellent job with the research and writing of this book.
It isn't without flaws though: I found it very repetitive, though I suppose this ensures the point sticks. You cannot deny that someone with a terminal illness or a severe disability will experience awful things as a direct result of their illness or disability and I believe they should be allowed to decide for themselves whether they'd like to take charge before things get unbearable without resorting to hunger strikes as Tony Nicklinson did.
I feel like this is also where the radical model of disability falls down somewhat; disabled people often experience pain that's nothing to do with how society treats them — it's just the nature of their disability — and this needs to be taken into account. However, I would definitely still recommend this book to anyone who is interested in disability, politics, social justice, law and any related topics.
Just don't read it if you're already feeling a bit down. Jan 19, Nish rated it really liked it Shelves: uk. I was aware of disability hate crime, but not the scourge of it that plagues our community today. The stories, the historical origins, much of it reminds me of Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason , placed instead in a clear simple-to-read narrative. Ossiri and the Bala Mengro.
No Place to Call Home. Yokki and the Parno Gry. Newsletter Sign up to the hive. Enter name. Enter Surname. Enter Email Address. Our Company What's Hive all About? Join the hive. They feel that the population is being softened up for ever more punitive action against them as a group. For many, this has a historical resonance with what happened in Germany, before the Holocaust.
When the Treasury website invited comments from the general public on how to reduce welfare spending, the comments about disabled people which were not moderated were vicious. One argued that all disabled people should be sterilised. Those who repeatedly fail the course to be deployed in Afghanistan as IED deterrents. Although, after repeated requests, the website was closed down the comments removed, they shed light on attitudes among many in society.
They are seen as a useless burden. Small wonder then, that so many of them are attacked — the perpetrators are merely acting out the unconscious wishes and desires of many in society. Then they are told that they should not have benefits wasted on them.
Then, as they get older, they are told that they are a burden on society and should die for the sake of others. Award-winning journalist, editor and writer View all posts by Katharine Quarmby. The attacks were so vicious that when his uncle found his dying nephew, he did not recognise him. Amid the many distressing deeds detailed in this powerful, compelling and important book, this was the most affecting.
Perhaps it was his loving family, so devastated by the death, that reminded me of how those of us with disabled children can wrap them in a warm environment at home, but are powerless to be ever-vigilant and must put so much trust in others. Or maybe it was the myopia of the local police, who discounted the idea Brent's death had anything to do with his disability. Or the appeal court judges who said the murder was not sadistic as they reduced the sentences on his killers.
The journalist Katharine Quarmby deserves credit for her campaign to get this country to wake up to the horrors inflicted on people with disabilities in our midst. She has investigated more than cases, ranging from nasty, low-level abuse to rape, torture and the most brutal murders imaginable. Sometimes the names flare up into the headlines -Fiona Pilkington, David Askew, Kevin Davies - but the daily tide of abuse flows on unabated. Quarmby also identifies shocking common themes with disabled people being enslaved, falsely identified as paedophiles and killed for kicks by groups of inadequates.
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