JustBeingCP

I marked the start of Disability Pride Month by visiting Edgbaston in Birmingham to watch England take on Australia in the 2023 women’s Ashes.

If you are interested in reading more about what happened in the first T-20 woman’s ashes match between England and Australia, you can do so here: https://just-being-cp.co.uk/2023/07/01/australia-beat-england-in-the-first-t20-match-of-the-womens-ashes-at-edgbaston/

I believe that the disabled community need more allies in this world and this is why I will be talking a lot about allyship over the next few weeks as we navigate through July.

I can see some people reading this wondering what I mean by we need allies as a community of those living with disabilities, so here goes.

The disabled community find it incredibly hard to live on this planet because of the abuse that many of us face on a daily basis for just being who we are.

We need allies to help us share our message of acceptance so that our world is a better place to be apart of.

I know that not everyone who reads this will know someone who has a disability so I urge you to go and have a chat with someone who does identify as being disabled.

This will mean that you are showing your support for our community and the challenges that we face on a daily basis.

As a wheelchair user and disability rights campaigner I regularly visit schools and deliver assemblies on acceptance and why it is so important.

It is inspiring to see that every young person who I’ve come across when delivering these talks understands that we should accept everyone for just being themselves.

I strongly believe that young people are the disabled communities biggest ally when it comes to accepting us for who we are.

There are however some young people within our society who do not feel that they can accept our community.

I was on the receiving end of this type of hate back in December 2019 when I was travelling home independently from a lovely evening out.

When I started to travel through Hereford city centre a group of teenagers walked past me just outside McDonald’s and one of them decided to shout ” you alright C****E at me for no reason whatsoever.

I turned around at looked at the group not knowing what to say to them because I was trying to process the incident.

I still live with the consequences of that particular incident 5 years on because things like that don’t just disappear overnight.

My message to all young people is a simple one and is this, Please go and have a chat with your peers about allyship and how you can positively accept all members of our society regardless of the challenges that they may face.

Disability pride month is about all those who identify as having disability and not just those who identify as being from the LGBTQIA+ community and having a disability, I am incredibly proud to have Cerebral Palsy and wouldn’t change it for the world.

I am incredibly grateful to all those who have subscribed to my blog over the last couple of years, if you would to get my blogs directly to your inbox then I definitely recommend that you subscribe to it: https://just-being-cp.co.uk/

I know that this is another short blog that may be seen as quite powerful but I felt that it is important to discuss allyship in a positive way whilst the world is focused on our community and what we stand for.

I would like to end in my normal way by taking the opportunity to thank each and everyone of my readers and followers who take the time out of your busy schedules each week to read my blogs and wish you a happy and safe disability pride month.

Cam