Rose’s deafness was a central part of her story last year and her dances made it front and centre. It’s absolutely fine to talk about disability or about difference, just respectfully.
And if she is good , then say so , and if she is shizer, then say so . Because to my certain knowledge an Olympian would hate anyone to patronise them anymore than an ex Premier League winning captain would .
Deafness is not an appearance @Moose . Also deaf people can dance etc with no issues as they can feel the vibrations from the music.
But her deafness *could* have been an advantage as she would have just felt the beat of the music And it is the beat that we all dance to And if this is the case then why is her deafness an issue ?
You've not read the original article have you, or Ellie Simmonds' (very dignified) response. The premise of a thousand words of Alison Pearson's ill-conceived knee-jerk honking was that Strictly Come Dancing has gone woke by having same-sex couples and paralympians. "Pushing diversity down people's throats..." was a direct quote. It wasn't about treating and critiquing all contestants equally. Absolutely fine to agree or disagree, but at least know what the basis of the argument was in the first place. Otherwise it's just honking another ill-informed opinion on the subject.
Sorry chaps. Obviously Moose has the inside track on this, and Ellie hasn't gotten over her disabilities, despite describing having done so, and having become an inspiration for helping others do the same. Can someone tell her for Moose that she's a fraud, because he has already said he wouldn't tell her to her face. Moose knows better than Ellie herself. As he says that having a disability is something to treasure, that you would be foolish to overcome through effort and achievement, because achieving the best you can is a rejection of the disabilities you were born with. How can he be interpreted any other way. PS Put the mods on alert. Moose is displaying typical thread deletion behaviour (insults and made up rubbish).
I have read the piece . Which part where Ellie is praised by the author do you want me to quote ? The "effervescent and amazing" bit ? Please tell .
Absolute hogwash argument. The decent thing to have done would have been not to write a hit job about the idea that having anyone who doesn't fit into some cookie cutter idea of 'normal' on a dancing programme is "woke", a concept that itself is constructed purely to sow division. Oldest trick in the book to sprinkle one or two get-out-of-jail caveats in a hit piece to give the illusion of balance or a veneer of respectabilty to an awful opinion. Bottom line is, it was a horrible piece, written for a horrible purpose.
No. Her getting over disabilities and creating new abilities is the central part of her story. Her disabilities are something she cast aside. How she must cringe when virtue signallers identify her, primarily, as disabled. And there is no denegrating disabilities in that, only the effects they have when bigoted fools who can't see beyond her height make them the "central part of her story". My skin is creeping. Do you really think she wants her epitaph to be "The dwarf did well." I reckon she'd prefer 'Superwoman'. Edit. Sorry. Wrong reply. I think the sentiment still applies though. Just change dwarf for deaf kid.
The whole discussion has been hijacked by a discussion about something that is wholly irrelevant. Whether Ellie regards herself as disabled or not (she clearly does) she does not see the term as detrimental, limiting or insulting. She has made it clear that people should not limit themselves, and should not be limited by society, from what they want to achieve and from living a happy life, because of a disability. The whole point of the OP and the outrage the article has caused is that it some people can obviously not see past someone's physical attributes and see such inclusion in society as "woke". I don't watch it but personally I'm delighted to see people of all shapes, sizes, colours and sexuality on my TV. And thankfully it's now become so normal for same sex relationships, people with disabilities and people of all creeds and colours appearing on TV that I thought it was now universally accepted as normal (and even something that most people don't notice anymore!). The point is that everyone should be treated the same when it comes to opportunities. I wish Ellie well but I would bet my house that she is not looking for a sympathy vote or special treatment. She just wants the same chance as the other competitors and the fact that this "journalist" and some viewers regard that as "spoiling their fun" is really their problem. The fact that the article was published and that it isn't simply condemned by all is really quite shocking to me.
Sidney. Show a reference where she calls herself disabled and I will accept it. But I can't find one. References to her having a disability are purely related to her sporting career, and they are categories around which to organise sporting events, not a certificate of disability. No where does she say she is disabled. What is the disability that you see when you look at her? Come on. You are adamant that she is disabled. What is her disability. What is it she can't do that you can do, that makes her disabled? I say she has none. Please explain why I am wrong.
I'm shocked that anyone would find the inclusion of people that "look different" to their view of "normal" in a television programme as unacceptable. There are some views that are unacceptable in civilised society and discrimination against people on the basis of their appearance is one of them. Or do you disagree and people should be excluded from society if they look "different"?
But Sydney. You are saying she is a dwarf and therfore is disabled. You are absolutely saying that she is disabled, and are quoting things to prove it. And the only way you know she is a dwarf, is because of what you see. You have even quoted her saying she wants to be considered normal for goodness sake!! Do you not see it? I am not saying you are doing it deliberately. Only that it is so entrenched in the psyche (to be fair, across the entire world) that you cannot seperate dwarfism from disability. Again. What is her disability? Because simply saying "she's a dwarf" does not cut it.
That is exactly what the original article that prompted this thread was about. Ellie being in the show was "woke" and was spoiling some viewers "entertainment" according to the "journalist". It would be as an abhorrent a view as someone saying that a black person or a Jewish person was offensive and was spoiling their fun by being in the show. This is nothing to do with disabilities or "wokeness". It's simple about decency and being inclusive.
Quite a lot of people on social media, usually with Union Jack flags in their bio, are saying exactly that. Her inclusion cannot, in their view, be for any other reason than the BBC’s woke need to confront people. That’s also the basis of Pearson’s article, however she dresses it up.
I think the article was making the point that Strictly has become less of a dancing competition that provides light hearted entertainment and more of a vehicle to promote same sex relationships and other lifestyles that some viewers will be uncomfortable with.
I think it's tosh but not shocking. Anyway it's created a talking point so arguably Pearson has done a good job
Are you uncomfortable with "different" people being in the show? Should we pander to those that aren't? Is the definition of woke being inclusive? What kind of society do we want if these views prevail? Only white, straight "normal" looking people on TV and anyone else kept from public view? This is why I say it's shocking that anyone can think like this. But then again it happened in 1930s Germany so perhaps I have too high an expectation of people.
Who says this ? And what BBC programme apart from Gary Linekars MOTD does this apply to ? Apologies there are a bunch of smug arzeholes, always white, selling the same BS on "The Last Leg" But that is C4 .
Do you think racism is acceptable? Homophobia? Antisemitism? Religious oppression? It's not difficult. Deciding someone should not appear on television because "they don't look normal" and are "spoiling people's entertainment" is not acceptable. It's that simple.
Really? She specifically says the inclusion of the first person with dwarfism is "woke" over "entertainment". Do you think she doesn't want Ellie in the competition because of her personality?
Again, really? What do you think her reason for deciding the inclusion of Ellie was detrimental to "entertainment" is then? Go on. Don't dodge the question. Why shouldn't Ellie be given the same opportunity as everyone else? And why is it "woke" for her to be in the show? No deflection. Just answer the questions.
I don't like the BBC doing politics, and I know that they have been guilty of wokeness in some programmung, but what I saw last night didn't bother me at all. It didn't feel forced, though the same sex couples do seem to lack some of the impact of the mixed couples, but that is no reason not to allow them to participate. Like Moose said earlier, ballroom is as camp as it gets, and homosexual dancers are abundant. Though I am not convinced that same sex dancing is the best way to show off a dancer's ability to lead, follow, lift or be lifted. That is a an artistic comment, not bigoted, as I am sure some may wish to say. I am sure it is one that the judges themselves have commented on. But perhaps it is something we can all get used to in time. Like a new manager for the Horns. Sorry, bad analogy. Gay people on TV is hardly something that can be considered ground breaking. Anyone who is still turning it off 'because gay' can do one. I doubt there are many though. I Don't usually watch Strictly, but watched last night because I was staying with a friend's family. I was chuffed to see Ellie dancing, and was genuinely impressed with her performance. The height difference presents challenges, but she is a pretty determined piece of work. It's a challenge. Not a disability. So, I didn't think the programme was particularly woke, and for that reason the article, which I freely admit I have no desire to read in full, seems unreasonable to me if it is suggesting the show is stuffed with wokeness. Any suggestion that Ellie shouldn't be taking part is complete rubbish. Any suggestion she is being forced down people's throats is offensive. But then, using stupid no nothing comments from poster's on twitter (why does anyone pay attention to that s**t bucket of vomit?) to make political gain from a person "because disabled", and then to degenerate into an attempt to make her the most factually disabled person on the disabled register, whether she liked it or not, is also a bit unpleasant. It really was a case of one side saying "shes a dwarf, she shouldn't be dancing" and the other saying "she's a dwarf, she should be dancing. She's a woman and a multi gold medal Olympian. She's earned her chance to be on strictly as much as anyone. Oh. And she can dance.
I'm not dodging any questions You are that type of character who accuses everyone that doesn't hold the exact same opinion as yourself as being a "fash gammon nazi" . If you can read, then you will have learned that I said, many posts back, "just let her dance". It is you and your mob who wish to politicise Ellie. I don't . Just let her dance.
