http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/angry-cripple/ The “Angry Cripple” is a composite character representing everyone with a disability – or everyone affected by disabilities – who is pissed off at the system. While The Punch generally discourages anonymity, in this case it was important. That’s because people with disabilities depend on the Government-funded system, and in the past they have felt victimised for speaking out. So The Punch has created AC to give people the freedom to speak out. If you want to get in touch, or contribute to the column, contact The Punch, or email (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) //';l[1]='a';l[2]='/';l[3]='';l[29]='"';l[30]=' 109';l[31]=' 111';l[32]=' 99';l[33]=' 46';l[34]=' 108';l[35]=' 105';l[36]=' 97';l[37]=' 109';l[38]=' 103';l[39]=' 64';l[40]=' 101';l[41]=' 108';l[42]=' 112';l[43]=' 112';l[44]=' 105';l[45]=' 114';l[46]=' 99';l[47]=' 122';l[48]=' 111';l[49]=' 121';l[50]=' 114';l[51]=' 103';l[52]=' 110';l[53]=' 97';l[54]=':';l[55]='o';l[56]='t';l[57]='l';l[58]='i';l[59]='a';l[60]='m';l[61]='"';l[62]='=';l[63]='f';l[64]='e';l[65]='r';l[66]='h';l[67]='a ';l[68]='= 0; i=i-1){ if (l[i].substring(0, 1) == ' ') output += "&#"+unescape(l[i].substring(1))+";"; else output += unescape(l[i]); } document.getElementById('eeEncEmail_qXVQfw6MhW').innerHTML = output; //]]> , follow @angryozcripple on Twitter, or visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angry-Cripple/161958030523579 en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Depression-aint-the-only-mental-illness-in-town/ One in five is a ratio that gets bandied around a lot when we talk about mental illness. It refers to a fifth of our population who experience it within a 12-month period. When you stack that up it means almost half us between 16 and 85 encounter some kind of a mental disorder within our lifetime. With those kinds of numbers it is impossible not to be touched by it in some way. It may not be obvious. It may be as subtle as the depressed friend who took stress leave from work or that drunk relative hiding something deeper. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Angry Cripple) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Depression-aint-the-only-mental-illness-in-town/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Depression-aint-the-only-mental-illness-in-town/#item7053 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:34:20 +0000 Angry Cripple | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/from-little-things-big-unacceptable-problems-grow/ Three weeks ago I found myself in a situation that I hoped would never happen, but always suspected would one day. On a recent Saturday night I went to catch the train home after a pleasant evening out. I hurried to the station as I needed to go and arrived at the access toilet to find it occupied. There used to be another further up the hall which has been labelled “closed” since some time in 2008. Getting desperate, I went to see if it was open now. It wasn’t. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Angry Cripple) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/from-little-things-big-unacceptable-problems-grow/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/from-little-things-big-unacceptable-problems-grow/#item6848 Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:35:40 +0000 Angry Cripple | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Disability-education-mess-a-throwback-to-Victorian-times/ There has been a fair bit of media coverage in the last few weeks around the education of children with disabilities. The latest round concerned the reporting of another discrimination case against the Victorian Department of Education (DoE) by a young woman with a learning disability and a language disorder. Fifty years ago, there was little expectation that people with disabilities would gain functional literacy and numeracy skills. However, these days, with what we know, all that is required is best practice programs, the attention of the relevant professionals, and intensive structured teaching. All apparently beyond the abilities of the DoE. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Angry Cripple) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Disability-education-mess-a-throwback-to-Victorian-times/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Disability-education-mess-a-throwback-to-Victorian-times/#item6707 Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:35:05 +0000 Angry Cripple | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/starting-gun-shooting-blanks-for-disabled-sports-champs/ Oscar Pistorius is a 400m runner who won a silver medal last week at the World Athletics Championships, with his approved set of carbon fibre prosthetic legs. Terence Parkin won a silver medal in 200m breaststroke at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Sekou Kanneh is an Australian eleven-year-old aspiring Olympic sprinter, running competitively in both the 100m and 200m events. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Angry Cripple) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/starting-gun-shooting-blanks-for-disabled-sports-champs/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/starting-gun-shooting-blanks-for-disabled-sports-champs/#item6654 Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:35:39 +0000 Angry Cripple | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-bastard-would-park-in-a-disabled-space/ A couple of South Australian politicians were featured in the paper this weekend, parking their government cars in very clearly marked disabled parking spaces. The photos were published and, judging by the comments on The Advertiser’s website, people were really, really angry that a pollie would do such a heinous thing. The MPs were suitably reprimanded by public opinion, and the Dignity for Disability MLC, the Hon Kelly Vincent, who uses a wheelchair herself, demanded that they each cough up the equivalent of the fine to a disability related charity, which they did, heads hanging low. They admitted their shameful and embarrassing “crime” and no doubt, no other MP in South Australia at least, will park in a disabled space without a permit for a very long time. But how can people who truly need those spaces get that message through to the “ablebods”? I put a call out for a contribution to this column about disabled parking spaces and received stories from Nicola Stratford and Kate Jenian, over the jump, this week’s piece of angry. Their stories are not unusual. They do remind us, however, that stupidity and arrogance are not disabilities which qualify for a disability parking permit. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Angry Cripple) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-bastard-would-park-in-a-disabled-space/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-bastard-would-park-in-a-disabled-space/#item6078 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 03:04:32 +0000 Angry Cripple | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/im-not-a-dole-bludger-i-just-want-to-work/ Carl Thompson is a 21-year-old with cerebral palsy and scoliosis who is undertaking honours in marketing. He writes for ABC’s Ramp Up, DiVine Victoria and blogs here. We in Australia always follow the English. This makes sense, I suppose, from a historical viewpoint as many of us are descendants of convicts from the mother country. We share many cultural similarities; most TV broadcast in Australia on the ABC is British. We both sensibly drive on the left hand side of the road, and the beautiful game of cricket is the national sport in both countries. We have a penchant for chips (not fries), kebabs and curries, as do the English. And finally, our political systems and structures are also quite similar - we even share the same Queen. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Angry Cripple) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/im-not-a-dole-bludger-i-just-want-to-work/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/im-not-a-dole-bludger-i-just-want-to-work/#item5609 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:45:42 +0000 Angry Cripple | Author bios | The Punch