In the furore of comments by Donald Trump and Katie Hopkins suggesting that the Metropolitan Police cannot enter certain parts of London and that there are some parts of the UK that non Muslims cannot go it might be useful to focus on the places where we know that some of us cannot go and do something about those, while Katie and Donald focus on their own importance and careers. There are places such as the Garrick Club in London which excludes women as members and prevents them from eating at the central dining table. In July the club members were subjected to a vote in the hope of overturning this rule by some of the more enlightened members such as Stephen Fry and Michael Gove. Sadly although more than half supported the change, it was not enough to change the rules and introduce this radical step. Reading this piece from April by the Guardians Amelia Gentleman who describes the rather powerful people who congregate together at the Garrick certainly helps to explain how well connected people manage to stay well connected. There are of course a number of other clubs and organisations where women cannot go. Some of these are listed in this piece by Martin Daubney who reports on the outcome of the Garrick vote and justifies their decision. These examples may seem trivial and lack the seriousness of the comments by Trump and Hopkins. However the number of places and services that cannot accommodate wheelchairs is a much more significant issue, as are the places and services that prevent guide and hearing dogs from being admitted. Then there are the myriad of buildings that we build in the UK including many public ones that are not built with effective loop system technology in mind. Even today many Architects do not understand that their designs can impose barriers to some of the 2M plus people who rely on hearing aids. For example there are numerous Universities that continue to offer seats in their lecture theatres to people who cannot hear what is being said. The need for us to avoid no go areas in the UK is not just an issue for foolish people like Hopkins and Trump to achieve even more publicity opportunities on the backs of ignorance, it is a matter of reality for many Millions of people whose voices are rarely heard. We need to turn this debate into change for some of our most disadvantaged people.
If you find any of these posts relevant to some of the social or political issues of the moment do leave a comment or contact me directly (click on my photo for my contact details)
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