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Rod Liddle In 'Pretend Disabled' Twitter Row After Sun Column

Rod Liddle

First Posted: 26/01/2012 12:36 Updated: 26/01/2012 12:51

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Rod Liddle, the controversial Sun writer, has caused upset after his latest column about the "pretend disabled".

Liddle writes in today's newspaper that his aim for 2012 is to "become disabled."

And the reason why?

Being disabled is incredibly fashionable. The number of people who claim to be disabled has doubled in the past ten years. And who can blame them? Not only do you get money from the Government and don't have to go to work - but if you play your cards right you might get one of those badges which lets you park wherever you want.

He also describes M.E as "nothing too serious".

Now there has been the inevitable reaction on Twitter and blogs.


Steve Graves
Rod Liddle's an astonishingly unpleasant man, isn't he? (via )


SimonNRicketts
I think Rod Liddle could claim benefits. He's clearly in need of help, judging by this article.


MD
I'm amazed that Rod Liddle is still being published. I thought he slunk off in shame when he realised the role of Jeremy Clarkson was taken.

Liddle, like BBC's Jeremy Clarkson, trades on being a controversial media figure - he even has a 'controversy' section on his Wikipedia page.

It describes in 2009 how his Spectator blog featured a piece about Harriet Harman, deputy leader of the Labour Party.

Liddle began the article by asking: "So — Harriet Harman, then. Would you? I mean after a few beers obviously, not while you were sober."

Liddle asserted two months later: "It was supposed to be a parody of guttural, base sexism", a joke he assumed readers would understand. Surprised by a negative response from a number of female journalists he continued: "And then I suppose I came to the conclusion - gradually - that I must have got it wrong."

In November Liddle was in deep water with the Stephen Lawrence trial after a piece he wrote in The Spectator was referred to the judge for possible contempt of court.

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Rod Liddle, the controversial Sun writer, has caused upset after his latest column about the "pretend disabled". Liddle writes in today's newspaper that his aim for 2012 is to "become disabled." ...
Rod Liddle, the controversial Sun writer, has caused upset after his latest column about the "pretend disabled". Liddle writes in today's newspaper that his aim for 2012 is to "become disabled." ...
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jmmcmkn
214 Fans
01:13 AM on 02/18/2012
I'd be more then happy to step in and with the aid of only a 4 by 2 plank of wood personaly help Rod Liddle obtain his desired disability goal, And to prove just how public spirited and benevolent I am I am also prepared to extend the same offer to any of his Sun collegues who might share the same dream.
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mandy workman
0 Fans
01:00 AM on 01/29/2012
Rod LIddle must be thick as two short planks....does he do no research...i think not.Why are we ME sufferers banned from giving blood for LIFE.Is this all made up also.I have suffered from this terrible illness for 8 yrs and i can tell you i have wanted to end my life on many occasions,but im still here...i have fought everyday to be here with my family and will continue to do so until a cure and a cause is found.I sincerely hope that Liddle doesnt get away with what he has had printed in a national newspaper...a hurtfull and unrtuthfull account of what ME is.
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Mrswupple
0 Fans
10:11 PM on 01/27/2012
I wonder if I'm disabled enough to claim benefits according to the 'grow up and pull yourself together!' types? I have Type1 diabetes, autonomic neuropathy, kidney failure, rheumatic heart disease, asthma, osteoarthitis, neutropenia. Enough for you?
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shelleykitten
0 Fans
03:29 PM on 01/27/2012
i have the 'fashionable illnesses' ME & Fibro i am a university graduate who always worked even while at school/college/uni i have suffered with ME since 1986 back then it was the derogatory 'yuppie flu' now we all benefit scroungers! the shame of people thinking such a thing stops me claiming! my family muddles through looking after me on my bad days and minus my income because i don't want people pointing at me on my good days and calling me 'pretend disabled' these conditions fluctuate somedays i am perfectly normal + feel on top of the world 2 days later i can be bed ridden! i invite Rod Liddle to come talk to us my husband + kids can explain how ME impacts them + i can look him in the eye and explain how it has torn my life apart!
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mandy workman
0 Fans
01:04 AM on 01/29/2012
same here Shelley....he is a disgrce that has upset an already vunerable group of people and i for one hope he gets his just desserts...he is an IDIOT!
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Marty Jarvy
188 Fans
10:10 PM on 01/26/2012
Look - he's a cretin, who's intentionally provocative.

Such a policy only works if you pick on a minority, and stir up hatred - that's his job.

Don't take the bait. It's what he feeds off.
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fluffyjo123
0 Fans
09:29 PM on 01/26/2012
After reading this article today i am SO angry, and also extremely angry at some of the comments posted here. I suffer from one of these new fashionable illnesses as he would call it. I suffer from fibromyalgia and let me assure you it is REAL! I put in a claim for DLA 3 months ago but have heard nothing back and i very much doubt if i will get it with attitudes like this. I do not have a blue badge even though i am unable to walk past my own front gate without assistance. The pain i suffer is immense, severe migraines at least 4 times a week, constant pain throughout my body, fatigued constantly. I wonder how he would cope if he had to go through that on a daily basis. I worked all my life up until 3 years ago when i became unwell, my condition has worsened over the last 6 months. If i could go back to work i would welcome it with open arms, but it really is not an option for me.
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matthewtuckey
27 Fans
 
08:33 PM on 01/26/2012
I suffered a head injury at birth and have lived with short term memory difficulties all of my life. As a result I've lost countless jobs, lived a life of poverty and was regularly ridiculed in school. I didn't receice a penny in benefits until I was 28. This was after I finally got a social worker, who didn't want me to claim because "people might follow me around"- indicating that not even she believed in my disability. I had to go to an employment scheme operator to get help from them. Some people can become very adept at "normalising" their disability and making it look like there isn't one because they want to FIT IN. Ignoramuses working for 2-bit scandal rags don't do anybody any good stirring up rumours like this- unfortunately, though,The Sun is the most-read publication in the UK. We've got a long way to go.
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mandy workman
0 Fans
01:11 AM on 01/29/2012
so true Matthew what you say.I have ME and can be in bed for days /On "good days" i try to keep things as normal as possible...not for me but for my husband and young daughters.We all have to keep going.What would happen if we totally gave up...i really cant think of that possibility.Your right we have a long long way to go.
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WaveRhydr
DIEBOLD-WE VOTE SO YOU DONT HAVE TO
3174 Fans
07:57 PM on 01/26/2012
I support the vast majority of posts in opposition to this guys article.... however, I think we need to understand that the guy wrote the article for a reason that seems largely missed, just as those behind the article intended.

The Over Lords pay people like him, and his counterparts in the USA, to write stuff like this. Why? To put your focus anywhere but on THEM. People like Romney in the USA are the ones responsible for failed economies, and misery on a wholesale level, and they dont like the attention.

Those kind dont like this 99% stuff, and worry that the villagers might hit the sale at Tar, Feathers, & Beyond. So they have stories planted like this one. To turn neighbor on neighbor.

Former President Reagan was a master at this stuff. He made up a story about "the wellfare queen", who would drive up in her cadilac to pick up her wellfare benefits. Same thing, different country, different time.
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vividrick
I came, I saw...I had a cup of tea!
487 Fans
05:31 PM on 01/26/2012
Ignorant & insensitive prat! I know many, including myself who would do nothing more then wish their 'ill's' away in preference for a better life & conribute much more towards society!

I used to think this bloke was alright, but writing in the dishcloth 'Sun' says it all!
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mandy workman
0 Fans
01:13 AM on 01/29/2012
TRUE TRUE TRUE.
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the grange gorman
Rachel Corrie is the greatest person since Lennon
443 Fans
04:56 PM on 01/26/2012
My friend has ME and it has negatively affected her life in all sorts of ways , she still works part time , she used to enjoy working full time but gets incredibly tired , she often misses friends birthdays etc and feels rotten about this.

ME is real you just cant see the symptoms.
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mandy workman
0 Fans
01:18 AM on 01/29/2012
Your a good friend to come on here and coment,,,,,she is a lucky lady,we need more people like you to stick up for our community.Sadly the people who have this illness do not have the energy to comment on such pages.Havin a decent day myself,hence the comment.
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Peter Lockhart
32 Fans
04:36 PM on 01/26/2012
Its amazing how many people who post on news sites seem to have so many friends who are crooks and villains. I think there should be an study into this phenomena. On some site every second poster seems to have a friend who is defrauding the system, some have upwards of 10 friends who are doing this. Its also common to find people who are the only honest ones in thier family. What really amazes me is that none of them ever think to report their friends. They say they go out drinking with them, does this make them as bad.
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paulinetag
4 Fans
04:13 PM on 01/26/2012
we all need a little controversy - to many of us already say 'the politically correct' thing (whilst thinking the opposite) because we're afraid of verbal condemnation
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mandy workman
0 Fans
01:24 AM on 01/29/2012
Sick people that have genuine ME do not need any controvesy belive me,i have had my life ripped to shreds by this horrible illness and after 8 yrs of suffering to hear that crap in the national news is something that upset me so much i actually wept nearly all day.This samll minded little man doesnt know the damage he has done.
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jimbhoy4
3 Fans
03:37 PM on 01/26/2012
some of us do not have to pretend we live with it everyday
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annoyed 48
0 Fans
03:37 PM on 01/26/2012
my wife is disabled,since 2009,our doctor told her that she had osteo arthritis,when she told him that she had pain in her knees,he suggested that she apply for a blue badge and disability benefit.
she applied for both,she received a blue badge but was refused benefit,which she accepted.
now,we have seen people who claim benefit,that seem perfectly able bodied,they seem able to do things that non disabled people can do,what a country we live in, help for scroungers,no help for genuine disabled.
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JamesBass
21 Fans
08:37 AM on 01/27/2012
You have to remember that there are a huge range of disabilities and people with disabilities.

Invisible and fluctuating disabilities like ME or Fibromyalgia or Lupus are debilitating and have a massive impact on your life, but you occasionally have a good day and you grab it with both hands!

There are many mental or developmental disabilities that have little or no physical impact, but mean that you need extra help and support (hence being eligible for DLA) or mean that you are unsuitable to be in a place of work (making you eligible for ESA).

Also there are people out there with really awful disabilities who are able to get out there and work and contribute hugely to society, whilst still claiming DLA to help with the extra costs of being disabled and needing help with every day tasks- Stephen Hawking and Dame Tanny Grey Thompson spring to mind immediately.

I would urge you and your wife to reapply for disability benefits and to keep appealing until you get it. There are loads of excellent websites out there with advice.
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coracleman
14 Fans
02:45 PM on 01/26/2012
This is the Sun we're talking about - this kind of rubbish is practically compulsory! This Tory rag specialises in gutter journalism after all. If Mr Liddle wants to be fashionably disabled then maybe some kind soul could arrange it...
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