“We can talk about inclusion. We can talk about diversity. But what we really need to talk about is how to be human.” Elly Chapple [1] In their brilliant book about “learning how to make our social systems more human”, Gord Tulloch and Sarah Schulman write that “we have all seen it: do-gooding confused with … Continue reading How to be human
Tag: vulnerable
Words that blame
The language of social care is filled with words that blame people seeking and drawing on support. Our so called ‘strengths-based’ practice drips with deficit-based terms that stigmatise people as problems. Our ‘person-centred’ approaches are infused with phrases that marginalise. In this blog post I’ll explore ten widely used blaming words and phrases, then in … Continue reading Words that blame
Words that make me go hmmm: Vulnerable
A series of blogs about words that make me go hmmm would not be complete (and it is far from complete!) without a post focusing on ‘the v word’. While it’s by no means a new term in the world of social work and social care, during the COVID-19 pandemic the word ‘vulnerable’ has been … Continue reading Words that make me go hmmm: Vulnerable
Words that make me go hmmm… Frontline
The frontline. It’s a place where opposing armies face each other in war and where fighting happens. It’s the military line or part of an army that is closest to the enemy, formed by the most advanced tactical combat units. It’s an area of potential or actual conflict or struggle. [1] It’s the term we … Continue reading Words that make me go hmmm… Frontline
Words that make me go hmmm: Those
Those who are most vulnerableThose most at risk Those with underlying health conditionsThose over 70 Those in care homes Those who test positive Those hospitalised Those who have sadly died Those. I’ve written already about the ‘them and us’ narrative of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the dangerous consequences of the ‘vulnerable’ label, but there’s one … Continue reading Words that make me go hmmm: Those
Them, us and COVID-19
Coronavirus. COVID-19. Virus. Pandemic. Lockdown. Isolation. Distancing. Shielding. PPE. Keyworker. Zoom. Unprecedented. Our vocabulary has evolved over the last few months. Words have taken on a different meaning. Terms we’d rarely used before now dominate the headlines, crowd our screens, and pepper our conversations. We’re experiencing a rapidly evolving, global event which has changed all … Continue reading Them, us and COVID-19
Rewriting social care 