Blog Off.

Well, it's good to be back. Thanks to everyone who read yesterday's blog. Have I offended anyone yet? No? Good. 

I had some really nice (is nice the right word? I don't want to offend anyone) feedback from people (oh, shit. People isn't the right word these days, is it? Fuck. It's sentient beings of individual ethnicity, I think) and I just wanted to say thank you. (I DON'T MEAN "YOU"!!! I don't think you're all the bloody same. Jesus, it's really hard to know what to say these days. Can you say Jesus? Damn, I'll have upset Christians now. Better blaspheme against all religions just to make it all nice and even. YOUR GOD IS A TWAT! No!! Women have twats, don't they? Erm...YOUR BELIEFS ARE A BIG COCK AND BALLS. There. I think I've made everything OK now. Thank goodness for words, eh?).

Yes, not everyone was delighted at me returning to blogging yesterday. Apparently my podcast version, Blogging For The Blind, is offensive as I am "lumping blind people together as 'The Blind'" I didn't think for a second that I was but my use of the term 'The Blind' is "rude & unneccesary. Blogging for Blind People works just as well". It isn't rude, it is neccesary and Blogging for Blind People is an awful name for an already badly named podcast. I've never actually loved the name Blogging For The Blind but it definitely served a purpose. My blog is about my world, not THE world. It is about a man who can't see past his own fury and frustration and I get enough feedback from people to suggest that I'm not the only one who exists like that. Here's the M. Knight Shyamalan twist to Blogging For The Blind.....IT'S NOT FOR BLIND PEOPLE!!! No, it's for everyone. Everyone who can't come to terms with the bigger world because just getting out of bed and making a cup of tea in the morning will be a disaster that will sit with them for months. I'm not going to notice an earthquake in Korea that killed thousands because someone is listening to Little Mix too loudly on the train.

Blogging For The Blind sounds archaic because I am quite archaic. I just want everyone to get on and be nice and sit down and shut up and fuck off. If there's one thing I like about the title it's the horribly old fashioned sound of it coupled with that modern blogging on the internet thing. Of course, I totally understand how damaging certain words can be. Terms like handicapped, special needs and Red Indian changed for good reason. They're bollocks. And, of course, "the blind" is massively dated but it's a term used for a good reason. It's not like Ricky Gervais constantly saying mong. Not that I want to bring that up again because, after all, Ricky did say he apologised for that. He didn't actually apologise but he said he did and I think that's the best we could hope to get from him. Of course, you could realise that my podcast blog is in no way offensive against anyone if you heard it. The person on Twitter who accused me of being disablist hadn't heard it. Sigh...

Here's the thing, words are just words. It's the intent behind those words that makes the difference. There are people I have met over the last few years who say they're feminist. There are even people who have "feminist" written in their Twitter profile to let people know that, yes, they're a complete and utter feminist. NOT "I study feminism" or "I have written books on feminism", THAT I understand,  but just "feminist". Why? Surely you wouldn't go up to someone and say "Hi. My name's Quinnly and I'm not a racist". Don't we just assume that the people we meet aren't racist? Don't we just assume that the people we meet consider men and women equal? Well, here's something else you won't agree with then: Clare Balding is the worst person in Britain. She actually makes me sick. AA Gill is widely considered to be a massive cunt, we all know that. He's been horrible to so many people about so many things for decades and Clare Balding, with her high profile on television, said nothing. Then he saw a picture of Clare on a bicycle and referred to her as a "dyke on a bike". She got upset and over the next few days she was on TV and in newspapers speaking out against this horrible sexism. Sorry but where was she when AA Gill was being evil before that? Where was she when he shot a baboon because he wanted "to know how it felt to kill a man"? Her high profile would have come in handy then but no she only got upset when a comment was made about her. And you know what? Clare Balding was on a bicycle. SHE IS A DYKE ON A BIKE. Brilliant. Now I'm defending AA Gill. I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, CLARE, YOU HORSE MURDERING BASTARD!

Fine if you want to be offended by words but surely you choose your target carefully? I asked the person on Twitter to listen to the podcast then they'd know there was nothing offensive about it. "The blind" is just a phrase and there is no intent to insult or degrade in any way. I don't want to be a boring twat and say that my grandfather was blind but I'm a boring twat and my grandfather was blind and that was as good a reason as any for the way I played the part of a blind vicar in Gutted: A Revengers Musical in Edinburgh in 2010. Non-blind actors playing blind people in anything is always excruiciating. Ben Affleck in Daredevil is astoundingly shit, with the only relief being that blind people will never see that film. In Gutted, I didn't feel around the set or use a white stick, I just walked around like I could see perfectly well but, because I am a great actor on the stage, I subtly reminded the audience of my character's disability by continually shouting "I am blind". Thus taking the piss happily out of actors. Oh, and I do realise that non-blind actors isn't the politically correct term, I'm not an idiot. It should be non-blind wankers.

The Twitter person kept reminding me how offensive the term was and I kept reminding them that they should listen to the podcast. Nothing was aggressive. Well, not until I was told I was "another non-disabled, straight, white man being testy about having his language questioned".

Wow.

That person on Twitter was making a fair point until that. I was then told to keep terms like that to my own "communities". Double fucking wow! My ideology questioned, my sexual persuasion questioned, my ethnicity questioned and now I've basically been told to keep to my own kind. Here's my point: why make a tiny fuss? There is so much discrimination in the world so don't swan around Hoxton, drinking mojitos and saying you're a feminist. Do something. Don't just sit there when a cunt's being a cunt until the cunt calls you a cunt. Do something. And don't waste your time looking at words and not intent when it comes to discrimination. Especially when you're arguing with someone who agrees with you. That person on Twitter has a disability and claims to see predjudice all the time. That is horrible. But there is good news: not everyone is a dick. Perhaps find the dicks and use your time wisely by addressing them? I use the name Blogging For The Blind for what I see as a good reason and if that's offensive to some people then I actually do feel quite sorry. As I'm sure are charities like Greater London Fund for The Blind and The Guide Dogs for The Blind Association. I'm not a feminist or a non-disablist (is that the PC term for people who don't completely hate people with disabilities?), I just have an unspoken belief and if it had a name I suppose I'd call it equality. So, maybe I just don't think too hard about these things because I think we're all on a level playing field, one with good wheelchair access. I most definitely don't think that anyone is in a "community" unless those communities are "us" and "dicks".

That's basically what I meant to say to that person on Twitter. Instead I called them a dick and they blocked me. 

This is a blog. I wrote it quickly with only some thought so I'm sure I've made a cock-up or two or not understood a few things. Please feel free to put me straight. Thanks for reading.

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My blog is available on Facebook, Blogger and Tumblr. It's daily Monday to Friday. Some blogs will be long, some very short. If you're too lazy to read my blog it's also available as a podcast atwww.soundcloud.com/michaellegge or you can subscribe to it on iTunes. All formats are free. That means if I'm doing a gig near you, please come and support it. I give you free stuff. That's fair, right?

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