Saturday, February 9, 2019

2/24/19 Twitter Chat: Poverty Narratives


Graphic with yellow background and black text that reads: #CripTheVote Twitter Chat, Poverty Narratives: UK & US, February 24, 2019, 12 pm Pacific, 1 pm Mountain, 2 pm Central, 3 pm Eastern, 8 pm London, Guest host: @maryohara1, http://cripthevote.blogspot.com


Graphic with yellow background and black text that reads: #CripTheVote Twitter Chat, Poverty Narratives: UK & US, February 24, 2019, 12 pm Pacific, 1 pm Mountain, 2 pm Central, 3 pm Eastern, 8 pm London, Guest host: @maryohara1, http://cripthevote.blogspot.com, on the left is an illustration of the British pound sterling symbol, on the right is a symbol of the American dollar sign

#CripTheVote Chat: Poverty Narratives

February 24, 2019

12 pm Pacific, 1 pm Mountain, 2 pm Central, 3 pm Eastern, 8 pm London

Guest host: Mary O’Hara

We will discuss the role of poverty narratives on policies and programs in the US and UK with guest host Mary O’Hara, journalist and author of Austerity Bites: A Journey to the Sharp End of Cuts in the UK. Mary will also talk about an organization she founded, Project Twist-It, that is focused on changing and transforming narratives about poverty. 

Twitter: @ProjectTwistIT

Please note: while we will focus on disabled people and poverty in the US and UK, we welcome everyone to participate and share their thoughts about poverty and ableism in their local communities/countries.

How to Participate

Follow @GreggBeratan @AndrewPulrang @DisVisibility @maryohara1 and @ProjectTwistIT. When it’s time for the chat, search #CripTheVote on Twitter for the series of live tweets under the ‘Latest’ tab for the full conversation.

If you don’t use Twitter, you can follow along in real time here: http://twubs.com/CripTheVote

If you might be overwhelmed by the amount of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @DisVisibility’s account. The questions will be Tweeted 5-6 minutes apart. 

Another way to participate in the chat is to use this app that allows you to pause the chat if the Tweets are coming at you too fast: http://www.tchat.io/

Here’s an article about how to participate in a Twitter chat: https://www.adweek.com/digital/how-to-join-a-twitter-hashtag-chat/

Check out this captioned ASL explanation of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/

Introductory Tweets and Chat Questions

Welcome to the #CripTheVote chat on poverty narratives with guest host @maryohara1, founder of @ProjectTwistIT in the UK. For more: https://www.projecttwistit.com

Remember to use the #CripTheVote hashtag when you tweet. If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #CripTheVote”

Please note: while we will focus on disabled people and poverty in the US and UK, we welcome everyone to participate and share their thoughts about poverty and ableism in their local communities. #CripTheVote

Q1: What do you think are the main ways poverty and disability are connected in our society? #CripTheVote

Q2: What are the negative depictions in the media and pop culture around poverty - and in particular how it relates to disability? #CripTheVote

Q3: Do you think 'welfare' is seen as a purely negative term with regard to poorer people, including people with disabilities who access government programs? If not entirely negative, how else is it viewed as? #CripTheVote

Q4: How does negative rhetoric and the prevailing narrative around poverty harm people who are poor - especially disabled people and multiply marginalised groups? #CripTheVote

Q5: What are some examples of the ways politicians spread negative stereotypes and misinformation? What other institutions and systems do the same? #CripTheVote

Q6: What are the dominant narratives around poverty you observed in the communities you belong to? #CripTheVote

There are significant attacks by the governments in the UK, US, and everywhere targeting poor people. For example, austerity measures in the UK: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/16/uk-austerity-has-inflicted-great-misery-on-citizens-un-says and cuts to food assistance in the US https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/usda-to-fund-snap-for-february-2019-but-millions-face-cuts-if-shutdown #CripTheVote

Q7: What are the consequences of government policies and actions that target poor and disabled people, for example work requirements, cutbacks to services, rules on eligibility? #CripTheVote

Q8: What can we do to challenge the negative stereotypes and narratives around poverty and especially how it impacts people with disabilities? #CripTheVote

This concludes our #CripTheVote chat on poverty narratives in the US, UK and everywhere! Thank you to everyone for joining us today, especially our guest host @maryohara1 of @ProjectTwistIT 

Keep the conversation going! A recap of this #CripTheVote chat will be up shortly and check out our blog for the latest: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com/