Thursday, 24 September 2015

Banksy's Dismaland disregards Disability




Dear Banksy, 

Thank you for bringing Dismaland to my HOME!!

When you set up your bemusement park a mere 15 minutes away my son was thrilled. He has been a fan for many years…though that may now have changed.

My son has Asperger’s Syndrome and the fact that he ‘got’ your work is a miracle in itself. He admired it, questioned it, and learned from it.

As soon as he learned Dismaland was open, he dogged me to get tickets. (When I say ‘dogged’, Aspie’s are notoriously obsessive when they have a goal – and yes, I am the one who has to respond). Needless to say, your abysmal website failed to produce time and time again. And sorry, you may be cool and clever, but I am not paying £50 for tickets that cost £3, as the other touting websites offered.

After many a rant at my inadequate attempts via the website, my son accepted that he was going to have to chance queuing up. We worked out a strategy to make this feel manageable, so off he went with his support worker, full of hope and excitement.

Well, you know where this ends – in an interminable queue.

He phoned for advice having stood for two hours, only to be told that there was the slightest chance they’d get in –AFTER the next hour it would take to process the people with tickets, then the long queue in front of him. They were also told that there was further queuing inside the site. If you know anything of Asperger’s, you didn’t just create Dismaland, you created hell.

Perhaps that’s what you wanted. It has been said that it’s all part of the ‘dismal’ experience. Well, guess what – I don’t appreciate having a miserable reality forced upon the world I work really hard to make pleasant for a young man who faces crap every day.

Thanks for hurting him and disappointing him. Thank you for your witty cruelty. 

As your brochure says, ‘It’s not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster’.
Congratulations on your art: I’m still fixing the disaster.

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