William Boeva ​​lashes out at makers of ‘Down the Road’ and ‘Out of office’: “People with disabilities are not here to make you feel better” | BV

William Boeva’s very extensive Facebook post has only been online since Monday evening, but the message in question went viral in no time. More than 4,600 people have shared the post. About 1,000 people left a comment. In total, the Flemish comedian’s speech has already received more than 11,000 likes.

The 32-year-old comedian talks about his personal experiences on the platform. In addition, he is also very critical of the makers of the VRT program ‘Down the Road’. Boeva ​​does not agree with how people with disabilities are presented in the Flemish media. “When the VRT fires another season of ‘Down the Road’ at us this autumn and thinks it contributes to the inclusion of people with disabilities, that makes me sincerely sad. It is not because a feel-good program in which a specific group is allowed to show up to respond to the emotions of the viewer, that it actually contributes to the inclusion of that specific group or people with disabilities in general. .

Boeva ​​herself calls the phenomenon “the teddy bear method”. “Where people with disabilities are taken out of the closet like a teddy bear, just blowing the dust off, look, hey cute! And hop back on the closet until we can show it again. It is not that ‘Down the Road’ ensures that, for example, more people with Down syndrome or another disability are working within the VRT.” The comedian also cites the VTM program ‘Out of Office’. “On VTM I see an announcement for a program in which Bruno Van Den Broecke sends people with burnout to a farm where people with disabilities work. We, people with disabilities, don’t toil for years to accept our disability in a society that makes it difficult enough for us, only to be a ‘source of inspiration’.”

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According to the comedian, it is therefore high time for a change. “We disabled people are not here to make you feel better. We are here to live our own lives. We are not a source of feel-good to show you that you should be grateful that you do not have a disability and that it could all be much worse. If you really want to work on inclusion, show people with disabilities their strengths without that disability matter. Let us help carry instead of being carried. Shall we agree on that?”

Both VRT and VTM have already responded to William Boeva’s message. In a response to ‘Het Nieuwsblad’, VRT says “it is very proud of the heartwarming ‘Down the road’, which has won several international prizes”. “In other programs we also work explicitly on inclusive imaging, such as in ‘De kemping’ in which Evelyne is not portrayed as a hug person, but simply as one of the participants,” said spokesman Jan Sulmont. VTM says that ‘Out of office’ shows people with a disability without that disability mattering. “Using their strength and experience, they ensure that people with a burnout look at their life and work in a different way,” spokeswoman Tine Danschieter told Het Nieuwsblad. “We’ve been in touch with William, he’s coming to watch an episode with us soon.”

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