I am finally getting back to why it is important to make sure that we consider accessibility with all of our other issues. That includes protest planning (as mentioned fairly recently), but really, it is for everything.
I don't like that it has to be said at all because of the first reason, that it is simply the right thing to do.
This is a sentiment that I have seen a lot, but as far as I know the first time was in 2017 with discussions about the Affordable Care Act (and people trying to strip it down and repeal it).
https://x.com/LaurenEMorrill/status/819714138213642241
From Lauren E. Morrill:
My biggest problem in these ACA debates? I don't know how to explain to you why you should care about other people.
I am going to go ahead and explain the self-interest part, and it's valid, but there's a limit to how far self-interest will get us.
Regardless, one reason to make sure that accessibility is accounted for is that many of these accommodations benefit others. For example, curb cuts exist because of people using wheelchairs, but benefit people pushing strollers and hand trucks and rolling totes.
Many products that have been designed to assist with specific disabilities have ended up becoming very popular because they make things easier for people who are holding a child with one hand trying to do something that usually takes two hands, or that are just busy.
Perhaps one reason for that is because the borders of what would be defined as disability or not are often blurry.
This is partly due to the ground that it covers, but also the entry points.
When we think about the Americans with Disabilities Act, your first thought will probably be people in wheelchairs. Perhaps you will also include other mobility devices like scooters, and walking aids like crutches, cans, and walking casts. There are similarities and differences in their needs.
That is also true of how those disabilities came about.
Some could be there temporarily, due to injury or surgery. There are also episodic conditions that change. We had a family friend with multiple sclerosis who sometimes needed a wheelchair, and sometimes didn't.
There is a wide variety of congenital issues. I have had friends with cerebral palsy who have used crutches and wheelchairs (and sometimes nothing) because there were movements that were difficult. With other conditions, like brittle bone disease or Ehlers Danlos disease, various movements might not be difficult on their own but have a risk of injury.
That is just mobility, not taking into account issues with hearing, vision, mood disorders, or facial differences. Adding those areas would still not cover everything. I just read Say Hello by Carly Findlay, who has ichthyosis. She used the term "facial difference", and that is accurate, but there is also pain associated with it, and different versions that can have different severity levels.
Personally, it is weird for me to think of my diabetes as a disability. I have written about that, but there are also reasons that it gets classified as a disability. I need to be able to have access to food, mainly just meaning regular meal intervals, but the ability to rectify it if my blood sugar plunges. I would be unsuitable for some long shift factory jobs. I have also taken medications where I needed to be careful with my sun exposure.
When we talk about disability, we are talking about a lot of things. That is part of why it is so important.
First of all -- and this relates to self-interest -- you not having a disability now does not mean that you never will.
If you are born white, that is probably not going to change. Your gender and sexual orientation are probably not going to change (though understanding of them may shift), but you may have choices to make about how open to be and if there is gender affirmation care needed.
You could become disabled at any time. Then, even when there are changes you would expect with that, there would be others that you had not been able to predict at all, including in how you are treated.
There is not even time to go over all of the possibilities, but let me make a few points.
Many people have recently had to deal with new issues due to long COVID. The more often you get it, the more your odds of post-infection issues increase. (Which would be a great reason to take precautions like masking!)
That alone should be a reason to want to be supportive. In addition, much of what we have learned about long COVID -- which is still pretty new -- has come from people who have it connecting with each other, describing their symptoms and what has alleviated those symptoms, and sharing experiences. They have been able to build up a body of knowledge that is then available for medical professionals, if they will listen.
It makes sense to listen to them, but also, it logically follows that with so much variety of condition and experience, we should be listening to people and trusting them to tell us the story of their own lives.
We have a tendency to not be great about that with all types of marginalization, but disability is an area where there can be many more unknowns.
In that listening, we can create a better world for everyone. That listening has to happen first.
Related posts:
https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2017/11/affect-access-and-acceptance.html
https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2020/09/identity-crisis.html
https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/01/deferred-disability.html
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