On empathy.: seanan

On empathy.

To the woman who made nasty comments about my "turning radius" when I had to move my electric scooter in front of Big Thunder Mountain; to the person who let their children sit on the ground with their hands pressed against my wheels, and scowled when I said this wasn't safe; to the people who stood on curb cuts and glared when asked, politely, if they would let me pass; to the man who snickered and murmured about lazy bitches when I drove by at Typhoon Lagoon; to everyone who sighed and rolled their eyes when a bus had to be lowered to load me on:

I do not wish you my experience. I do not wish you injury or handicap, however temporary. I do not wish you pain. I do not wish you the soul-bruising frustration of being limited by a body that refuses to listen to your commands, or the salt in the wound that is knowing you did nothing to deserve this: that you didn't injure yourself running a marathon or rock-climbing, but instead fell prey to something that can strike anyone, at any time, for any reason. I do not wish you years spent sedentary, watching your friends rush by able-bodied and healthy, and struggling not to resent them for it.

Instead, I wish you empathy.

I wish for a future where you can look at someone using an assistance device, whether it be a cane, a wheelchair, or a motorized scooter, and think "isn't it wonderful how we live in a world where this person can have the same experiences I do."

I wish for a time where you can see someone using a motorized scooter to enjoy something as large as Disney World and think "isn't that person kind, to spare their friends and family the effort of pushing a manual wheelchair around this huge place, just so that they don't have to experience the nerve-racking stress of navigating something so large and potentially dangerous through a crowd."

I wish for a society where you can listen to simple, necessary requests and hear, not an inconvenience, but a leveling out of a certain small imbalance in the world.

I wish for a place where you can see a wheelchair user sitting to watch a parade and not think "great, let's stand in front of them, that's open space," but instead "isn't it lovely how we can all get a good view."

I am not asking for special privileges. I am not asking to go to the head of the line just because my left foot doesn't work sometimes.

All I am asking is to be allowed, unjudged and unresented, to join the line at all.

Thank you.

katyhh

May 17 2015, 15:15:59 UTC 2 years ago

New comment

Again???? What on Earth is wrong with people. Sighs and offers hugs.

vixyish

May 17 2015, 16:55:27 UTC 2 years ago

Less "again" and more "always".

At Disneyland Paris last year, which i gather you're thinking of, it was the cast members, which was an extra level of sad.

We just got back from Walt Disney World. The cast members at the US Disney Parks are generally lovely about it. But Disney can't control the attitudes of the guests, alas, and there are always those who buy into the " they're just lazy " lie.

kengr

May 18 2015, 00:47:23 UTC 2 years ago

And let's not go into the *other* kind of idiots. The ones who have *injured* blind friends of mine by trying to "help" them (without asking first).

In one case, he was quite aware that there was a dropoff at the edge of the sidewalk (due to repair work). But the idiot trying to give unasked for help managed to push him over the the 2 foot drop.

and folks who try to "help" you cross the street... when you weren't trying to cross that one, but were checking where you were to make sure you crossed the right street (the one at right angles to the one the idiot was trying to drag you across).

I think we need a program rather like the ones where high school students have to carry a "baby" for a week. Only aimed at teaching them what *not* to do to or around disabled people.

Not sure how you'd do it though... :-(