Sometimes griping about something can be good for the soul, but that is not the intent of this page.
An enlightenment to the general public is the intention because sometimes all of us need to just simply tell it like it is.
Hopefully, the value of it will be in changes so terribly necessary for persons with disabilities, but the bottom line is simply gripping about a particular problem will not necessarily correct it.
Complaints need to be filed with the proper authorities if they cannot be resolved with management or owners of facilities. This web page deliberately does not contain the names of members who submitted their articles to Wheel Me On...
Julia Hollenbeck
© 1998; 2001; 2007
Note: Wheel Me On... does not warrant Google Sponsor ads will be in ADA compliance or support web page content.
Shopping in a Mall
Have you ever visited a mall in a wheel chair? I went along with a friend in a wheel chair and really had my eyes opened. At the mall, there is insufficient handicapped parking. Some big jerk parked in the handicapped parking so he obviously wouldn't have to walk too far when picking up his purchase. He had no limp, no cane, no obvious disability, and worse, no disability placard on his vehicle. Of course, there was no security, no police. "You can never find a cop when you need one!"
There was no accessible entrance to the stores in the mall. Some people would hold the door for people in wheel chairs but other people would let it close in your face. This mall had installed buttons to open the door only from the inside.
In department stores, there are big aisle's, but in the aisle's are racks or tables, only allowing walking space around them. Well, I simply moved the racks, expecting a comment from an employee, but no one said a word. When my friend put her credit card on the counter for payments, the clerk would either ask me a question or give me the form to sign. My reply to them was "I didn't give you the card, I'm not signing the bill or paying for it." Then they would either come around or look over the top of the counter. This didn't always happen, all people are not rude.
In most of the malls, there are Food Courts, and we eventually went to the one that was in this particular mall. While paying for our food, my friend was in her wheel chair trying to find a table. I actually saw a man run in front of her, and sit down at the only accessible table. I felt like dropping the pizza on his head.
Appalling Question?
While using a wheelchair is sometimes difficult, it eventually becomes a part of our body and therefore, we accept it. Regardless of reason, no one in their "right mind" would want to use a wheelchair if they did not have too. The moral of which: Never judge the capability of a person in a wheelchair by his or her appearance. Appearance can sometimes be deceiving and the question, "Why are YOU in a wheelchair?" sometimes appalling.
I suppose it has a lot to do with how the question is asked and whether or not a person wants to share their personal history, which is usually no one's business. So before you ask the question, be forewarned; you may not receive an answer to satisfy your curiosity. From personal experience, it usually depends on how and when the question is asked. There is a lot of self-gratification when providing an answer to someone who is genuinely interested.
Discounts?
Is it interesting that individuals over the age of 55 years ("Senior Citizens") receive discounts, but the disabled seldom, if ever, receive the same? Amazing that so many businesses neglect to offer the same discount to persons with disabilities, especially when thinking about the benefit. Senior Citizen discounts were not supposed to be bonus points for aging. They were intended to help off-set the lesser income of retired people. Look around society and count the persons with disabilities, then realize that many of "these people" must live on "fixed" incomes, social security or disability benefits. Questionable is: "Why in the world few companies do not offer the same benefit to persons with disabilities?" It seems that persons with disabilities should be entitled to a discount benefit and that should be a primary concern of businesses.
How Embarrassing!
Open your telephone book to the yellow pages and look at all the listings for medical equipment, services, and supplies. Then, look at a list of recent sponsors or contributors for local programs involving persons with disabilities. It is down right embarrassing that less than five percent of business' who thrive off persons with disabilities in communities are the very ones who neglect the efforts of their own patrons. There ought to be a law!
Who Said Cripple?
If you look the word "cripple" up in a dictionary, you will find that it means anyone that is lame; physically or mentally, and unable to function as a "normal" person without assistance. "Cripple" is indeed a correct word. However, over twenty-some years ago, scores of people began rebelling against the stigma of being labeled a cripple, because they could not find gainful employment, attend various events, or even play an active role in society. When the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) was formed, Congress, the ADA, and councilmen from across America joined in trying to correct a long standing problem from continuing to spread and eventually being called a "cripple" was no longer politically or socially acceptable.
Being called a "cripple" is no different than using a slang word to describe a person of a different race. It is no longer an acceptable description in society for a disabled person. Many persons with disabilities using wheelchairs may be deformed and others may not be; What is the difference? Many people in society that are not presently deformed may someday become deformed. All of us fight with attitudinal problems from time to time; who would not with any catastrophe illness or accident that causes deformities, and sometimes because of the stigma of a word? Eventually, because the stigma of being called a "cripple" was degrading, it was not considered the right choice of word to describe someone with a deformity or disability. The committee members that first engaged in this abusive problem labeled persons with disabilities as "People with Physical Difficulties." Well, that term was too long, so "Handicapped" was invented for a shorter, easier understanding.
Later, the term became "Physically Challenged" came to be and now the acceptable term is "Person with a Disability" (PWD).
This new and exciting "term" leads us to "person first" language and the ability to see the person first and the disability last, if even seeing the disability at all. If persons watch television and view ads on television carefully, they will see people using wheelchairs, people who are deformed, disabled, blind, using medical aids, or with other disabilities. None of these people are referred to as "cripples".
I guess I take personal offense to hearing that nasty little word because I used to be called a "cripple" and carried that stigma when learning to walk and conceal the limp as a young child, to keep from being teased because one leg was slightly shorter and muscles did not function correctly. In later life, struggles with attitudinal adjustments while remembering my childhood, returned while learning to walk with a cane and first having to use a wheelchair. When I hear someone being called a "cripple" today, it brings back all the ugly memories of those struggles. I take offense when hearing anyone call persons with disabilities "cripples," even though the word remains as a description in the English Language dictionary.
