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EARTHBOUND TOMBOY
BY HEIDI JOHNSON-WRIGHT
Those without disabilities sometimes think that folks
with disabilities go through life bemoaning their limitations. That we sit
sad-eyed, looking out the window, hoping for something that will “make us
whole.” That we pray daily for the miracle that will come along and mend our broken
bodies.
There’s also the disability myth that we’re fixated
on being able to live “normal” lives. If only we could move without a
wheelchair or cane. If only we could be like them.
While I wouldn’t turn down the ability to climb a
flight of stairs, my inability to do it doesn’t cross my mind that often. I
don’t stare each day at folks walking by me and shed tears because I can’t go
through life in an upright position.
No, far from it. But what does annoy me on a
regular basis is inconvenience. I’m talking about the hassle I encounter not
because of my body but because of the environment around me. Things that could
be changed if our culture stopped devaluing and marginalizing people with
disabilities.
For example, if you don’t have a disability and get
into a fender bender, it’s not fun. But it simply means you rent a car to drive
while your vehicle is being repaired. But if my van is in the shop, there’s no
place I can go to rent a comparable one with a lift. Wheelchair-accessible
taxis are very hard to come by. To get to work, I would have to use paratransit
or the bus. This means an added layer of planning ahead, building in trip time
and modifying my regular schedule. And until I get my van back, I probably would
avoid extra trips for such unnecessary things as grocery shopping or dining out.
You’ve probably been web surfing at least once and
come upon a website for a hip boutique hotel or quaint B&B. It may impress
you so much that you begin planning a vacation around it that very day. Book
airfare online and your dream trip materializes right away.
My husband and I love to travel, and have had our
own share of dream trips. But planning takes months. The vast majority –
upwards of 95 percent – of hotels, inns and villas we find online are out of
the question for a wheelchair user. Even the ones that are suitable require
trading numerous emails and calls back and forth to confirm the accessible room
with a roll-in shower. Now imagine the time it takes to also confirm access to
restaurants, shops, theaters, etc. and nailing down accessible transportation
to get there.
If, as a culture, we demanded that people with
disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else, then we could craft
a world that included accessible rental vans and taxis. A built environment in
which all structures were open to all people. A world that automatically
includes everyone.
I don’t sit around bemoaning my “brokenness”
because I’m not broken. Rather, I grow irritable with added layers of hassle
and inconvenience at every turn. And the icing on this reeking heap of
inconvenience is that it’s unnecessary and preventable.
http://earthboundtomboy.blogspot.com/2014/12/an-inconvenient-truth-about-life-with.html
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