On Accomodation

Unless you're new here (welcome!) you've probably seen me whine about my horrible boss. He redefines asshole for a new millenium, but he is a family man. So, even though he's cut sick days completely and is forcing me to work 2.5 hours per week for free, he does make allowances for parents in the office.

Specifically, there are two secretaries that have children of school age and both are given what I would call accommodations. One is allowed to leave early to attend her daughter's sports games, the other leaves at 3:00 every day to pick up her children from school.

Some people in the office complain, rather bitterly, that these two are "special" and get "privileges". I don't see it that way. They have children. Those children require certain things of their parents, my boss is allowing the parents to provide those things. I don't need to leave early and when I do go home, nobody's clutching at my leg and wailing or asking me for $20 after telling me they hate me. (Children, they're awesome!)

This is how I see all forms of accommodation. Sure, people with handicapped tags get the cool parking spaces. You get to walk. I guarantee you you wouldn't trade for all the best parking spaces on Earth. Hey, Christians, do your Muslim coworkers get to take several breaks to pray*? Well, you get all your important holidays off without even having to ask! How cool is that?

Look, here's the thing about accommodation: yes, the person being accommodated is getting something awesome that you are not, but it's in exchange for their life being significantly more difficult in some way than yours. Persons with blindness get to bring puppies into restaurants- they also can't see the restaurant. Persons of colour can get into college with lower test scores**- and nobody ever assumed you were in a gang simply because of the colour of your skin.

Does that help any at all? I realize the analogy isn't perfect, but just a bit? Maybe?

*I have seen this complaint. As if anyone's having fun while they pray.

**I could write a book on why those test scores are lower, but I'm just going to say Racism, it's endemic! and leave it at that.

Thinking, We Should Try It

(A windstorm tore out a power line at work, basically exploding our server. I may be in and out for a while, so enjoy this post I wrote on Word while waiting to get online.)

I wait for the bus in the morning across the street from the city’s WIC office. If you are unfamiliar with the requirements of WIC, you have to show up for regular appointments with your child. Today, just like every day, I watched women struggle to get strollers up ten concrete steps. You see, the WIC office is in a converted house. While I applaud the use of an existing structure, I can’t see any reason why they didn’t install a ramp.

Think of all the people locked out of that building by ten concrete steps: wheelchair users, walker users, possibly even people using canes or crutches. I guess those people never need WIC.

Then I got on the bus. Today, we rated a brand new, $500,000 bus. Now, I’m not arguing with the price tag. At least once a week this winter I ended up waiting outside in the dark, in subfreezing temperatures for as long as an hour and a half because the bus broke down. Once, when it was 2˚F (-17C), the door was fully open the entire trip. It just wouldn’t close. That was pleasant.

Anyway, we needed new buses, we got new buses, and I finally got to sit in one. They are very nice, however they have one design flaw. Keep in mind, I’m 5’1.5” (1.5m) tall. That is short, but it’s not unusually short. Keep that in mind while I explain how to signal a stop. There is a cord that runs along the windows on both sides, usually about 6” (15cm) above my head. You pull the cord, a little bell dings, a little sign lights up and the driver stops at the next intersection or marked bus stop. The seats on the new buses are stepped so that people in the back are no longer hidden by people in the front. I’d say that people in the back are about 5’ (1.5m) higher than the front row.

That wouldn’t be a problem except that the cord is at the same height from front to back. That means the cord is at about shoulder height in the back row, and 3’ (0.9m) over my head in the front. I had to stand up and reach over the seat to pull the cord. On a moving bus. That’s a good way to end up being thrown to the floor. (Yes, I have ended up on the floor of the bus before.) Mind you, the front seats flip up to allow wheelchair users space to ride the bus. Now how is someone in a wheelchair supposed to pull that cord? $500,000 and the most basic technology on that bus is inaccessible to large numbers of people who use the bus.

I have a suggestion. Instead of ignoring the entire disabled community, how about before you design anything for public use, you consult disabled persons- or anyone with a brain? It took me all of one nanosecond to see that steps of any number or kind would be a barrier to WIC’s clientele, let alone a wheelchair user. It took me one second of stretching my arm up while seated to realize the cord on the bus was inaccessible to short people, let alone people who cannot stand up to reach the cord.

Thinking, we should try it.