…That I stillremember the final scene as clearly as when I first woke up (also, 2014 was a Congressional Election Year).
So, the scene: a friend/acquaintance is in a doctor’s examination room, and I’m waiting in the hall in a manual wheelchair across from the room’s door, in support of my friend. And this is a big hospital complex building that also has a theater/auditorium for presentations.
So, while I’m waiting, who should enter from my left but a Democrat Man™ Candidate for Congress, and a Republican Woman™ Candidate, on their way to the auditorium for their debate. And they are comparing notes with each other, and coordinating what each is going to say, in order to put on the most exciting show (and the topic was Abortion Rights).
And the Republican Woman™ spots me, and says: “Oh, Good! A Prop!” And grabs the back of my chair. I try to put on the chair’s breaks, but she swats my hands out of the way, and starts pushing me down the hall to the stage against my will.
And I wake up with my heart racing at what felt like 120 beats per minute.
people have no idea like. how devestating this is. so many wheelchairs are custom made and repairing them is hellish, if they’re in a state to be repaired. most wheelchair users do not have the financial means to replace them, and SSI asset limits mean that if they’re on disability it’s a ridiculous set of hoops to even crowdfund past 2k to repair or replace.
airlines need to be held accountable for this in a major way. they see fucking over disabled people’s lives as more profitable than fixing how they handle wheelchairs. and i mean like, actually ruining lives, taking away comfort and freedom that they worked so, so hard to get. people take their lives because of this.
not-so-friendly reminder that in most cases wheelchairs are legally considered not just a mode of transportation, but an extension of their owner’s body (like a limb or appendage), which is why if you break a part of someone’s wheelchair you can be charged with assault, if you grab the handles of a wheelchair while someone is in it and move it to a location against their will you can be charged with kidnapping, etc. Many well-meaning yet misguided people will compare wheelchairs to cars or bikes in terms of value and necessity, but they are not even close to the true gravity of a damaged or broken wheelchair. If you work for an airline and you are careless with a wheelchair, you’re not popping the tire of a BMW, you’re not cutting the breaks on a bike, you are taking away someone’s legs and then expecting them to deal with it as if you did nothing more than lose a suitcase or crack a phone screen. People need to start realizing the damage they’re causing.
