Friday 4 October 2013

I’m down here…


I’m going to use another point from Louise Bruton’s list (http://www.buzzfeed.com/louisebruton/things-youll-know-if-youre-a-wheelchair-user) as the basis for tonight’s post. I’ve spoken about how ‘sometimes, people talk about you like you’re not there’ but I’d like to discuss the problem further as it happens on a regular basis, more so than being patronized come to think of it. In an ideal world, everyone would treat me as a standard human being but that’s not the case. This doesn’t apply to my readers but there are different ways people converse with me. I must add that it is preferable to be addressed as a complete idiot rather than not at all.

Whenever someone ignores my existence, I am filled with rage but the person can’t tell because they don’t look down. At least when I hear a patronizing tone directed at me, I can blame ignorance but I have no respect for people who speak above me. It’s so rude. If I stared at a woman’s chest instead of talking to her, I’d get a slap. Yet, certain people see my carer as a mouthpiece who speaks on my behalf. Wrong. It may sometimes be difficult for me to talk clearly but I can make decisions and communicate my thoughts.

Another similar issue that stems from people not talking to me is assumption. I can’t think of an exact example right now but I have been out and people say to my friend or whoever’s with me ‘is it OK to do X with him?’ Hold up. Why is that question not being directed at me? I am not a child who needs a chaperone. I am an adult (in case you don’t know) who can answer questions. I know that’s hard to believe sometimes. Don’t assume that wheelchair=no brain. Find out first.

Remember to check out http://fansviewpoint.com/premier-predictions-7/ and laugh at how rubbish I am at guessing football results. They’re almost as bad as my FIFA skills.

Bye for now!

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