11:04am June 22, 2013

➸ Blind Jew Wandering in the Desert: (Image Description: photo of a handwritten note on white paper. The...

lunaplath:

blindjewwanderinginthedesert:

(Image Description: photo of a handwritten note on white paper. The note reads, ‘Shame on you, you are NOT handicapped. You have taken a space that could have been used by an actually handicapped person. You are a selfish young lady.”

“My name is Emelie Crecco, I’m 20 years old and I have cystic fibrosis. CF affects the lungs (as of many organs in the body) because of this I have a handicapped sticker. I’m not one to “abuse” the sticker, meaning I use it when I’m having a “bad day” (some days its a little harder to breathe). Today was HOT so I needed to use my sticker. I was running errands all day around my town, I pulled into a handicapped spot, placed the sticker in my mirror and continued into the store. Upon returning to my car I found a note written by someone, it said “Shame on you, you are NOT handicapped. You have taken a space that could have been used by an actually handicapped person. You are a selfish young lady.” I was LIVID. How can someone be so ignorant and cowardly? They clearly saw me walk out of my car, why not approach me? Not all handicaps are visible. I would love for you to share this story. It would help spread awareness for CF, but it would help open people’s minds to what handicapped really is.

Thank you for your time,
Emelie Crecco”

[x]

Why do people feel the need to go out of their way to police people? Please don’t assume you are a better witness to a person’s experience than the person themselves.

It makes me really angry that other (usually able-bodied) people like to decide who is handicapped/disabled and who isn’t. Unless your my doctor, or me, then you don’t know. Period.

Interesting story: one of my professors has Cystic Fibrosis and her doctor told her to try running because it could help with lung function. When she breathes heavily it can make her cough, so when she is running on the treadmill sometimes she has to stop because the coughing is to intense. People have literally come up to her saying “You wouldn’t cough so much if you would stop smoking.”

EXCUSE ME, but isn’t that insanely presumptuous? My professor has never smoked a day in her life. The more respectful thing to do would be to not assume things about a person’s health and, if you really think they are in danger or need assistance, ask if they’re alright instead of offering patronizing advice to a total stranger.

I often get this kind of unwanted input from people about my blindness. I was in Best Buy getting my mom a Kindle for Christmas. My sister was with me and we were using my debit card to pay for the gift. I had to use the point of sale machine to complete the transaction, so I asked my sister if the pen was in the right place for my signature. She said yes and I signed my name. The cashier said, “Wow you’re really functional,” in a tone that wasn’t very kind. He then went on to say that one of his friends had a parent who was blind and that the parent never would have been able to do that. I’m standing there with a guide dog and the stereotypical Ray Charles sunglasses on while indoors—I look exactly the way you’d expect a blind person to look—and this cashier is still not convinced that I’m a “real” blind person. All because I have practiced writing my signature.

Your standard of what is “normal” or “abnormal” behavior for a disabled person is not the definitive standard. Writing a signature does not make me a fake blind person. It does not make me “less disabled” than someone else. Also, telling someone that they’re “really functional” is not a compliment. It’s also not a compliment to say that someone doesn’t look like a disabled person, or “You don’t look like a blind person.” Just because you have a generalization of what disabled people are supposed to look like (or how they’re supposed to behave) doesn’t mean you’re right.

reblogging for additional commentary, which is spot on by the way.