If you’re disabled or know someone who is, you need to be angry and speak up for those who can’t or are discouraged from speaking up.

When you go out shopping, to the mall, to a store, or to an event, do you have any problems getting into that venue or parking your car? Tell me, do you notice the few parking spots that are indicated for those with disability placards, and where are they located relative to the entrance, wherever you are going? These are things we are blind to and which ableists have almost no care for until it strikes home.

Recently, I attended an event that was for individuals with primarily sensory disabilities but also for people with disabilities of any type. There were all kinds of displays and give-aways, and enthusiastic managers of departments wandered through the groups, greeting everyone.

I looked at a special item that had been placed there, and where people could go in and look at several interactive things that were available. Guess what wasn’t available, and there was no sign about its availability?

Steep steps lead up into the display. When someone asked if it was wheelchair or walker accessible, they were told there was a ramp. The question then was, “Where was the ramp?” It was indicated that it could be pulled out. But how would anybody know since there was no sign indicating that there was a ramp. Well, the organizers seem to have missed that one. But that’s only one instance.

There is a large plaza at that particular venue, but getting up to it is impossible due to the combination of broad raised areas where a wheelchair would have to be lifted, and I don’t believe someone using a walker would be able to do it themselves.

I was with a person who was using a walker, and the solution that officials offered was to go over a grassy area. This was an impossibility because the grass was lumpy and moist, and that person had to be helped by two strong young men. Do you find this acceptable at an event that is meant for persons with disabilities?

If I sound angry, I am because too often the disabled are told that all they have to do is ask for an accommodation and it will be given. Do you believe it can be demeaning and disrespectful to force someone to ask for their rights?

Unfortunately, it’s been my personal experience that some entities are more window dressing than forces for the rights of the disabled. No one should have to feel that they are coming hat-in-hand to ask for what should rightfully be given to them. Yes, there is a degree of humiliation attached to having to ask for your rights to be honored. You may disagree, but this has been expressed to me by persons with disabilities.

Are you familiar with the ADA? Perhaps you are not, and for that reason, I am providing the link to the website here. These guidelines are primarily intended for building entrances and access. There are other aspects, such as a need for the hearing impaired or those who cannot voice their need, or any number of other disabilities that may not be visible to the public.

I hope neither you nor anyone in your family or a friend ever has to be required by a disability to use a wheelchair or a walker because then the chickens will come home to roost. And you will realize ableism in its most upsetting form. It is not acceptable and it needs to be forcefully addressed.