Sad Times At KFC

            What a disgrace! These are the first three words that came to mind when I read an article on the social media giant known as Facebook recently. The report detailed how KFC, a chicken place famous in the U.S. A turned a little girl away because Pit bulls had recently mauled her. According to the article, "She has turned out because other patrons may be scared by her face and injuries. The link to the full report can be found at the end of this post.

            When I first read this, I couldn't believe that it could be true. However, since I read the article in the day and a half, I have read other people's posts about the incident, which leaves me to believe that it is true. Not only do I feel bad for the little girl who is most likely going to have psychological damage for a long time, but I feel bad for society.

            It is 2014, and we still have people who hold archaic views on the difference. I get that KFC cannot control their employees' attitudes, but I sincerely hope that the employee who said this was fired. Since then, KFC has offered to pay 30,000 dollars towards the girl's medical bills. It's sad to think that this is just a PR move, but that is honestly what I believe. In my opinion, KFC is not doing because it is the right thing to do to fix the injustice done, but they are doing it save face.

            What kind of country have we become that in 2014, the difference is still looked upon individually so negatively. No, the girl did not have a permanent disability, but she does have a temporary one. This is why I write about the article here. The KFC incident reinforces my idea that disability is not physical and mental, but social. Let me explain.

When someone is classified with a physical disability, in society, that is, it means they are a lower class of citizen. What it means, though, is that they do things a little differently. Their physical differences do not limit them except in very few tasks. What limits them the most is society's perception of what they should be able to do. The KFC individual has such an archaic view of disability that he could not even think before imposing social restrictions and barriers on the little girl. However, an incident like this is not isolated. It reminds me of an experience in a movie called The Music Within. The film is about the development of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the film, the lead character, a disabled man, is turned away from a North West restaurant because of how he eats pancakes. In that movie, the incident occurred before the Americans with Disabilities Act was made into law, and it showed that people in that era were not accepting of difference. My question is: how long before that era is over?

 

http://www.people.com/article/kfc-pays-medical-bills-girl-pitbull-att