What Makes Something “Accessible?”

 According to Webster's Dictionary, accessibility is easy to obtain or use or easily reached, entered, or used by people with disabilities.

To me, this sounds like a bunch of words. What do they mean? I honestly don’t think anyone knows. I have not yet found anything that is " universally accessible.” This is because we are all different. That being said, I have an issue that this blog post will address.

 

When this blog started eleven years ago, I was twenty-seven. By then, you are supposed to be “maturing,” whatever that means. However, I believe that I am still maturing as I write today. I bring that up because back in 2013, I wrote a blog entitled “But They Said It Was Accessible,” which I have linked at the bottom of this article. The original post discussed accessibility in general and how I believed it wasn’t where it needed to be back then. The rest of the blog will discuss our improvements, if any, since 2013.

 

In my opinion, we still have much work to do. I am not naïve. I am not attempting to generalize that there hasn’t been some improvement. Still, I am just judging from the seat I sit in every day here in the U.S.  Before I shame the US by highlighting accessible international cities, I must ask the question: Dear United States Architects. Thank you for making your building what you thought was accessible, but I have one question. How can we get in the door if I am traveling alone or with a caregiver, and they must assist me with driving? Sadly, we can no longer rely on the good nature of your average citizen to help hold the door. Therefore, I ask you to please PUT IN MORE AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENERS.

 

Disabled people want to be paying customers and frequent your business, regardless of what it is, but we’re not going to frequent your business or contribute to your bottom line if we can’t get in your damn door!

 

 The accessibility dilemma does not stop at entering your fine establishment. We encounter more issues when needing to use your restroom or something as simple as being seated at an event to accommodate a wheelchair or any other type of disability. Again, I ask who has designed your restrooms. A person with the smallest wheelchair ever? No, that’s probably giving you too much credit. Unfortunately, for the most part, able-bodied people like yourself decide how skinny or fat I can be to be able to use the restrooms. You don’t realize that most people in wheelchairs stick out like a sore thumb since our medical equipment extends off our bodies.

 

Okay, so I realize a lot of this article turned into a discussion of what it is like in public when you are in a wheelchair. I am aware that there are other types of disabilities, and I welcome your feedback as well, but this post is coming from a place of personal experience and frustration. Thank you for reading this post and for supporting The Voiceless Minority.

 

Until next time, when I highlight international accessibility,

Jay

 

https://thevoicelssminority.blogspot.com/search?q=but+they+said+it+was+accessible

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 11, 2024 at 2:17 PM

    Another well thought out article. You should send this to every building publication out there!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jason HahrSeptember 25, 2024 at 10:43 PM

    Thank you for the vote of confidence and the great advice. I assume thos is you Dad?

    ReplyDelete

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