I want to Share My Love and Not Be Penalized for It: An Open Letter to Facebook and Other Social Media Platforms, by Jason Hahr.

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Above is a picture of a brown pen poised over a blank piece of paper, held by a hand. 


Dear Mr. Zuckerberg, and other executives at Meta Platforms, Inc.

My name is Jason Hahr. I am a 38-year-old disabled male who lives in Ocala, Florida. I have been active on Facebook since the early 2000s, yes, I am old. I’m writing to you today because, while I enjoy Facebook, there is one aspect of the platform that I think needs to be updated—and I’m not talking about the technology. Your platform is very intuitive and easy to use, even for someone as physically limited as me.

 I have Cerebral Palsy, and I use a power wheelchair along with other assistive devices to function daily. Because of the nature of my disability, I use personal care services to perform everyday tasks that others can do for themselves, such as toileting, showering, eating, and running errands, to name a few. Because I require personal care assistance, I am not legally allowed to get married to my girlfriend, who also has a disability and uses similar services. While I believe this is a crucial issue that needs to be addressed, that is not why I am writing to you today.

I realize that such a big push for inclusivity would not happen overnight. I am writing because I believe that the choices for one’s relationship status need to be updated to include the designation “committed.” Currently, the only relationship statuses you offer are single, in a relationship, engaged, and married. I realize this status in a relationship includes all types of relationships, including open ones. But I argue that until the problem of not being able to marry is no longer an issue, an individual should have the option to put “committed” on their Facebook profile.

I only mention Facebook here because I am unable to use your other platforms due to mobility issues. However, it would be a game-changer if you were the first social media company to offer this status on your website. That would not only allow me to acknowledge my changing relationship publicly, but it would also bring attention to the overall issue of marriage accessibility.

You may wonder why this is such an important issue to me, and you may counter that you can simply list your status as married on the platform. I know some disabled couples that do this. The only thing I am concerned about is the American Social Security and Medicaid systems, seeing the changes on social media. Once they do, I’m worried that they may penalize us financially and in terms of our care. As I mentioned earlier, the option of commitment is not perfect, but it would prevent any loss of benefits until the injustices of marriage and inaccessibility can be corrected.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this letter and considering my request. If you want to discuss the idea further, I can be reached at the following email address and phone number.

Email: jasonhahr@gmail.com

Phone: 814-403-3437

 

Respectfully,

Jason Hahr

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 28, 2025 at 1:41 PM

    How could you not be legally allowed to get married???

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 28, 2025 at 7:31 PM

    This is crazy to me! I’ll be sharing your story and hope this goes viral! It’s not right!

    ReplyDelete

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