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
