Ever feel that you're surrounded by obvious issues that others must see, but refuse to acknowledge?
Ever have the urge to laugh at them because they adamantly insist there is no problem when it screams out that it's there?
Let's call this the rubber duck syndrome. It happens when you're a disability advocate. I have days where , like this gal, I have the equivalent of a rubber duck on my back (a rather large and bright yellow one) and one on a stick and people are looking over my head saying
"What rubber duck? I don't see an issue/problem here."
At that point, if I had a real rubber duck, I would squeeze it and say "Hear that?" It wouldn't do any good though. The rubber duck syndrome causes others not to be able to see or hear the issues of the disabled.
In its truest form, that of bottom line denial, those suffering from this disorder make comments like these:
"We've never had to put up a ramp before. Why do it now?"
"Can't you just use an absentee ballot to vote? Why do you insist on being able to get inside to vote?"
"If we spend money on an accessible playground for kids with disabilities, we're taking money away from normal kids."
You get the idea. We've all run into people suffering from the rubber duck in the room syndrome. There are several cures. Don't try pouring a bucket of cold water over their heads - it doesn't work. Trying to reason with someone suffering from this disorder is usually hopeless. There appears to be some type of internal dissonance that makes rationalizing with them difficult.
Lawsuits usually help since third parties get involved. It is a rude awakening for people suffering from this disorder to discover that there are laws covering access for disabled people. When confronted with a lawsuit, they sometimes shout garbled phrases such as "I have a Grandfather clause!" or "You people have a sense of entitlement". But never fear. Their initial outbursts subside when they realize that they have no choice but to face your issues and deal with the problem.
I have seen cases where folks turn around and actually say "Gee, that rubber duck on your back is really big!" Their eyes are opened and solutions begin to appear.
It does an advocate's heart good to watch this transformation.
So as I trudge along with my rubber ducks, remember that you must never give up on people suffering from rubber duck syndrome. It is a malady that has a cure in some cases. It simply just doesn't get better by catering to the sufferer.
Photos courtesy of Rubber Duck Land at http://www.getodd.com/duck/gallery.html for non commercial use only(Click above)
4 comments:
Not fair. You're all serious and then you post something this funny that makes me fall out of my wheelchair. Great post.
What I hate is when people act as if I'm some lone wolf who is maladjusted because I'm trying to get a ramp put up and make things better for others. I think those of us who dare to speak up take the heat unfairly. As a doctor I try to encourage others with disabilities to ask for access. The more of us that "quack", the better.
It took years for my DH to get the deacons to see the need for a handicap accessible bathroom at church. Our deacons began to get older, and suddenly it didn't seem like such an unnecessary expense after all LOL.
LOL there is always the "waiting out " theory. Some say as the baby boomers get older, more accessibility will just happen and I'm sure that's true. One of my friends who has been in a chair for 35 years keeps telling pre-ADA stories to the young folks in wheelchairs along the lines of how things used to be before we had that law. This seems to make them more determined to keep working for improvements for the next generation!
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