Anyhow she's posted a series of photos showing disabled people out and about - one on the deck of a cruise ship, e.g.
There is also a photo of two women fishing from power chairs- and this struck me the most.
When I was traveling for wheelchair tennis, I'd often find myself in a group of people in wheelchairs which I welcomed. It's quite a different experience to deal with lack of access in a group, for example, than alone. It's also interesting to see the dynamics that arise when people encounter numbers of disabled folks out and about.
I can understand that it might seem unusual to folks to see a group of eight to ten people in wheelchairs together, but sometimes people would seem surprised even when there would be just two or three of us together. And I found this fascinating - since able bodied people travel that way all the time!
We'd get comments like :
"Oh you two know each other?" (sadly adding to the myth that we all know each other
"Why are you here?" (in hotel elevators)
"How did you meet?" (this one always fascinates me- and opens up lots of lines!)
It's like applying for a permit to have a social gathering.
Question One: How did you meet the co-applicant?
That kind of thing.
In any case, I think the level of intrusion in the comments is striking (although the level of intrusion in general is higher when you have a disability). And I think more images showing people with disabilities together just doing things (fishing, etc.) would help toward changing what apparently is the public's view that seeing more than one of us together warrants getting a permit - or something!
Click above to visit The Gimp Parade.
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