Inside Out

One of my friends called last night and told me she was on her way to the gym to go swimming. She asked what I was doing and I replied "Going for a walk."

"Walk?" she said. "That sounds funny, considering."

A few years ago I might have engaged her in a conversation about it, but I was eager to get outside and have my walk.

I know that language and disability is a topic that doesn't get discussed often enough. One reason that I think it's important to write about is that some people have told me they "don't know what to say" around people with disabilities and even using a word like "walk" can feel awkward to them because, they say, I might feel offended by it. What strikes me about this is that our society has somehow mixed up what are offensive words or terms with those which are innocuous. We're caught in a loop of sweating the small stuff and it turns language inside out. And, ironically, in some peoples' zeal to be politically correct, they try to correct my language too.

I have been known to say to another friend (in a wheelchair or not) something along the lines of "Let's go for a roll", but usually I'll say "Let's go for a walk." It doesn't matter to me because the words have the same meaning. The word walk as a noun is different than a verb when I say I'm going for a walk, first of all. I can go for a walk (noun) in a wheelchair. That doesn't mean I'm going to walk (verb).

However, I am going to experience the walk-noun in very similar ways as if I was walking. (See Nature on a Joy Stick below). There are differences because I'm not walking-verb, but I know everyone experiences a walk-noun differently. And so, although I could create a new term for "going on a walk in a wheelchair" or just even say that very long phrase, I prefer saying I'm going for a walk.

This probably sounds like a semantic exercise to some and I can understand that, but here's where it matters: how the words "I'm going for a walk" are perceived when a wheelchair user says them can be attributed to the way people think about disability.

Some folks say things that seem to try to get me back inside when I'm outside. I find these comments much more offensive than whether someone uses a word like walk around me, because of their implications and the assumptions behind them.

"I hope you carry a cell phone" a woman says in an ominous tone as she passes me by. Yeah and flares too. "Are you sure that it's safe to cross the streets?" another asks as we wait for traffic to clear. (What's her plan - to fly across?) And then there's this one: "Aren't you worried about tipping over?" I guarantee you that people who are walking are more likely to trip than me tip.

Being out and about, which is what taking a walk is, is a part of the experience of having a disability just as much as for someone who is living without a disability. So when some people act surprised that I'm taking a walk or say that the phrase "I'm taking a walk" sounds funny, I think it goes more to the perception that people with a disability can't do such things.

So the next time you worry about what words you use, remember this: using the same terminology can be a way to turn assumptions inside out.