Journals
One day while eating at a local restaurant, I watched the manager walk up to an employee’s counter and then demanded to know why she was on antidepressants. The manager even went ahead to shout her age, which was 18 years. The manager was like, “Why are you on antidepressants, and you are only 18 years old?!” He also barbarically remarked about how antidepressants are harmful to a person. The girl, including everybody in the restaurant, was perplexed by the manager’s behavior. Not knowing how to answer the manager, the poor girl left. Later on. I heard from the girl’s co-worker that she was recovering from anorexia and severe depression. The manager’s behaviour towards the girl is oppression and discrimination. He assumes to know what good and bad for the girl just because he has able-bodied privileges.
I have noticed that most public buildings in my area have are inaccessible to individuals with liabilities. Unfortunately, this is the day’s order, although individuals with liabilities need to visit them to receive innumerable services. Some of the public buildings’ entrances are inaccessible because of the stairways without substitute ramps or elevator access. If there is an elevator, people with liabilities find them extremely small to fit their wheelchairs. I also realized that visually impaired individuals find the elevators in public buildings inaccessible. They find it difficult because, on some occasions, the elevator call buttons or floor designators are inaccessible due to the lack of vocal indicators or braille on them. When I was in an elevator in a particular public building, someone closed the elevator door for someone moving in a wheelchair. (You should have seen the man’s face while the elevator door was closing, sadness, and disappointment!). I think this was a sickening discriminative action of the person who closed the door for the man with liability. Thus, this is an example of discrimination against people with liabilities. It is also an example of the privileges that non-disabled people have.
My mother once told me of a story about their time when education was only done orally. She told me that during their school days, teachers were forbidden to employ any sign language. According to her, students who were deaf had to sit next to the teacher and watch their teachers’ mouths. To make it worse, any student caught using sign languages was punished by kneeling on broomsticks. (My heart broke after hearing this). Communication for deaf students was, therefore, impossible. Deaf students were also beaten if they were unable to answer a question asked orally. She told me that most teachers assumed that there were no students with such liability. She also explained that there were hardly any tools that can be used to assist a profoundly deaf person in speech. From the story, this is discrimination and oppression that I think still exists in today’s society.
My friend’s brother, Tommy, was first tested with liability in the form of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at ten years. According to my friend, everyone thought that his brother would mot graduate high school, leave alone college. His brother later developed an inner ear disorder known as Meniere disease. Tommy felt that he would permanently lose his hearing. One time, his previous supervisor took advantage of his knowledge with an unsuitable prank. While Tommy was speaking, in a face to face meeting, the sound from his supervisor’s mouth suddenly stopped while his lips were still in motion. What came to Tommy’s mind is that he had gone deaf until the swine of a supervisor began to laugh, which Tommy could hear. The supervisor’s behavior reduced Tommy’s confidence, yet he knew he could be so much productive in society. Thus, non-disabled individuals, at times, make fun of people with liabilities, which I think is discrimination.