Ok, here's a short one. So I was walking one of my dog walking clients (a kind of intimidating looking pit bull) and this woman yells out to me. This is someone I have never seen before on my walks through the area. I come closer thinking maybe she had some important information for me. But instead she exclaimed, "Look! I have a red leaf for you! Do you want to see it?" I just continued walking. My aide said with blatant sarcasm, "Oh great. That is wonderful." Oh boy. I just thought you'd enjoy what she said. Next time that happens I want to reverse roles and have my aide talk to her like she's 5. "Oh, great job on your leaf finding! You must be sooooo proud!"
That is a lovely leaf, mind ;)
ReplyDeleteOOOh! Go home and show your mommy!
ReplyDeleteI'd be pretty pumped if someone gave me a red leaf.
ReplyDeleteSo jealous.
maybe she is just crazy?
ReplyDeletetheres no shortage of loonies out there.
ReplyDeleteThat is so true there are some weird people out there how have u been doing
ReplyDeleteThe problem with using sarcasm in response to situations like this is able-bodied people do not always pick up on it. "Show it to your mommy" is likely to reconfirm their image of you as being childlike. On the other hand, if you make it clear from your tone that you are being sarcastic, they are likely to label you an Angry Cripple.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I can be very childlike. I love to stop and marvel and the wonders of nature and being alive, like red leaves. And sometimes I do bring those marvels to the attention of passersby, like, "Hey, look up there; did you know those are migrating pelicans?" But I think in this case, you had one of those well-intentioned people who think people with disabilities are children. They somehow want to be better than people who ignore those with disabilities, yet haven't quite grasped the fact that condescension isn't better than ignoring.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, i just recently found your blog and it's wonderful. I'm not disabled (well, physically- I have pretty severe social anxiety disorder) but my best friend has a progressive neuromuscular condition that requireds her to use a wheelchair most of the time she's not at home and I cannot stand to see the way people treat her. We were out shopping one day and decided to go into a store that's not handicap accessable- she managed the steps fine, but the store owner insisted on gushing over how good of a job she did. I was like, lady, she's 18 not 8.
ReplyDelete