Hovering outside the terminal at Detroit Metro Airport before the sun shows any sign of rising was not the ideal way I’d choose to spend the morning after my last final exam. So when the line remained stagnant for an extended period of time and the people behind me became noticeably aggravated, I silently joined in on the group frustration. Seconds later, we learned that the temporary holdup was due to a woman with hearing loss and her family discussing a problem with the ever-cheerful flight attendants checking people in at Gate B.
Clearly there was a miscommunication along the way — the flight attendants were blatantly irked and the passenger’s face was flushed with embarrassment. We boarded within minutes of the confusion and were quickly in our seats ready to depart. However, the calmness was fleeting as the flight attendants once again pestered the female passenger and her friend, this time to change her seat. The woman with the hearing impairment was ushered from her original seat near the emergency exit and instructed to switch with a fellow passenger a few rows up. What really got me was the gossip that surrounded the entire process: The hushed — or maybe not-so-hushed — chatter amongst passengers and flight attendants alike.
It’s gossip that I may not have registered a few years ago, but on this particular Wednesday morning it shook me. The whispers that followed were insightful — illuminating the culture we foster here in the United States. A culture that looks down upon anything or anyone that differs from the “norm.” The “norm” being a concept I don’t quite understand, considering we live in a country bound by different religions, unique histories and diverse backgrounds.
Nonetheless, we’ve grown up in this society which prides itself on acceptance, only to witness the complete opposite all too often in our daily lives. The word “disability” should not make you feel uncomfortable. It shouldn’t be a concept that you feel can’t be discussed over coffee or argued in an academic setting. We live in a world where one in five Americans has a disability, be it visible to the naked eye or not. It may be physical, mental or a combination of many factors. So why are most conversations surrounding disability taboo or completely misconstrued?
It seems there are two stereotypical representations of disability in the United States: the athlete who has overcome grand obstacles to achieve success against all odds and the mentally unstable mass murderer who kills innocent people without a motive. This type of thinking is beyond flawed.
Taking Professor Melanie Yergeau’s course, Disability Studies, crystallized this concept for me. We live in a community that judges one another immediately upon first encounter — we note the clothes that someone wears, the color of his or her skin, the way he or she acts and, most importantly, how he or she strays from the “norm.” And in doing so we’ve created an environment that is restrictive and stifling. One that’s detrimental to the unique perspectives and differences each of us brings to the table. Instead of creating a community of acceptance and understanding, we’ve built a culture that stigmatizes any variation of the “norm” and that barricades some people from fully immersing themselves into our society.
Rather than viewing disability as an individual problem that needs to be treated with surgery, therapy, medicine, etc., we need to approach it from a societal perspective. It’s not individuals who need to change, but our culture. That involves each and every one of us — from the aggravated airline attendants on my flight home to students like you and me. All across the board a change of perspective is warranted.
Some of us may take a bit longer to complete assignments, use a cane when walking to class or need auditory assistance. Whatever it is, a community that’s willing to accept individual differences and work to accommodate each of us is a much more productive place to live.
Sarah Skaluba can be reached at sskaluba@umich.edu.