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Are You a Jerk to People With Disabilities Without Even Knowing It?

People with disabilities are the targets of a shocking amount of outright cruelty — the rate of violent assault against people with disabilities is triple that for the nondisabled. But even more common are everyday indignities borne more out of ignorance than malice: hearing people trying to talk to deaf people by talking very loudly and slowly, non-wheelchair users leaning forward to talk to wheelchair users, etc.

With that in mind, Scope, a British group that advocates for people with disabilities, has partnered with the advertising firm Grey London and TV presenter Alex Brooker to make a clever series of ads meant to help nondisabled people avoid being awkward — and, you know, actively offensive — when interacting with people with disabilities. They also devised a quiz to test if you learned anything at all from the campaign. Pro tip: if you’re trying to chat up a woman who uses a wheelchair, the correct move is not “ask her what medal she won in the Paralympics.”
— Dylan Matthews, Vox, www.vox.com/2014/5/8/5694742/are-you-a-jerk-to-people-with-disabilities-without-even-knowing-it

Seen Around Facebook:

So I’m working on my judging. I failed. When the beautiful nondisabled couple in the Mercedes zipped into the HP spot onto the crossed lines as I’m getting out, this is what happened:

Me: If you’re going to use the spot at least know the rules.

Woman: Me?

Me: No, the other car illegally parked where I need to get out.

She moves off the lines and into the space, while handsome is on phone. I shop and they’re still in the sparkling car when I return.

Woman: Well what would you need in that Nike store anyway?

Me: Have a nice day. (OK, that line isn’t true. I said nothing. I took a deep breath and debated how fast my lawyer could bail me out if the lift should drop on their car.)
— Elizabeth Treston

Just had a dude ask to carry me on the plane. My little inner lawyer popped up to encourage him to beware of opening himself up to liability. Shaking my head ! Onward!
— Bethany Stephens