I Am Disposable, Are You Okay With That?

Ableism is a massive problem.

The rights of people with disabilities are often overlooked, especially if they have a hidden disability. It is too often fine and acceptable to mock, fire, or even kill people with disabilities. This is not okay.

If you are a non-disabled person, you are one bad day away from being disabled. This impacts everyone. Disability can happen to anyone, and it is not a choice. Ableism is a big issue. The treatment of disabled people is abhorrent and needs to be addressed.

I take the maxim recommended dose of multiple antihistamines. I carry two Epinephrine autoinjectors, all because other people’s preferences are more important than my basic safety.

I worry every day that my food will kill me. I wonder if there is a hidden allergen in my food? If I have to go to the bathroom in public, will I be safe? Will the air freshener send me into anaphylaxis? (https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/anaphylaxis-allergies-young-people-deaths-1.3238401) I worry that my “learning disability” will cost me my livelihood. Will I be homeless because my work is not tolerant of my neurodiversity? If I lose my job will I be able to get food I can eat? (https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190702-we-need-to-talk-about-dyslexia-at-work)

Severe food allergies are one type of disability. Shellfish is a top 8 allergen. It is airborne, and it’s legal to cook shellfish and let people sample it in the grocery store. This is bad enough, but they don’t have to post a notice that they’re doing it either. I can have anaphylaxis (which can lead to death or at least some very hefty medical bills) at the grocery store because food samples are being cooked and given out. And I would have no way of knowing I was in danger. If they put up a simple sign, my life would not be at risk. A simple sign could be the difference between life or death.

If I died, the grocery store would not get in trouble. The management would not get administrative leave. A wrongful death suit would be laughed at and thrown out if it went to court. There would be no news coverage. And aside from my friends and family, no one would notice my 100% preventable death.

I can’t use most public restrooms. A straightforward, healthy, cheap solution would fix it. All I need is public restrooms not to use “air fresheners.” But as some non-disabled people like “air freshener,” I am denied access to restrooms.

I cannot go into many stores because of my disability. And they don’t have to warn me either. I have opened up a door to go inside a store and was blasted with a ton of incense. I was unable to function for a few hours after that. I was in real danger. Again, I could have died. This is not an exaggeration. Anaphylaxis kills. I did not enter the building, yet my life was in danger. There was no way I could have known the incense was there. I couldn’t get a fabric store to move scented pinecones and keep the extra in plastic, and a friend couldn’t get the only grocery store in her area to move them. (Not stop selling them; move them away from the door and put extra pinecones in plastic). I have asked over 30 businesses to move scented products. Only one gym and one hardware store have done so. If they barred me for my race, sex, or sexuality, people would very rightfully boycott them, and it would be a PR nightmare. But I am told it’s my problem that the pinecones were there, not theirs. Small changes that, in some cases, either save money or make money aren’t worth doing. These changes would mean that millions of people would have more access to public spaces. But they are not, and that is ableism. That is a problem. But few people care. Reporters wouldn’t respond to me when I wrote to them about the pinecone issue.

I do not have rights.

The ADA (The Americans with Disability Act) is toothless. Accommodation for disabilities is dependent on an employer being willing to make the accommodation. It is easy for companies to fight a discrimination suit. And even if you have a disability, good luck finding a lawyer to cover you. Along with allergies, I am neurodiverse. (While I prescribe to the philosophy that neurological differences like dyslexic, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, autism, and ADHD result from normal and natural variation and not the result of disease or injury, they are covered under the ADA). I have been fired because of my disabilities (Once because of my neurodiversity, and once because I almost died in the office from anaphylaxis). No lawyer was willing to take me on. There were clear violations of federal law. I was willing to go into debt to get a good lawyer. I contacted human rights groups; they didn’t even bother to respond.

If I had been fired because of my sexuality, race, or gender, I could have taken legal action. But it was for a hidden disability, and I was left out in the cold.

I did not pick my skin color, and I did not pick my sex or gender, I did not pick my sexual orientation, I did not pick my disabilities.

I want there to be an awareness that ableism is a problem. Sometimes the same people who are protesting other types of discrimination are not willing to take down ableist social media posts. There is a saying; the first step is to admit we have a problem. I want the problem to be recognized and people willing to speak against it instead of ignoring or defending it.

Until more people step up and take a stand against ableism, I am disposable.