[ST] [SA] Arisia Elevator Management

[Rose Fox]

Since apparently we are in fact discussing this...

On 2008-03-05  , at 09:48, Bill Y wrote:

> I'm _not_ disabled (usually), and I have a problem with this.
>
>>
> Put it this way- is someone in a wheelchair's time _more_ important
> than someone who might appear able to take the stairs, but does
> not?
>
> ...I've spent months walking with 2/3 of my right foot unusable and  
> you
> know what- pain hurts the same whether you're handicapped or not.

The reason I suggested "blue placard" badges--think of it like having  
handicapped license plates on your car--is that they work equally  
well for people who are permanently or obviously disabled and people  
who are temporarily, intermittently, or non-obviously disabled,  
including those who are disabled by pain. If it gets to con time and  
your foot hurts enough that taking the stairs would be difficult for  
you, you can apply for one, just like someone in a wheelchair or  
someone with fibro or someone with a broken toe or someone nine  
months pregnant. (How to handle the application process is a separate  
question, though I would personally favor the honor system and just  
have in-person application at the con to minimize the likelihood of  
able-bodied people applying. Cons being what they are, I think those  
unconscionable people will be few and far between.)

It takes the burden off the elevator operators, who will no longer  
have to decide whether to take someone at their word when they say "I  
know I look fine, but my back is in stabbing pain and I can actually  
barely stand". The license plate analogy could even be extended so  
that there's a "handicapped space" in the elevator (though I can  
already hear the cries of outrage at the very suggestion), or people  
with placards could jump the line, or the elevator operator could ask  
for a volunteer to step out and take the stairs. If the wonderful  
massage den staff weren't so overworked, I would even suggest that it  
be good for one free massage; that would actually be very practical  
for the con as well as kind, since many temporary physical ailments  
can be eased with massage and those people would then be more able- 
bodied and less in need of accommodation.

I'm not physically disabled and never have been in a way that would  
prevent me from taking stairs; my experience in this area comes from  
having invisibly disabled hands and arms (now better, thank  
goodness), and from watching some of my friends deal with this at  
Arisia and other cons. I'm suggesting this system because every year  
there seems to be one showdown after another at the elevators as  
people who are not visibly disabled struggle to explain that no, they  
_really can't_ take the stairs. It's an embarrassing, wearying  
process for everyone, it foments mistrust and dislike of the  
disabled, and I would like to see if we can put an end to it.

--Rose


-- 
This hour I tell things in confidence,
I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you.
         --Walt Whitman