We Live in a Society That is not Built for Disabled People | A Reflection

“We Live in a Society That is not Built for Disabled People,” on a blue banner on a light blue striped background. Below the banner is “a reflection” highlighted in dark ink banner.

For International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3rd, 2024, the event Ability To Rise finally happened in which I was part of the organization and execution of the event. One of the most exciting parts of the event was our Keynote Speaker Prasanna Ranganathan who is a LGBTQ2+ racialized person with a disability speaker with a growing expertise in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), human rights, law, international development, and media/entertainment work. In his dazzling hot pink suit, he did his speech constantly reminding us (people with disabilities) that you are not the problem. 

It is always nice to have the reminder, especially by someone else that is not yourself and even better by someone with the expertise, experience, and sprinkle of fun that Prasanna has and had done with his speech. 

I wanted to reflect more of an inspiration from Prasanna’s speech with this blog post. As someone who is deaf and disabled and does disability advocacy in multiple ways, the reminder of you are not the problem expanded for me in the different areas that need to change.

The environment is a step up for abled people. We still have to adapt in society instead of being a permanent member of society consistently. Unless we have the energy, support systems, time, financial means, and social structure to thrive, we continue to have the pressure and need to adapt to the ableist society. It should not be the common experience of the disability community, we should be able to live with dignity and be able to choose how we live our lives.

The processes are for abled people. Accessibility is sadly still an afterthought. Accessibility needs to be weaved into everyone’s mindset, processes, and execution for an accessible society.

The policies are for abled people. Until people with disabilities can meaningfully participate in politics, be part of policy discussions, and have the resources, drive, and commitment for the quality of life of people with disabilities and an accessible society, the policies can just feel like broken promises.

The stigma creates more issues. The pity that is still reserved for people with disabilities and the idea that disabilities can only be seen are still prevalent. The opposite mindset of inspiration porn is also a problem forgetting the unique experiences and spectrum that exists in the disability community. We are still human beings and deserve to be treated respectfully and equitably.

So people with disabilities still have the shared mission to change the experience. To get involved in different environments for improvements, be part of process and policy development for a more inclusive consideration, and create conditions and experiences for people to move past the stigma. We are not the problem and the work is still on us until we reach a point where the accessibility mindset is a normal mindset and disabled people are part of the community just because we are.

Amanda