I was telling a friend about my problem with the mail yesterday and about the past problem with Fed Ex. She knows how much my back hurts and she was angry on my behalf. And she asked, "WTF are disabled people supposed to do, then?"
I said I didn't know, but a moment later, the answer came to me. What we are supposed to do, I think, is not be disabled. Some people that are fortunate enough not to have a disability find the disabilities of others terribly inconvenient and bothersome, it seems. What they want is for us to simply stop being disabled, but if we can't do that, then they would like us to pretend we aren't disabled, to stop inconveniencing them with our disabilities.
Because how hard is it for the mail carrier to knock on my door and wait 30 seconds for me to open it so he can hand me my package instead of just leaving it on the ground?
And remember me writing before about how the property manager of my building delivers notices by wedging them into the doors so that when tenants open their doors, the papers fall to the floor? I spoke to the property manager three months ago (three months and two days, to be exact, as I happen to know because I blogged about it that day) about it, about how I and several of my neighbors find it very difficult or impossible to pick up those papers from the floor and asked if he could please find another way to deliver notices. Well, they are still being wedged into the doors. Apparently that is what is most convenient for him and it doesn't matter how inconvenient it is for the tenants.
Disabled people are supposed to deal with it. To find a way to deal with it, a way that doesn't involve the non-disabled people having to make any changes or go to any extra effort at all, no matter how small an effort it might take.
could you put a narrow entry style table next to your door? My ups guy used to leave everything on the table by my door so I wouldn't have to bend. Makes his job a bit easier too cause he doesn't have to bend either. They are on a tight schedule and only allow a tiny bit of time per address and it doesn't include gates, stairs, elevators, etc. So if they take longer for someone they have to make up the time somehow.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I would be allowed to do that or not. I live in an apartment building and I'd have to get permission from the building manager. We are not even allowed to hang anything on our door without permission. It would have to be a very narrow table because I have a neighbor that uses a wheelchair and he would need to have room to get by. The hallway is wide enough for a wheelchair but there's not a lot of extra room. But if it was a very narrow table, there might be room. That is certainly something I can ask about.
DeleteI don't think the delivery guy's tight schedule should be my problem, though. He is being paid to deliver a package to me. It should be delivered to a place I can reach it. Would it be OK for a delivery person to leave packages, say, on the roof? No, because most people could not reach them there. Well, leaving my packages on the floor where I cannot reach them is not OK, either.
Also. If a non-disabled person lived in a home with a lot of stairs up to the front door, would anyone consider it OK for the delivery guy to leave the package on the ground at the bottom of the stairs instead of going up them? Or if there was a gate and a walkway to go through to get to the front door, would anyone consider it OK to leave the package outside the gate? Because, you know, the delivery guy is on a tight schedule. Well, if that would not be considered OK, why would it be considered OK to leave a package somewhere that a disabled person can't get it? I'm not asking for special treatment. I'm asking for my package to be delivered in a way that I can pick it up. The same as it is for non-disabled people.
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