It was a chilly January morning as I entered my first class of the winter term, Mass Media and the Information Society. At the door of the classroom I was greeted by a friendly teacher's assistant who help me find a seat. I didn't think too much about the particular chair and small table the assistant had suggested until I began unpacking my things for class. I don't know why, but I'm a pretty observant person, and always have been. As I settled my dog next to my chair and put my bag down, my pin-hole sized amount of unpredictable and often unreliable eyesight noticed something on the surface of the desk. The black outline of some image or maybe even a word contrasted greatly against the white surface. With a minute to spare I took a closer look and studied the lines hard. What I saw was the universal sign for Disability Access; the outline of a person sitting in a wheelchair. Under this sign were three letters: "DSS," which in the collegiate world stands for Disability Support Services. I sat down just as the professor walked in the door and began his lecture. Like a good student I listened to the lecture and took studious notes. As I listened, I began feeling very uncomfortable about sitting behind a desk that clearly stated I was a person with a disability. I new I would have to make a change. Two days later and 10 minutes before the next session of class was due to start I walked into an almost empty classroom and confidently picked a desk that had no label, and one that looked just like the rest. It was great! I made conversation with two classmates and because of the placement of my chosen seat I could hear the professor much, much better.
It is fact, that I'm very accepting of my visual impairment and understand that it's pretty obvious that I have limited eyesight. It's also fact that I am very intolerant of society's methods of labeling me as a person with a disability. Most people who see me know that I'm visually impaired before even saying a word to me, and this is totally acceptable. However, I do not believe it is necessary to have additional labels placed on physical objects such as a desk or chair. The experience described above allowed me to prove to myself that I'm a person first, who is then accepting of his impairment but will stop at nothing to be just like everybody else. Some people argue that it is necessary to have a universal label placed on a physical object so that people who do not have a disability do not occupy the physical object. This is a fair reason. However, I strongly dislike labels. I find them to breed stereotypes, preconceived notions, misconceptions and skewed perceptions of people. I don't fight against the system of physical signage; instead I choose not to be in a physical space where
such a label is placed. In the anecdote above I found a different desk without a label.
I was raised in a sighted world, treated like a sighted person (for the most part), expected to do everything my sighted siblings had to do and was expected to "keep up," with my friends. I didn't know there was such a thing called "society's labels," until I left home and began studying and working as an adult. I was then bombarded by assumptions, strangely worded questions about my visual impairment, preconceived conclusions about me and fragmented social relationships with sighted people. My can-do attitude, along with my unwavering drive to fit in and be just like everybody else took over and I developed a system that would attempt to chisel away society's labels about myself as well as others with a visual impairment.
So, naturally the idea of sitting behind a desk with a giant label proclaiming I was the guy with the disability rubbed against every grain inside of me. My "label avoidance system," as I like to call it took over and I created a plan that would allow me to go around society's fabricated label in an attempt to be a person first, who is visually impaired, but is able to do just about anything a fully sighted person is able to do.
I have many physical and mental tools that are designed specifically for a visually impaired person including a guide dog, a computer with special software that interprets the output on the screen and turns it into synthesized speech, a mind designed for memorizing and the ability to know which cardinal direction I'm facing no matter where I am in the world. Some of these tools, like the guide dog or computer are outwardly obvious to other people, and some are not. Either way I employ these tools as a way of adapting myself to the sighted world, so I can do almost everything everybody else can. These tools are not a large sign proclaiming "I'm blind, and I'm helpless." I'll do just about anything to do what everybody else is doing and I'll stop at nothing to fight off society's preconceived label of me.
By now you must be thinking "wow this guy is really righteous and is a non-conformist who really is scared to death of his visual impairment and is taking it out on society." Okay, fair enough, I could understand how one could draw this conclusion. I can assure you I am not righteous of the highest degree. I am a reasonable person. If I were really righteous I would have firmly told the Teacher's Assistant never to show me to a desk that has a preconceived label. As written above I said nothing and instead created my own workaround that is positive for everybody involved. I will not let society label me unfairly, but I will not chastise somebody for asking a question or performing an action that I don't agree with. Especially if it is one where the person simply has no idea about the complex issue of society's labeling habits. Please understand I'm a person who believes in independence as well as interdependence; we all need both for the world to go around. I take a lot of pride in fitting in and honestly I enjoy the challenge most days.
The Moral of the Story?
Before labeling somebody I.E making assumptions, passing judgements or rushing to conclusions learn about the person first. Talk to them, hear their story and learn what they are about. Then, be creative and give them their own unique label. I personally believe this ideal can be applied to anybody, no matter their abilities. Who knows that person a crossed the room who you assumed was nuts just may become your best friend, and that is what you get when you peal back society's labels and see the person for just that, a person.
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