Inside the Little Plastic Castle

ETA: I wrote this for May 1st, Blogging Against Disablism Day. many more posts
http://blobolobolob.blogspot.co.uk/p/blogging-against-disablism-day-2016.html

Nineteen ninety-three: I got my first powerchair, my city began a growth spurt, and the ADA design guidelines had just been published. This should have meant smooth rolling: many new accessible buildings!
( Yet many accessible locations are destroyed by deliberate barriers )

This is the continual battle against the normate space invaders. This is why accessible design and construction isn't enough.

If you think this barrier wasn't really created on purpose, that it's just the thoughtlessness of the ill-informed, I know that's not the case. I've visited this particular shop to inform them they've recreated barriers unnecessarily, and asked them to stop destroying the built-in accessibility. Their response is Oh, don't worry, we'll be happy to help if you just ask.

Nondisabled people may wonder, so what's so hard about asking? Great effort has been made to create accessible environments. Why should this thoughtless disablism require us to ask permission over and over? We are here; we are the public, as Dave Hingsburger put it so eloquently. When nondisabled people recolonize our spaces, we must regroup, react, and respond.