I am sure most people interested in disability rights have heard and read about Michael Garcia. Garcia is a waiter in Houston who has been hailed a hero or champion of disability rights. Garcia was serving a family of regular customers who had a child with Down Syndrome. According to Garcia a group of people at a nearby table were disturbed by the presence of a child with Down Syndrome. They requested to be moved to different table. Garcia overheard someone at this table state "Special needs children need to be special somewhere else". Offended, Garcia refused to serve these customers. All the major news outlets have published feel good stories about Garcia. There is no doubt Garcia and any other person that stands up against to such blatant disability based discrimination should be lauded. Garcia risked his job and he has been widely praised on his Facebook page and the restaurant website.
The Garcia story is heart warming yet I cannot help but feel story after story missed the most important point: disability based prejudice is an every day experience. Only one story I read about Garcia has attempted to explain why the incident in question is unusual: See George Estreich "A Child with Down Syndrome Keeps His Place at the Table" (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/26/opinion/a-child-with-down-syndrome-keeps-his-place-at-the-table.html?_r=0 One does not even need to read the op-ed link. The title tells it all. The fight for inclusion of the most mundane sort for people who have a disability, eating out at a restaurant, is not easy and can often turn into a battle. As Estreich points out, disability rights is a work in progress. There is no doubt disability based bigotry is less common. That is the sort of disability based discrimination I faced circa 1980 would be frowned upon. Large institutions such as Willowbrook State are closed. Progress has undoubtedly been made. However there is a long way to go. The greatest successes in terms of disability rights have been made in the law. The last forty years have witnessed law after law that seeks to empower people with a disability. The problem as I see and experience it is that the laws that protect my rights and the rights of people with a disability are ignored and lack value. Without a social mandate for disability rights all the laws in the world cannot protect my civil rights. Violations are the norm. As Estreich pointed out, there are no more Willowbrooks but are group homes an ideal environment for adults with cognitive and physical disabilities. The New York Times published a scathing series of articles about abuse in group homes. One has to wonder are group homes simply small institutions. The point here is not to question whether group homes are the ideal but rather suggest disability rights is complex with a unique history that is not taught in our secondary schools or university system. The result is the average person does not equate disability rights as civil rights. As I have stated many times, disability rights and civil rights are one in the same.
I have thought about the Garcia story a lot in the last few days. I had a close friend visit me this week. He is a noted poet and scholar. He also happens to be blind and has a great guide dog. We decided to go out to dinner with two other people who are also blind and have guide dogs as well. The best night to eat out was Friday. My first thought was not where to eat but rather eating out on a Friday night is a bad idea. Three people, three guide dogs and my wheelchair take up a lot of space. Extended discussions ensued most of which revolved around determining where we would encounter the least resistance to our presence. There is no doubt in mind the mental logistics we went through were unique. No bipedal person with sight would have been forced to make the same social calculations we made. Estreich is correct in a very real and tangible way that we people with a disability have to fight for out place at the metaphorical table. I wish I could state our dinner went smoothly. Our meal was great, service good but our departure was an adventure. For my friend's take on this see the follwing link: http://www.planet-of-the-blind.com/2013/01/hey-you-yeah-you-driving-the-lexus.html