When the Majority Wants What the Minority Needs
In the past year or so of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become abundantly clear that the disabled community has always been left behind and has continued to be left behind. With nearly 45% of Americans having at least one chronic disease and about 25% of Americans being disabled, this is by no means a small community of people. I myself suffer from a chronic condition called Hemicrania Continua (a neurological headache disorder that causes an unremitting neuropathic headache on the right side of my head with a whole host of other issues) that results in me being disabled.
The disabled community was already heavily disadvantaged before the pandemic hit, with those identifying as disabled suffering varying forms of discrimination. For instance, approximately one in ten disabled workers reported experiencing some form of workplace discrimination within five years of the ADA’s passage. A study involving mock job applications found that those who included their disability on their job application were 25% less likely to receive interest from an employer than those without a disability who had a similar resume. Clearly, the disabled community was already in a tough position before the pandemic made things worse.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the divide between the abled and disabled, painting a starker picture than we have ever seen before.
We have seen countless people tote that “if you’re at risk just stay home” so they can continue with their normal lives and ignore the problem at hand. This is essentially saying that the lives of those at risk, including the disabled community, the elderly, and other groups, are less than and do not deserve the effort of others to keep them safe.
We have seen it become even more difficult to access medical care and other services that are needed for our day-to-day lives.
We have seen hospitals choose able-bodied lives over the lives of disabled people.
We have seen inequity in the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine for the disabled community
Despite all the bad, we have seen from the pandemic, there has been somewhat of a silver lining. For so long we had been asking for accommodations such as telecommuting to work or school, yet they had been denied to us. It was often deemed too difficult or not feasible for certain jobs to be done remotely. Yet, suddenly, almost overnight, the world went online. Schools and universities, including my own, began online classes over Zoom. Whole industries moved online and began allowing their employees to work from home.
For many disabled people in the workforce or in school, this has been a benefit. Workplace ableism has been reduced and people are able to have more control over their environment, often allowing for more engagement with their colleagues. Those who use mobility aids don’t have to take the time or energy to find transportation to and from work or school, and those who need additional accommodations with digital tools have access to them at home when they need them.
While these accommodations are not always enough and do not by any means apply to every disabled person, we cannot forget this moment. When the disabled community had been asking for these things and asking for proper accommodations for so long, they were denied. However, they have given them once the rest of the world, and able-bodied people needed them too. Clearly, these accommodations were originally denied not because of impracticality, but because of apathy. Now so many of us, including myself, are living in a state of limbo, wondering if when this pandemic is over because we see the finish line coming now, will these things suddenly be taken away?
We have always been a marginalized group, with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ members of the disabled community facing further discrimination in their day-to-day lives. The pandemic has made this abundantly clear. But now we have the chance to not let this community slip further through the cracks. We need to allow for the accommodations that disabled folks need to stay in place, even as people return to in-person work and schooling. This can include telecommuting, technological tools that provide accessibility, or whatever else a person might need to allow them to be successful. It’s not too hard and it’s entirely worth it.
