As someone who has experienced the “indignity” of being reliant on a wheelchair, Justin Levene’s rant about service at Luton airport last year touched a nerve for me. I am fortunate enough to have regained enough mobility to have been able to dispense with the use of a wheelchair. However, months of total dependence on the support of other people taught me a lot about disability and impaired mobility.
Justin Levene was cruelly deprived of independence by a freak accident. To say that I feel his pain would be crass, but I do understand his desire to regain as much of that independence as possible. What I do not understand are his expectations about the availability of disability aids. I would rather not bring up the matter of money but in reality it is very pertinent. Disability aids come at a cost.
It would be wonderful if all public places could afford the plethora of equipment on offer for those with physical disabilities, but a line needs to be drawn. If everyone who is physically disadvantaged were to be suitably provided for in public life, the burden of cost would fall upon others. Subsequently more people would become disadvantaged; financially disadvantaged. Many theatre ticket prices, for example, reflect the provision of facilities for disabled patrons and thus exclude many who would love to attend the shows but simply can’t afford to.
While I applaud Justin Levene for shining a light on disability issues, I feel that a sense of proportion is needed. AIBU to suggest that we are not all entitled to everything available? I wish sharing was a bit more fashionable.
