Recently, the CEO of National Beverage Corp., which makes La Croix soft drinks, compared people with disabilities to brands. More specifically: according to the BBC, the company’s billionaire executive, Nick Caporella, said that taking care of brands is the same as taking care of disabled persons. “Brands do not see or hear, so they are at the mercy of their owners or care providers,” Caporella said.
Of course, this isn’t the first time people with disabilities have been compared to objects. Nor is this the first time public figures like President Trump have openly mocked them.
Indeed, every underprivileged and marginalized group in society has endured flagrant disregard for the human dignity and rights of its members. But this is beside the point. My primary purpose for writing this blog is to call for greater awareness of people with disabilities, particularly the more disadvantaged, lesser-known segments such as persons who are deafblind, myself included.
Disabled people are, first and foremost, human beings.
Brands are not sentient beings; they are things conceived by living, breathing human beings like Caporella and myself. What people with disabilities, like myself, seek is not to be “taken care of,” but rather, to be included in the larger society as living, breathing human beings with equal rights and opportunities. They seek understanding and respect, not pity and patronizing. And whether one is disabled or not, we all value and need empathy and compassion. As a species, we are interdependent: businesses won’t exist without consumers and vice versa, for instance. It is those with a mindless, relentless pursuit of profit and power that may be lacking these essential qualities.
As a deafblind person, I am constantly reminded of the need for greater awareness. I live a life just like any other person who is sighted and hearing, save for the barriers society erected to preclude my equal participation in all aspects of life. Thanks to the power of technology and my guide dog (my partner in crime), I freely travel among the crowd on public transportation, city sidewalks, and other public spaces. I work and I have a college education. At home, I carry out daily domestic tasks (cleaning, cooking, etc.) just like anybody else in the general population. However, it becomes a struggle when the products and services created and delivered by people of other abilities (viz, those who do not rely on touch) are not, either intentionally or unintentionally, universally designed. What if the vast majority of a society’s members were deafblind? I’ll wager that we’d have the same issue: those reliant on sight and sound must either learn Braille and navigate around their surroundings through tactile, or they must fight to be included in the deafblind society. Either way, they may be able to experience and enjoy not just the material things they take for granted but also the beauty and wonder of their physical world.
Let’s not sugarcoat the experience of living while disabled, particularly that of being deafblind. It is often an exercise in patience. But it can also be fraught with tension, especially when there’s an attitudinal barrier. Depending on the type of disability, people must negotiate on a daily basis with the outside world for respect and inclusion as they move about their lives. Not because disability itself is the barrier to be torn down; instead, I view disability as a part of who I am, and all that’s needed is adapting to new situations just as any human and non-human being would. Sure, life is about facing and overcoming adversity, for that’s what makes living meaningful. Adversity can be a friend, because it compels us to pay attention to reality and find purpose in life; encountering and conquering adversity gives us resolve and hope. It may also foster empathy and creativity.
But widespread ignorance is the primary reason for disabled people’s daily struggles. Furthermore, ignorance breeds indifference; when corporate and political fat cats like Caporella do nothing but pity and patronize people with disabilities, the results are damaging misconceptions and prejudices on the part of the general public. Thus, the solution is simple: increased awareness and a movement toward a kinder, more inclusive society. Companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple have a social responsibility to help realize this goal through their massive wealth and technological know-how.
