It was a Thursday evening, when this unpleasant conversation happened between myself and a gentle intercity bus driver. I arrived 30 minutes earlier to the bus station and patiently waited for my bus. The bus came 10 minutes earlier than I had expected. It usually arrives 5 minutes earlier or a little past the scheduled time. There were probably 4 of us joining the bus from this station.
As usual, upon boarding the bus that it’s required the driver is to check our identity first and find out if a passenger has any luggage bag. I was the first person to go through the on-boarding process. He checked my identity and asked me whether I’ve any luggage. I said I just have my backpack and nothing else. Pointing at me, he said he can’t allow me to bring my armpit crutches inside. I laughed and firmly told him that I often bring my crutches inside the bus. They are part of me, I commented and started making my way to the entrance of the bus. He replied, “They can be used as a weapon!”
At the mention of a weapon, I gave him a stunned look and repeated to him that I often bring the crutches inside the bus. Hoping my indifference will make him shut up, he persisted and warned me to make sure they don’t get in the way of other passengers.
I said nothing more to avoid fuelling the stupidity of an apparent insensitive person who lacks common sense.
I travel extensively with my crutches both by air and land, and never had anyone told me that I can't board the vehicle with my crutches citing them as a potential weapon. Never in my life had I hit anyone with the crutches. Yet, I’ve been pushed into a conversation about weaponization of disability assistive devices. It’s unexpected conversations like this that shape my world view around discrimination.
Another participant highlighted that this story was particularly ironic given October 6th is World Cerebral Palsy Day. Not that the bus driver would have been particularly concerned about such details. They went on to describe an incident when he & his wife had to argue very strongly for an airline to allow him to fly alone on a 45 minute flight from Amsterdam to Heathrow. The airline’s objection was that there would be no one to help them go to the toilet! Such incidents continually happen the world over, with, or without legislation, and shows how far we still have to go to secure disability inclusion.
So much awareness on what disability inclusion, equity and accessibility means is still needed!