Erin Kelly examines a disability-oriented company’s recent actions towards a client.
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“My advice to [other] disabled people would be: concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you from doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit as well as physically.”
The words from celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking may have little meaning to those outside its target audience. They may not be fitting to be said or heard in a doctor’s office, playground or even a courtroom. If you look and listen closely enough, however, you might find a meaning that’s true to you.
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Like Hawking’s incredible life journey, these words break boundaries in the world of disability—and spill out into the circle of justice, politics and even law—as Kristin Parisi recently found out.
According to an article published by The Daily Beast last month, the 30-year-old public relations executive was denied a ride from her office in Boston, MA because of the fact that she was in a wheelchair. The driver—an employee of a public transportation service called Uber—primarily geared towards disabled individuals—reportedly insisted that Parisi’s chair wouldn’t fit in his car, saying, “No, no, no!” in a loud, almost violent tone after she had called the company and asked for someone to pick her up after work.
In addition, the unidentified male driver seemed to have no concern or regard for her disability—or why she had to call in the first place. He continued his attempt to persuade her that he couldn’t give her a ride if the chair wouldn’t fit, when she politely replied, “Yes, it would.” as she proceeded to talk about and even demonstrate how it fit in the trunk of her own car.
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This exchange led to a verbal confrontation between the two, which lasted for several minutes. The man driving the car didn’t go quietly, calling Parisi an “invalid” and claiming that she needed to develop “thicker skin”—even making outlandish remarks about her religion, which he reportedly knew nothing about.
After all of this, the man asked Parisi if she was going to give him [and essentially Uber] a bad review for his services.
“It has nothing to do with a bad review—it has to do with illegal practice,” she replied. “You have to understand what you’re doing is not only mean, it’s [also] against the law.”
The dispute became so intense that Parisi decided to leave well enough alone, leaving her no choice at that particular moment but to hitch a ride with another gentleman and his daughter, who happened to be driving by. However, the events that unfolded that day would be like a bad dream, as Parisi received the exact same treatment during a second encounter with Uber.
She called and requested a ride, just as she did the first time. The driver was said to be so vulgar this time around that she wrote an in-depth complaint to the company:
“This was the worst transportation experience of my life. You need to do something about this, and do it publicly. [You could say to your clientele], ‘We see this as a problem, and we’re not going to fight the public on this…”
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Parisi’s money was later refunded and the company sent her a $100 gift card, but didn’t make any motions to take legal action to correct the issue—nor to let the public know they were at fault. Various sources are reporting that Uber has ignored the severity of this, as well as numerous other complaints from disabled clients in Kristen’s shoes.
The company is currently the focal point of three separate court cases in California, Arizona and Texas. Two of the three cases involve major lawsuits, but all of them fall under the rights and responsibilities of The Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in 1990.
I find it very difficult not to relate to this—particularly from Kristen’s point-of-view. I know exactly where she’s coming from when she was quoted by a reporter as saying,
“It’s [just] one of those things I forget—that I’m disabled—until someone tells me I am.”
Here’s a nationally-known company—built to specifically provide the general public with a specific kind of service—essentially not doing their job. That driver basically told Kristen he couldn’t help her, solely based upon something she had no control over. From where I sit, when you’re told to your face that you “can’t” do something, you find a way to do it anyway—especially when you have a disability.
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That being said, I applaud this woman’s decision to file a complaint. Someone told her she can’t, so she stepped up and did something about it. She did exactly what The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law for—to protect and grant equal rights to those with disabilities. Not only that, but Uber also issued a statement in the midst of all this that said
“…because [we are] a technology company—not a transportation company, [these problems] do not fall under the ADA’s jurisdiction.”
In the same breath, however, they also stated the goal of their app—designed to be used on any mobile phone—is to “expand access to safe, reliable transportation options for all, including those with visual impairments and other disabilities.”
The only recurring question that comes to mind is, ‘Why?’
It’s clear that representatives at Uber were aware of the ADA and what it stands for, or else they wouldn’t have made reference to it in those statements. So, why did they try to dodge several bullets and cover up, instead of simply coming clean about these issues that they’ve brought on themselves?
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I think this is another example of why we can’t afford to pass stories like this off as just “news”. Even though there’s no known physicality involved in any of this, there is a level of verbal abuse and perhaps even harassment. In fact, the May 21 report from The Daily Beast stated that Parisi was in a car accident that has left her in a wheelchair since she was five years old.
If the drivers involved would have taken two minutes to stop and listen, they might have been more considerate. Maybe Uber wouldn’t be in hot water with those two lawsuits right now if they hadn’t tried to avoid or downplay the mistakes they’ve made.
Anyone can sit and rattle off all the ‘What if’s?’ that keep the world searching, digging and pushing forward—but sometimes it takes people who don’t dawn a police uniform or a judge’s robe to ask the tough, honest questions.
If that’s someone’s strong suit, who are we to try to hide it or even tease them about it? That quirky instinct might just be the thing we need to live amongst true heroes.
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Photo Credit: alfromelkhorn/Flickr