The other day I was talking to an acquaintance about places to visit in Canada. She had mentioned a city where she and her family had lived when they emigrated from a foreign country a few years ago. She said that she liked what the city had to offer but she wasn’t too pleased about the way the people treated them. She said “they looked at us like we were retarded”. “What was that?” I couldn’t believe my ears! I suddenly found myself in one of those, “do I say anything moments, or do I let it go?”
After a brief battle with my inner conscience, I chose to let it go, but the conversation stayed in my mind all day. What was she really saying? Was she saying that it was awful to feel discrimination as a newcomer to Canada but that it was okay to experience discrimination if you had a developmental disability?
For over 50 years individuals who have disabilities and their families have been advocating for society to value their lives, to value their contributions and to have rights as full citizens. Yet this comment it made me realize that society is still not there. What else do we need to do so that people realize the value in all people?
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