While going through security in the Dublin Ireland airport there was a man checking passports and boarding passes who was in a wheelchair. He was completely and totally capable of doing his job. It made me happy that Ireland was doing a good job employing disabled individuals.
What totally took me by surprise and made me so furious I couldn’t even speak was the couple ahead of me in line. When they got to the man in the wheelchair they both tried to go to the other agent rather than this man. They weren’t allowed to. After handing their boarding pass and passports to him and moving on, they were both commenting that every time they come through that this airport it gets worse and worse. It was obvious they were talking about this man in the wheelchair and continued on in this vein for a while.
I was so completely dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I couldn’t even figure out what to say to these people, even though I knew I should say something. I couldn’t believe that I was hearing that kind of attitude coming out of the mouths of my fellow Americans.
This is what must change for children like my son to have a chance. This is what must change for us to be considered decent human beings. This is the change I fight for.
