My boyfriend, I'll just refer to him as John, can't get to a public restroom when he is out in public. Why not? Because he can't get a handicap cart in there, or even a wheelchair. That's right! Those public restrooms with a "symbol" on them showing a human in a wheelchair are mostly just for looks. Once inside the door, you must be able to get up from your scooter or wheelchair and walk around a tight corner to even get to the stalls.
Would you ask a blind man to leave his seeing-eye dog outside while he went in a bathroom for a brief ablution before eating in a restaurant? Or would you give him a book to read that wasn't in braille? No, nor would you give a deaf man an audio tape to listen to a motivational speech either.
Hospitals are one of the worst offenders in this. The inspectors who approved of this substandard type of handicap restroom must have had their mind on the last episode of "Fear Factor" instead of their vocation. It is the responsibility of the public to see to it that handicapped people are comfortable in society as well as everyone else. Why insult their intelligence with such nonsense?
A man or woman who can't walk -- can't go out in public for long.
It's true that there are some restrooms that will accommodate the wheelchair. Do we need to send the handicapped out a list of places where they can and cannot go to the restroom? If the restroom can't accommodate a wheelchair, then don't put a "symbol" on the door and have someone stranded in a room where they can't turn a corner. They could end up having to crawl on a filthy floor to the toilet and then to the exit to call for help in getting the scooter out of the bathroom.
John says he can't begin to fathom being confined to a lifetime of such rejection and neglect. Fortunately, his confinement was for only nine months. Think about what happens to those who are permanently disabled in wheelchairs!
Putting a handicap "symbol" on a door doesn't clear the public of responsibility to offer sanitation to the entire public community. Don't wonder next time when you see that woman in the wheelchair go past that handicapped restroom with a strained red face!
