Heartally

I should have known to expect it but it still throws me……this lack of subtlety in the community when a difference is spotted.

The human eye for difference is acute. Growing up with my sister Felicity I’ve been aware of it for most of my life. But having a stranger lock her gaze onto my sis as we walked into a shopping mall today, and with a flick of the neck continue to stare… and stare… even as we walked past…. Ugh. Really? Frustration! 

Sure, people are neurologically wired to notice and be curious about differences, but lack of a filter in expressing our curiosity is only cute in kids.  Once we are old enough to be aware of peoples’ feelings, there is no excuse for blatant staring.

People with disability have equal rights with any other citizen to participate actively in community life. Many countries including Australia made an official commitment to this contemporary policy when we became signatories to the 2006 international UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disability. Seventeen years on, it was apparent today that there is still progress to be made with attitudinal barriers in the general public.

Want a couple of ‘hot tips’ from this heart ally? I am not trying to speak for Felicity here… this is based on my own experience of incidents like today. When I am out and about with my sis I find that curiosity from strangers is only OK in small doses and only ever when teamed with empathy, but never with charity and pity (aka the offensive cousins of kindness). And staring?  Well staring is plain rude!  So please, please…. keep that ‘rubber neck’ in check.