Mocking Disability Is Never Good

At West Point this past weekend, president Trump showed signs of age (the horrors!) This is a reduction in function to which nearly all of us aspire. From the point of view of the ADA, advanced age is a disability. From the point of view of equal opportunity, ageism is a discriminatory act.

When then-candidate Trump mocked a reporter with arthrogryposis, I think it was correct to point out that we should expect more from a presidential candidate. I can't get into Trump's head, but whatever his intent I think it is clear his actions had the effect of mockery. And none of the denials I've seen hold water or speak well of the candidate.

In my opinion, the same holds true for analysis or commentary on the speech at West Point. The ramp clearly did not meet ADA standards. It was way too steep to comply with ADA (it is also possible for an incline to be too long to comply with the ADA, and both at the same time, but I do not think the ramp was 30 feet long, so it was probably only too steep.)

What I saw was an illustration that we should look beyond the surface of people to their substance. And I saw an illustration that we should redouble our efforts to make all public buildings not only fully accessible, but fully accessible with dignity. Whether due to age or injury, most of us will benefit from these affordances at some point in our lives. Accessible design benefits us all.

None of the jabs and comedy bits at Trump's expense are a vast left-wing conspiracy to subvert democracy - they are just tribal human beings doing their tribal thing. So I see nothing here that should cause Trump supporters to get up in arms about the press. By the same token, this is just about ageism and accessibility, so trying to switch topic to any other faults Trump may have is just "whataboutism." It is not a fair or valid argument. If you wish to comment, please reflect on the above points before making an inflammatory reply.

During the campaign, we were reminded we could expect more from a candidate. Let's remind ourselves now that we can also expect more from each other.