In celebration of Zurich’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, shop fronts on one Zurich’s main drags (Bahnhofstrasse), put up mannequins with body structures based on several real people with disabilities. Pro Infirmis, (an advocacy organization for the disabled that sponsors various programs like online counseling, Christmas card design projects and lectures), commissioned the project. It’s interesting to see the reactions of the passersby and how few of them instantly and exuberantly embraced what they were witnessing.
Watch the video here:
Though we can dismiss it and say that Zurich is a foreign country, it’s still an unfortunate fact that Americans often celebrate diversity when it’s convenient or when it doesn’t cost them any money to do so. In many cases, when it comes to ADA Compliance, many businesses do not make every effort to meet the code; and citizens rarely raise an eyebrow.
Many building owners say that they’ll address the problems later, “when they make more money,” or, “when the government says they have to do it.” However this is not right. If a building owner truly cannot afford it, then the government will give him some consideration and time to get in a better financial way. However, if a business owner cannot prove financial hardship, then he is simply refusing to do what is right. Sometimes businesses are simply ignoring the needs of the disabled because of personal bias and prejudice.
This is the reason that advocates exist. There are laws which mandate how a business owner should bring his property into ADA building compliance. The laws also state that he must do so within a certain time frame; whether he has issues with it or not.
In fact, most people don’t realize that businesses that aren’t fully compliant are breaking the law. This is especially true with older buildings. Many of them are not even close to compliant.
Throughout history, there have always been people who saw things from a limited perspective and judged people through prejudice. However, just like disabled advocacy groups are doing all over the world, it’s time to give biased people every opportunity to expand their minds; and it’s time for the rest of us to recognize when things are wrong and stand up for what is right. Contact us to learn more.