one big problem I have with current discussions around disability is they completely break down when we get to the very common issue of “These two people have disabilities that conflict each other, and accommodating one harms the other”.
Every time I see this happen, both online or in-person, people either 1. try and accuse one of them of lying or 2. completely disregard one of their needs. And I’m not saying it’s easy or even possible to accommodate everyone at once in every situation, but we shouldn’t immediately turn to ableism when there are conflicts like this.
For example: I have a condition that causes me to become hard of hearing in certain environments (it’s rare and a bitch to explain, but for the purposes of this post, just know that working often triggers my hearing to become INCREDIBLY poor, like someone is plugging one ear and whispering into the other). I usually rely a lot on lip reading to get through front line orders. Masks make it incredibly difficult for me to hear both customers and coworkers. When masking first became widespread, I would have multiple customers a day yelling at me because I couldn't hear them and I would keep saying “Sorry, what was that?”, which makes some customers very angry and frustrated because they hate repeating themselves (if you don't understand why this would make people mad...I never claimed customer frustrations were logical).
The problem is, anytime I even bring up this issue, people immediately assume I’m going to turn anti-mask. And I’m sympathetic with the reason why, a lot of people bad faith claim disability to justify going maskless. But I’ve always been an advocate for masks, and have worn them and continued to wear them way since other people stopped. Masks are essential and life saving, and wearing them is critical to accessibility and baseline protecting other people. My hearing problems will never kill me, failing to mask up can kill someone. I agree that my hearing issues don’t override masking initiatives. So should I just be expected to shut up and sit down and accept since my disability is less severe and life threatening my needs automatically don’t matter?
Well, here’s what helped/ would have helped:
- My GM moved me onto online orders or the cash register (the sneeze guard only added to the hearing problems). This was the biggest overall help, but only happened once I had the seniority and connections to be allowed to go where I wanted, and accessibility shouldn't be based on how cool your GM thinks you are.
2: Putting up a sign that says “Please remember to speak louder, employees have a hard time hearing through masks”. I’ve seen these at other stores but corporate wouldn’t let us put one up. - Having customers point in addition to speaking, as having visual cues makes the auditory cues make more sense. Again, a sign would’ve helped here.
- Having managerial support against customers who would blow up at me and start yelling because I kept asking them to please speak a bit louder.
- Just being able to talk about my struggles. Hearing issues can be incredibly frustrating, especially when you’re a young employee just starting out. Being young and hard of hearing is isolating; people assume you're either stupid or just not putting in enough effort. I cried several times during this period. But anytime I brought up my struggles to my friends, they quickly were like “yeah I guess that sucks, but masking is important” (or if they were anti mask, I would end up spending the entire time defending masks, which still ending in me feeling isolated and alone). I never once said masking wasn’t important and I consistently mask. I should be able to seek out emotional support for my own disability without being accused of ableism.
Accessibility is a CONVERSATION. There's no one checklist of accommodations that will help every single person. Accommodating some people often directly harms other people. And the current climate seems to shut down that conversation whenever two disabilities conflict. But it's very possible two accommodate two people with opposing needs; if not entirely, then at least make one of them suffer less. Or at the very, very least, allow one of them to vent and get emotional support and not just be told that struggling with their disability makes them ableist.
