Letter: For awareness

0

Editor,

On June 9, my family went to see a concert. My son happens to be handicapped and uses a power wheelchair to get around. The concert was free for all to attend, general seating. We, however, took the time to get there early enough to get a good spot and to make it easy for my son to move before the crowd got too big. We had a good spot.  We could see the stage clearly. After the first act, people who came later piled in around the stage, and the crowd in front of us continued to grow. The concert that my son wanted to enjoy became a view of strangers’ butts.

I can only assume that the people who have the luxury of being able to walk, stand and move more freely to a spot with a better view of the stage believe it is their right to block the view of those without that ability and/or who took the time to arrive early enough to get a good view. Why are the early arrivals, the elderly, the physically disabled, my son, considered less valuable?

I emailed the venue about the situation and their anonymous response was, “I am sorry you had an issue with the show. Unfortunately, we cannot do much to change this since we do not have permanent seating. This particular crowd was younger than usual and that is what caused the issue that you were not used to. If you have any suggestions I would like to hear them.”

The problem is we are used to it because this is what my son has to deal with on a daily basis. That does not make it OK. To purposely walk in front of someone in a wheelchair, look directly at them knowing you are completely blocking their view and then totally disregard the situation says a lot about how unempathetic and entitled these individuals feel.

Please take the time to think about how what you are doing directly affects someone around you. My son could have easily just bowled people over with his wheelchair, but he’s not the type of person to do that, nor should he be put into situations where that is the only way he can get to see what others see at a free concert, at the zoo, at games.

Christina Hodges,

Fishers


Current Morning Briefing Logo

Stay CURRENT with our daily newsletter (M-F) and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox for free!

Select list(s) to subscribe to



By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Share.

Current Morning Briefing Logo

Stay CURRENT with our daily newsletter (M-F) and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox for free!

Select list(s) to subscribe to



By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact