lizi
Posts: 4673
Joined: 2/1/2009
Status: offline
|
Cynthia, I'm going to urge education. Anytime Bo is in a situation where people are giving him a hard time, he might consider pre-emptively meeting it head on by going up to the person/people in question and simply saying something that he knows it looks a little odd to be dressed as he is, but he has to or risk death from his old injuries- I mean that's the risk, why sugar coat it?
A comment could also be made that sometimes people with disabilities don't have wheelchairs so that they are immediately identifiable, but the disability he has is no less debilitating, and it's pretty freaking hard to live with. People make fun of things that appear abnormal, but I've seen that once they get the scoop, most will feel pretty ashamed of themselves for being twits. It might make his life a bit easier if people were told what the situation was, so that he could stop getting the constant barrage of pointed fingers. It takes some guts to put your business out there, I think it would pay off if some people, some of the time, were aware and therefore left him alone and told others to leave him alone as well.
I would refuse to keep the peace. I'm sorry, but for Bo to put himself at risk for the backwards ideas of some brainless fools actually deprives them of becoming better people and showing them that they can stand to learn something. Not that I want Bo to be a project or a sacrifice, he's just a man with a disability, but that disability entitles him to make allowances for it much like someone using a cane. Why put himself in physical jeopardy for the opinions of strangers? If the strangers had the information then there shouldn't be any lynching parties either.
My plan for the group would be to present the therapist with the full explanation, in writing, of Bo's injury and subsequent accommodations that he makes to live with the injury safely and comfortably. Use medical terms and make it something that his primary care doctor could approve and maybe has his signature on it if you have time and/or the inclination to do that. Ask the therapist after reading if he understands everything or needs more explanation. Tell him to put that copy in Bo's chart, I'm a bitch, I'd tell him to sign it as well to the effect that he understood the material. I might even persist and let the guy know that if he insists on long pants, to put it in writing and make a show of putting it in my pocket. Obviously with the unspoken factor that then Bo would have prosecutable material.
Inform him that at that point Bo will never put himself at bodily risk again for the opinions of others in the group. Have him tell the therapist to schedule a 15 min section in the next session where Bo will inform the others of his condition. Have him go to that session with copies of the paper for all the patients, have him ask them if they have any questions about his attire and that they can ask now. Addressing things in a controlled manner of your choosing and meeting it head on tends to deflect the snickers while giving others a platform to get their questions answered. The mystery, which gives rise to the gossip, is gone. No one in their right mind would ask a person who needs a wheelchair, to leave it outside the meeting room so others would be happy. Bo is NOT asking for the world, just for what is his right.
The ideas of the others as far as cooling are all great ones, and perhaps they can be used as part of Bo's daily routine if they bring him any comfort. I completely disagree though that he has to put himself at the risk of bodily injury so that others won't be in any mental distress. Fuck that. Just for the record I am aware of what he's up against in that part of the country.
< Message edited by lizi -- 8/31/2012 1:30:38 PM >
|
RE: I. Cannot. BELIEVE. This. (Aargh!) - 
Profile
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread