Getting Around at Con in a Silicone Tail

[ChelseaSelkie]

I don't know why this is an issue. I can see it if somebody was using their wheelchair to get special privileges that are legitimately reserved for disabled people (parking, seating near the front, etc.), but wheelchairs themselves are tools specifically for getting around when you can't walk. I own one simply for the amount of times I've injured my feet, or the time I needed surgery on my feet. Being unable to walk isn't a culture, and for many people it's not a permanent problem. It's nobody's business if I decide to use my personal wheelchair that I paid for taking up space in my closet when I need to get around land in my tail.

There is the issue of running over your fluke if it's large, but that's not going to be a problem with every tail.

I have to respectfully disagree with the highlighted part of this post.
For people who are physically or mentally disabled, their disability is part of their culture. For examples of Disability Culture (yes, that is an actual term), I would highly recommend you watch the documentary "Sound and Fury", and also go check out the Disability Visibility Project to learn more.

I hope it doesn't sound like I am attacking you, but I would really like to be able to help others understand that this is an issue that needs more visibility and sensitivity.

Personal PSA: I am not currently physically disabled, but I do work as a caregiver in an elderly care facility where a good portion of my residents have been disabled for most of their lives. I also have a late uncle who was wheelchair or bedbound for 20 years following an accident at age 15. I've been at the edge of this culture most of my life.


-----



Overall, I like the idea of L-carts for getting around in tails. (like the one KT posted above) They are less likely to run over a tail as you have more space to fully support a fluke, and also can support an actual chair (think plastic lawn chair) if you wanted to bolt one to it. They're much easier to decorate, too.

[BlueCorvidae]

I have to respectfully disagree with the highlighted part of this post.
For people who are physically or mentally disabled, their disability is part of their culture. For examples of Disability Culture (yes, that is an actual term), I would highly recommend you watch the documentary "Sound and Fury", and also go check out the Disability Visibility Project to learn more.

I hope it doesn't sound like I am attacking you, but I would really like to be able to help others understand that this is an issue that needs more visibility and sensitivity.

Personal PSA: I am not currently physically disabled, but I do work as a caregiver in an elderly care facility where a good portion of my residents have been disabled for most of their lives. I also have a late uncle who was wheelchair or bedbound for 20 years following an accident at age 15. I've been at the edge of this culture most of my life.


-----



Overall, I like the idea of L-carts for getting around in tails. (like the one KT posted above) They are less likely to run over a tail as you have more space to fully support a fluke, and also can support an actual chair (think plastic lawn chair) if you wanted to bolt one to it. They're much easier to decorate, too.

While that's a fair point, I still feel that wheel chairs are first and foremost tools, and not something that can be appropriated. It's insensitive to take a public wheelchair in a public space when you don't need one. It's not insensitive to use your own personal wheelchair on an occasion when you cannot walk, even if you are not otherwise disabled.

[ChelseaSelkie]

While that's a fair point, I still feel that wheel chairs are first and foremost tools, and not something that can be appropriated. It's insensitive to take a public wheelchair in a public space when you don't need one. It's not insensitive to use your own personal wheelchair on an occasion when you cannot walk, even if you are not otherwise disabled.

It may not be your opinion, however the wheelchair has already been appropriated and your using it without a visible disability will be viewed by the majority of the population as being in quite poor taste. That's just how culture works.

I guess an option would be to make it very apparent that it is YOUR wheelchair with lots and lots of decoration, but for some it isn't going to make a difference.

[BlueCorvidae]

It may not be your opinion, however the wheelchair has already been appropriated and your using it without a visible disability will be viewed by the majority of the population as being in quite poor taste. That's just how culture works.

I guess an option would be to make it very apparent that it is YOUR wheelchair with lots and lots of decoration, but for some it isn't going to make a difference.

I'd like a source for the highlighted bit. People are more reasonable than you give them credit for. For every person who would be rude enough to stick their nose in my business and chastise me for using a wheelchair while in a costume, there would be fifty more that would go "cool, a mermaid" and thousands that just won't care.

As far as people who would have a problem regardless, I'm unbothered by it. Their feelings don't negate the facts that
a) It IS mine, whether they realize it or not
b) I have legitimately needed it in the past, and may need it again in the future.

But if anyone wants to argue ethics, I'd like to point out that asking anyone to prove that they need their wheelchair is a violation of their privacy regarding their medical history.