- by Donald Anderson

Many persons with disabilities still experience abuse through the ignorance, as in lacking knowledge, by individuals in Grey and Bruce.

Many persons with disabilities have adaptive techniques to travel safely and securely through our various physical environments within our communities. Educating the general public of the various techniques is often done by organizations advocating on behalf of persons experiencing the disability and also the person with their particular disability often is laden with the task of educating the public to remove the public’s ignorance.

Recently in several communities in Grey and Bruce I have received verbally harassing and derogatory phrasing during my use of a guiding technique used by the blind and partially sighted for the past 125 years across Canada.  The technique is called Sighted Guide and it involves a sighted person acting as a guide for the blind person through the contacting of their arms.

Essentially the blind person takes hold of the sighted persons elbow while maintaining a half pace beside the sighted person. They are NOT hand in hand or linking arms as a happy couple may do when walking. 

My experience of harassment occurred through individuals stating “fucking faggots” and "boyfriend buggers”.  I was traveling with a same sex guide in these instances.

Now this opens up several avenues of ignorance and harassment for both the Blind/Partially Sighted community and the LGBTQ2S community.

For my situation I wish to educate the public that the Sighted Guide technique can be done in any situation and the goal of the technique is the safe and secure travel of both the sighted person and the person with the disability.

As for the choice of the phrasing used by these harassing individuals it also shows that intolerance and hatred still exists in our communities of Grey and Bruce.

Unfortunately the citizens of our counties still have much to accomplish in the acceptance and tolerance of diverse persons in our towns and villages.

A recent article in Forbes Magazine identified three habits that frustrate most persons with disabilities.