"Hey, don't forget the handicapped," I told the editor when he started sending over a package of stories on victims of stereotyping.
"What do you mean? Are they victims of stereotyping?" he asked. "We never considered that group."Excuuuuse me?
As a "minor" member of that club since a bout with bone cancer back in 1970, I've experienced firsthand some episodes of pigeonholing.
But, hey, I'm no expert.
"Talk with someone who has a real handicap," I told the editor when he suggested I do a short piece on my experiences. I've always considered myself lucky that I lost only a leg. It could have been a hand, an arm, an eye, both legs or - well, you get the picture.
Besides, I've spent more than half my life trying to convince others (and I suppose myself) that I'm just as capable and talented as anyone with two good legs.
"Sorry," he said. "We're on deadline here!"
Deadline! The most dreaded eight-letter word spoken on the copy desk, where I work at the Deseret News.
So here I am, whipping out a few thoughts on the subject in between editing news stories.
The other day, a scruffy-looking man with one leg was leaning on his crutches up against a downtown building at a bus stop. Was he panhandling hoping for a generous passer-by or waiting for a bus to take him to a shelter?
Too often, those with physical disabilities are perceived as burdens on society, unable to care for themselves and having a diminished mental capacity.
In this case, the scruffy-looking man on crutches was me.
I seldom wear my prosthesis (wooden leg) to work because I labor all day at a computer terminal and because I'm having problems getting a leg that's comfortable.
Anyway, as I was waiting to "go UTA," a business acquaintance who wasn't aware I'm an amputee walked by. He appeared shaken by my appearance. I swear, he was ready to hand me his pocket change before he recognized me!
A "few hundred years" ago for a college class, I conducted a very unscientific study on people's reactions to those with disabilities.
I borrowed a wheelchair and wheeled around campus for a day. I got the idea after encountering some fellow students in wheelchairs. I realized I reacted much as many others in the same situation: I didn't know what to say to "them."
But after I started the experiment, I was shocked at how people suddenly began acting as if I were helpless: I never had to open a door for myself, and some even offered to push me around. But most disturbing was the way many "talked down" to me - and it wasn't just because I was sitting down. One worker in the student center cafeteria really outdid herself. As I wheeled up to the food counter, she came around to assist me, talked to me as if I were mentally retarded, half deaf and even blind.
I was ready to abandon my sociology study, stand up on my one good leg, grab my food and hop over to a table to prove my self-worth. Fortunately, I persevered - and got an "A" in the class.
A few months ago, two friends and I went to a radio station to do a radio promotion for our acting group, so we dressed in some old clothes and pretended we were homeless people (actors can be really insensitive sometimes).
When we walked into the radio station lobby, the receptionist looked as though she was ready to call a guard.
I noticed a basket of fresh fruit on a stand in the lobby, and I asked if I could help myself. She was ready to give me the whole basket - how could she say no to a poor, one-legged, homeless man?
For people with real disabilities, life can be one putdown after another. I'm just thankful that I'm not worse off than I am.