Sounds like a bloody good debate topic huh? I’ve been itching to write a little blurb about this ever since my footie accident but since so many people have had their say about this I’ll keep things short.
If any of you don’t know what this is all about then let me enlighten you. Singaporean blogger XiaXue wrote a post condoning the act of an abled bodied person using a disabled toilet. Malaysian blogger Peter Tan took offense and along with a few supporters, wrote to XX’s sponsors resulting in them retracting their sponsorship.
So who’s right?
I asked a number of people that I know about this and most of them reply, “if there’s nobody around why shouldn’t we be able to use it?”. Sounds acceptable. But Peter says that’s wrong. He says, “It’s a basic amenity for us. It is a right, not a privilege“.
To me, a right is only a right when its conferred by law (or some other form of regulation). For example, it is a right for handicapped people to park in handicapped parking lots because the law says so. Similarly, there is a right for the disabled for access to disabled toilets. However, having access to disabled toilets is not the same as having exclusive rights to use them. Thus, for a handicapped person to “rightfully” use a handicapped loo he would have to rely on the civic consciousness of people around him to prioritize him using the loo before them. It would take a real moronic and selfish arsehat to say no to that, neh?
This however, is just plain stupid. NOBODY can use the spot. Woot!
Aftermath
Perhaps, in an effort to further quell the issue, the Straits Times Sg wrote an article on the issue. The scanned copy can be found here whilst the article proper can be read here. The most important excerpt is probably this one:
Blogger Wendy Cheng found support from two unlikely groups. The Society for the Physically Disabled as well as the Handicaps Welfare Association see nothing wrong with sharing toilets meant for the handicapped, as long as the able-bodied give priority to the disabled.
Wahey! Finally, somebody having the cojones to conclude the matter! But even then, some people think that the matter has still yet to be properly resolved.
What I Think
In the 5 and a half weeks that I was on crutches life was most certainly different. It took me twice as long to get from one place to another and in that process probably used up twice as much energy. Going down and up the staircase just to buka puasa was a challenge. I cannot count the number of times I nearly keeled over from imbalance (yes Zaaba, you are a clumsy oaf).
The whole experience probably taught me one thing the most which was to appreciate the rezeki that I have. One minute I was scoring goals in futsal and another I was on the floor in agony clutching at my injured ankle. Perhaps in that light I finally understood that all that I have right now is a priviledge not to be taken for granted.
Where the handicapped toilet issue is concerned I never had the opportunity to actually use one. I ventured out to Megamall once but that one time alone put me off going to malls whilst on crutches indefinetely. If anything, I felt guilty imposing my condition on friends and family even if it only meant that they would have to walk twice as slow to let me catch up. But if I had to use one, I really hoped that one, not only would they be available; two, I hoped that people would prioritize me not because I was (at the time) disabled but because I lacked the alternative to use the other available toilets for abled bodied persons.
Conclusion
Sure enough, disabled toilets are often cleaner and spacious. But if everybody used them instead of the ‘other’ loos woudln’t they be just as dirty? Wouldn’t the floors be just as wet? I’m telling you, wet floors = minefield on crutches! Sure enough you’ll prioritize the disabled when you see one but unless you have x-ray vision you are not going to see the urgent Auntie in a wheelchair outside who’s dying to use the loo when you are busy doing your business. Bear in mind, the disabled need more time to adjust themselves – its no longer an issue of point and shoot.
EDIT: This is fucking hillarious! More satire on the handicapped loo issue.
