Accommodations the delusional, but not for the disabled.

I think there’s an important distinction between rights violated as the victim of a crime and rights denied by the government/society in a systemic fashion and yet a further distinction when businesses/corporations choose to violate rights.

There is much funding and infrastructure and remedies available to crime victims. Perpetrators who violate the law and by extension the rights of the victim, immediately expose themselves to the penalties the legal system outlines – whether those laws/remedies are fair and just can be debated ad nauseum but they ARE there.

Businesses are required generally by law, how to provide for the basic rights of ALL people or make “reasonable” efforts at alternative accommodations. At the end of the day, each business is beholden to it’s business model and whether it can turn a profit – if that business does not make the “reasonable” accommodations that their customers require, customers are free to take their business and money elsewhere. Then the offending business immediately “pays a price” in profits for this exclusion (violation) of rights. But let me pose this scenario – should an amusement park make special accommodations for midgets and dwarves on their crazy and dangerous roller coasters? I mean it violates their rights by requiring a certain height/weight for safety, right? By comparison, those bakeries that publicly announced that they won’t serve gays or minorities – if I recall – are either closed or struggling. At the same time, airlines are doing better than ever cramming people into less and less space AND charging per bag to carry … until people say “enough” en mass and stop flying, the airlines will continue to abuse us in many ways. But i think you have an up hill battle regarding seats/space because that is precisely what they “sell/rent” – space – on a plane, and you can’t get around the fact that large/obese people consume more of it. Again, not saying this is right or fair, but it is an undeniable fact in the same way a midget simply doesn’t fill enough of it to maintain safety on a roller coaster.

Regarding systemic (government) abuses of rights boils down to the political process and often popular opinion and from what I’ve seen if people won’t vote for change, that can’t possibly expect change – I believe voter apathy is at an all time high and until that changes, a lot of ignorant and old world ideals will continue to be enforced – rightly or wrongly.

Gitmo brings a whole other dimension to the conversation in that what is being done there is being done in our name by our representatives yet at the same time several of those detained in Gitmo have professed a desire to cause each of us harm, on one hand they are dangerous criminals and soldiers devoted to a “total war” ideology … on another hand, they are not citizens of our country and not exactly bound by or laws and protections … and yet, they are humans – and like it or not, agree with them or not, that “should” be afforded basic human rights.

It’s damn near impossible to make a one size fits all rule/regulation that handles each individual and/or situation. Additionally, people can actually be outraged at more than one thing at a time but with limited time and resources may only choose to spend those resources/effort on the one they deem most likely to be successful.

All in all, I think it unwise to attempt to compare situations with very different moving parts – each must be examined separately.

contemplative dawg