Prejudice ... Disguised in Sheep's Clothing

Saturday, September 24, 2005 | 0

Last weekend, I attended the County Fair. The gateway to the fair at the main entrance is marked with a beautiful home from the 1800s that was moved to the fairgrounds in several sections in 2001.

For the past four years, I have peeked in the windows and longed for the opportunity to tour the inside of this beautiful gem.

In February, I read in the paper that the home, which had been restored by the historical society, would be open for tours, by appointment only during this years fair season. Upon arriving at the Fair last Friday, I immediately went to the home and signed up for the 5 oclock tour with my family. Our group of 10 assembled on the porch outside the gorgeous structure.

My daughter and her friend were among the group and we met our tour guide.

As we walked through the halls of this structure, and stood in the rooms on the ground floor, we were able to see all of the fine details, the family heirlooms that had been donated and how lovingly the home had been restored by the Historical Society.

We learned about the family, the relatives and saw the pictures on the walls, depicting the various stages of their lives.

Then, the shock!

We arrived at the staircase, leading up to the second floor.

The tour guide, in a most dramatic fashion, asked us to look at the velvet rope across the staircase.

She went on to state that we could not go up to the second floor&&&because of the ADA, the Americans With Disabilities Act.

She informed the tour participants that because of the ADA, the top floor of the home was closed was closed and we were denied the chance to tour, because the house was not wheelchair accessible.

She informed our tour group that the Historical Society had no intention of installing an elevator.

Our group looked completely bewildered and dejected.

I would have thought this was an accident, however, she lingered there for such a long time at the staircase, and restated this at least three times, in an accusatory tone of voice that was unmistakable.

She then stated that the original restroom had to be brought up to ADA standards of compliance and the claw foot tub was removed. She expressed her hope that someday a claw foot tub cold be reinstalled in the home, somewhere.

I wrestled with what to say, what to do and decided I would consider it for awhile.

When we left the tour, I asked my teen daughter what she noticed about the tour and the tour guide.

Immediately, she reported that what she heard was DISCIRIMINATION.

I would imagine the tour guide did not have any awareness about how her disappointment expressed to our group of 10 was viewed as discriminatory and prejudiced against the handicapped.

How many other groups of 10 people who toured the house heard what we did?

Tours went from 9 to 5:15, every 15 minutes, from Tuesday through Sunday.

I intend to write a letter to the Historical Society to express my dismay over what was said at that staircase.

In this way, I hope to at least open the awareness about the ADA, accessibility and how a simple comment and tone, about handicapped people, can have the potential and far reaching impact of influencing a group of people in our communities.

Author Jamie Charter has been providing employment and litigation consulting services for 21 years through Charter and Company in Soquel, California and the Employment Resource Consultants. Jamie is Certified as a Professional in Disability Management, (CPDM) and is a State of California Independent Vocational Evaluator (IVE). Jamie is also an accomplished writer and editor, with many published articles in employment related issues in wide-reaching media arenas. Jamie can be reached at jcharter@calcentral.com.

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