as i was riding the bus home from work late this afternoon, i noticed that a man and a woman, both without the ability to hear or speak entered the bus. the woman sat across from me and signed “hello” to me. i signed “hello” back. she clapped her hands excitedly and signed “you sign?” and i signed back “a little”. with that, we continued on our way.
a few stops later, and after consulting her route map, she tried to ask the bus driver a question. she couldn’t use her voice, but tried to, at a desperate attempt to have the bus driver understand her. she motioned towards the sidewalk, then to herself, then held out her hand asking the driver to stop. it was clear, to me, at least, that she wanted to get off the bus right away because she had missed her stop. the busdriver stared at her, not knowing what to do, and said “i’m sorry, i can’t understand you.”
i told the bus driver what i believed she was trying to say, and he pulled over at the next stop and let her and the man accompanying her off. i sat back down and had to will every nerve in my body to remain composed because at that moment there was nothing i wanted to do more than cry. it broke my heart that she wasn’t being understood. and i know it’s not the driver’s fault, but it broke my heart a little more that there was no means for her to communicate what she wanted to anyone or anything on that bus, and i can’t help but think how she and so many other people with disabilities are constantly one down in the game of life.
it seems that a lack of understanding controls our society, in some sort of grotesque way.
<3.
