“What’s wrong with you?” isn’t really a question about me.
It’s a question about what you assume.
A stranger asked me that over and over while I walked to a local restaurant with my guide dog. I didn’t answer. I kept walking.
But I’ve thought about it since. That person wasn’t asking about my eyes. They were telling me what they believed: that a blind man out in public is something gone wrong. Something that needs explaining.
That belief is everywhere. It shows up when disabled people are called “inspiring” for doing ordinary things. It shows up when a guide dog is treated as a sign that something is wrong, instead of what it is: a partner that helps me get where I’m going.
The question won’t go away until the assumption does.
So here’s my question back to you: when you see a disabled person out living their life, what do you assume, and where did you learn it?
Disabled friends: what assumption do you wish you could correct in one sentence?
#DisabilityInclusion #Ableism #Blindness #DisabilityStigma #GuideDogs
Aaron Linson
npub1yr…qx69h
2026-10-22 16:20:22 UTC
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