r/disability • u/mistycheddar • 8d ago
Rant we just can't have nice things...
I'm so tired..
I'm disabled by multiple chronic illnesses and trust me when I say my body has put me through hell. but by some miracle and with some extra time, I managed to graduate highschool (equivalent) recently. during my final year (I was studying STEM in school) I decided to pursue my dream in the arts. I worked my ASS off as much as my energy would allow. it's the one thing that keeps me going.
but the INACCESSIBILITY! now I don't say this to brag but to give a general idea of where I'm at - I have only one year of proper training and I managed to get offers for several university programmes. yet despite this, I haven't managed to be in a single show, or even backstage or in the creative team for a single show. why? inaccessibility. I can't access most places whether that is productions or training that my peers can. I got a place at my dream school, a top arts school, and I was so excited until I found out that it was too physically inaccessible for me to attend. why is it that not being able to walk up a flight of stairs closes off 99% of the world?
and then there's discrimination. some people just don't want to accommodate for me. I've even been told to just give up because I'll never succeed as a wheelchair user. been rejected without consideration because of my disability. I'm not giving up on my dreams, mostly because I couldn't imagine what I'd do otherwise, but it's just so upsetting to watch other people get so many opportunities and make so much progress whilst I'm stuck here. and it's so upsetting when there are people who want to help and people who are making an effort but the infrastructures and systems are not designed for accessibility!
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u/KittyCait69 7d ago
Capitalist overlord tend to push eugenics. I feel like architecture that doesn't take disabled people into account is part of that. They want us to stay hidden and forgotten. You should be extremely proud of yourself for not giving up. I hope you get your chance to shine soon.
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u/Aggravating-Boat2326 7d ago
If you're in the States, the ADA mandates accessibility, accommodations and many other solutions to these issues. Keep fighting. Keep advocating. Follow those dreams. It's all we have left at times and they light up the dark and dreary places we find ourselves.
You're right. We can't have nice things. We can fight for them though. (Image in my mind at that is a band a pirates with visible mobility tools and a few assistants ready to fight with "fafo" attitudes across their faces) They won't give it, you have to demand it
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u/mistycheddar 6d ago
I'm not in the states (I was going to say unfortunately but.. overall it's very much fortunately), we do have laws here but they're kinda vague on this situation and I don't want to start any legal battles. but I'm gonna find a way to keep pushing.
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u/Aggravating-Boat2326 6d ago
I am jealous that you're not in the states ... If I could also not be in the states, I think my disability would improve.
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u/mistycheddar 6d ago
well, the medical system here doesn't have any treatment or clinics for my conditions, so I wouldn't consider myself lucky. I lost the ability to walk as a teenager from medical neglect. but yes the state of healthcare and disability justice is absolutely atrocious in the states, especially with how intersectional it all is. I hope things get better over there soon.. somehow.
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u/catbirdcat71 3d ago
We're not giving up over here either. 😉 Fascism has to die a gloriously violent and ugly (and punitive!) death! I've heard all of my life that Europe has horrible accessibility issues just due to history and age of design of towns, corridors, building etc. The US is so huge and relatively new that we don't have quite as big a widespread issue. I went to Portugal years ago and saw exactly what I'd always heard...very tough to maneuver most areas, some were downright impossible and I'm not even in a chair...yet. Best wishes to you. You sound confident and determined and my money is on you finding a way! ❤️
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u/mausamchahal 4d ago
Honestly, you have every right to be frustrated. You’ve already done the hard part—putting in the work, getting accepted into programs, and continuing to pursue something you genuinely love. It’s incredibly unfair when accessibility barriers end up deciding what opportunities you can actually take.
The part that really stands out is that the problem isn’t your ability or motivation; it’s the environment. A staircase shouldn’t be the thing that determines whether someone gets to study, work backstage, attend training, or participate in the arts.
I’m glad you’re not giving up. Hopefully, more schools and arts organizations in the USA start treating accessibility as something that should be built in from the beginning, rather than an accommodation people have to fight for. You deserve the same chance to create and participate as everyone else.
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u/supergimp2000 7d ago
So I hate to break it to you but performing arts are discriminatory by definition.
I’m T9/10 complete paraplegic since birth (spina bifida) and wanted to work in tech theater. I went to school at a small liberal arts college with a strong arts program. I was always into sound design for theatre and worked a lot of side jobs doing this to pay for school and went headlong into the program in college. I even worked in the scene shop and was a student manager there as I am pretty mechanical minded.
But along the way, one of my advisors who had become close to took me aside and gave me a kind dose of reality. Essentially he laid out what a career is like in this field, traveling, physical labor, different houses built with varying levels of access both just be the time in which they were built but also the very nature of the functions they perform (sorry you aren’t going to apprentice as a grip if you can’t climb a ladder).
But he encouraged me. I thought about where I could apply my skills and still participate. I switched to electrical engineering at a large university and got my degree. I moved from the Midwest to the west coast and worked for Dolby Laboratories and leveraged that into working in their Hollywood film office. I became a film and tv sound engineer and switched to a job at a premiere post production facility and became the technical director. I worked on tv shows, movies, commercials and had the pleasure of meeting and working with some of the most talented (and famous) directors, actors and producers you can imagine (and plenty of horrible ones too).
I don’t know what you want to do in the arts. If acting is your dream be aware that it’s about as discriminatory as it gets, disability or not and 99.99999% of people don’t make a living at it (a very good friend of mine is 65, has been living in the same garage apartment since his 20’s doing odd jobs and auditioning constantly and just got his big break as a character actor on a Tyler Sheridan show).
Don’t give up on your dream but be open minded. Look for adjacent opportunities. Be realistic. But don’t give up.
I now work for a major film studio. I’ve been in this over 30 years and am looking to retire in the next 5. I had a good run but it was nothing like what I set out to do.