Disaboom.com Connecting the millions touched by disability
Sign in | Sign up
 
Search
  • health
  • living
  • community
  • marketplace
  • news
  • store
  • jobs
  • Blogs  |
  • Groups  |
  • Galleries  |
  • Discussions
Text Size
A
A
A
 Green Nation Today
darrenhillock
darrenhillock
Paddock Lake, WI
Male

  • About Me
  • My Blog
  • My Photos
  • My Favorites
  • My Groups

Wheelchair as dining furniture: kitsch or insult?

Posted: 11/20/2007 at 09:16 PM

  • share this:
  • Email to a Friend
  • Digg It!
  • StumbleUpon
  • Fark
  • Facebook
  • del.icio.us
  • Reddit
  • NewsVine
Thanks for voting!
0
I LIKE IT

member(s) liked this post.

Email this to a Friend

People who live in tourist destinations inevitably have a different way of looking at their famous home than someone who goes there to visit -- even if they visit often.
Take a coastal lighthouse. Tourists see the lighthouse as a site to see. Something to enjoy and experience, for a while. They may feel very attached to it as a symbol of their favorite vacation spot. It reminds them of fun.
But that same lighthouse might have a very different meaning to the native. To the native, it may be the landmark they steer their boat home by, maybe even that time in that serious storm. It may have saved their life. It may be much more than a fun diversion.
This dynamic came to my mind -- but in a context more appropriate to the Disaboom community -- when I came across this article about The Clinic restaurant in Singapore.
Apparently one room of the quirky restaurant uses wheelchairs as dining seating (note the photo in the upper left of the article linked to above).
What to make of that?
Is it pharma-kitsch, as The Clinic's website insists, or is it an insult? Is this fun or is it evidence of someone who just doesn't understand?
The journalist in me, trained to see not black and white but shades of gray, can see some merit in both of these arguments.
But in the end I think it's probably more harmless than bad. Using a wheelchair to sit at a table while you're dining out is certainly not as permanent of a situation as most wheelchair users face. But even that short time spent rolling on another person's wheels might have the side effect of creating some understanding or help those who just seem to have an aversion to a wheelchair.
What do you think? Convince me.

Filed under: travel, darrenhillock, wheelchairs, restaurants
27 Views
  • share this:
  • Email to a Friend
  • Digg It!
  • StumbleUpon
  • Fark
  • Facebook
  • del.icio.us
  • Reddit
  • NewsVine

Comments

3
  • Email to a Friend
  • Report Abuse

Your comment may take up to 15 minutes to appear.

Some HTML is allowed in the comments. See the list.
Protected by FormShield
Refresh
Listen
Please enter the characters shown on the image
What is this code for?
Submit Your Comment
  • Attila the Mom wrote on Nov 21, 2007 at 4:43 AM
    • view profile
    • send private message

    I think it's bizarre...

    and no, I'm not going to try to convince you.  LOL

  • candra wrote on Nov 23, 2007 at 8:35 PM
    • view profile
    • send private message

    Personally, regardless of the access i don't think I'd want to go to a restaurant called "The Clinic". Makes you think of your last doctor visit.  I mean, how appealing is that? Yeah, it's pretty harmelss, but not the best marketing.  Some more thought could have gone into it all. Really.

    Candy

  • darrenhillock wrote on Nov 27, 2007 at 9:10 PM
    • view profile
    • send private message

    I agree with you Candy. Eating at a clinic? Ugh. But then again, I knew someone who liked to eat at hospital cafeterias because he felt they were more committed to cleanliness. Go figure?!

Sign In | Join Disaboom Today!

  • Sign in to Disaboom
  • I forgot my password Sign in ยป

Popular Blog Posts

  • See what's hot in the Disaboom Community.

    Check out our Top Bloggers or just see What's New.
 




Home | About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact | Advertise With Us