It Started In The Bathroom
Laws Gone Too Far, Pictures, Celebrity Inanities, Odd products
So there I was, inside an acceptably clean Stop ‘n Shop Supermarket men’s room, suffering from the sudden after-effects of a meal too high in saturated fat. And as I wondered what exactly it is that Sheryl Crow does or does not eat that allows her to get clean using just one sheet of single-ply, I saw something that actually made less sense to me than the songstress’ odd declaration on bodily hygiene and the environment:
No, I wasn’t baffled by the appearance of a baby changing station inside a men’s room. There are plenty of men who pull diaper duty while out with their infant or toddler.
Take a closer look:
Yes, that’s braille - braille! - on the changing table. Instructions on how to use the changing table, written in braille…
Now, don’t get me wrong - I have nothing against blind people. In fact, my eyes are so bad that without my glasses I give Mr. Magoo a run for his money. I do not discriminate on the basis of handicap (or any other basis, for that matter). And I certainly would never deny a blind person the joy of having a child, as long as they were more capable of raising and caring for that child than the average child-abuser who ends up on the news these days (oh, wait, I guess I do discriminate - I discriminate against child abusers).
And though I am not a fan of the rapidly increasing-nanny state America is lately becoming, I certainly am a supporter of making things more convenient for the handicapped. People with disabilities have every right to participate in life and its wonderful activities.
But braille on a baby changing station table? That’s absurd!
Just think about it. A blind guy has a kid, maybe even with a blind wife. He gets himself up in the morning, perhaps earns a living at a job outside his home, even takes the baby with him to the grocery store. I’d say that if the guy can accomplish all of that, he’s probably better at changing his baby’s diapers than I am! But because somebody somewhere is afraid of getting sued under the Americans With Disabilities Act for not making sure their changing tables can be used for the very first time by a blind person who somehow made it to the store with their baby and has to change a dirty nappy, there is braille on the baby changing station.
Oh, and there are pictures of how to use the changing station, too, I suppose for people who do not read English. What was missing, oddly enough, were instructions in English. So, either English reading diaper changers are being discriminated against, or the makers of the tables and writers of the AWDA believe site-enabled English readers are just innately superior diaper changers.
In any case, when I saw the braille, I forgot all about Sheryl Crow for the moment, used half a roll of the good stuff that the store employees squirrel away in the bathroom for their own private use, and had an idea: somebody really needs to take on all of the incidents of warped common sense - the BentSense - and point it out for the foolishness that it is.
So here I am.
For a definition of “bentsense” click here.
Here’s something that makes good sense: buy in bulk - get home delivery - save lots of money - now that’s doing right by the environment!
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TheWriteJerry @ July 13, 2007
Oh, I absolutely LOVE this post! Too rich! Too true!
My favorite braille spot, of course, is at the drive-through teller machines. Yep, for the convenience of all those blind drivers who want to make a quick withdrawal on their way to work, the keypad of every (every!) drive-through teller is equipped with braille.
Braille on drive-through ATMs???
Okay, that one slipped past me. If I had seen those first, this post would be named “It Started At The Drive-through ATM.”
Of course now, there seems to be a running bathroom theme that pops up in posts here at BentSense. Maybe people toss common sense out of the bathroom window most often…
What’s next for braille - on fast food drive-through menus?
Yep, truth is stranger than fiction. I know I’ve seen braille in other odd places, and I always go off on it. Talk about taking political correctness to the Nth degree.
And you know, I’ll bet there’s braille on other drive-through-type things as well. Maybe we should start a list…
It’s like signs around town for the local libraries - a profile image of a person reading a book, but no words. So the question one asks is - if you can’t read the word ‘library’ why do you need to find one?
Your thinking is so closed that you can’t imagine that those tables are actually mass produced and sent to other places like rec centers, social centers, community buildings and government buildings, and even maybe bus and train stations where more than an average share of blind people and maybe even non-english speaking people (maybe even the UN) may make an appearance with their children.
Actually, Stephen, maybe you’re thinking that blind people are idiots. Because me, I’m thinking that if a blind person has a baby and can find their way to wherever one of these changing stations may be, then they already know how to change that baby’s diaper without the need to stop and run their fingers across someplace that some other baby’s poop-laden butt has been before using those fingers to touch their own baby.
Well, 2 things.
A - If we have to cater to stupid non-blind patrons (ie. printing that coffee is hot on a cup) then yes, we should equally cater to the stupid blind person.
B - I don’t know how many different manufacturers make these things. Maybe some have a big latch in the middle, maybe some have a latch on either side, maybe there is a cover dispenser underneath/on top. Maybe they even tell you the weight limit that the changer can withstand.
I may be the smartest blind person in the world, but if my child weighs 27 lbs and the changer can only hold 25 lbs, I won’t know that if it doesn’t tell me.
Also there are 3 warning notices in the 3rd picture. Maybe I would need that information as well.
Stephen - couldn’t agree with you more.
What’s the big deal with having this info in braille?
If instructions are there for sighted people then why not for blind people?