All these thoughts race through my head as I try to muster up my best smile and hello to greet him with as I pass by. I hope my pity doesn’t show through too strong.

You don’t need a rocket scientist to tell you that mentally and physically disabled persons make up a large part of our society. A simple walk around Carbondale can show you that. Its always been taught to us from a young age that those with limitations are no different than ourselves. Those with disabilities also have been given the opportunities to educate and develop themselves and their careers as everyone else. Unfortunately though, it’s not that easy for an individual with a handicap to acquire a position in society like everyone else.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which took effect July 26, 1992, prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions and privileges of employment.

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I think the key word here is qualified, which means that they have to be able to do the job. That of course means that there are limitations on what a person with disabilities can do, but it seems that even in qualified positions a person with a disability is often passed up for someone who is normal.

NBC’s news magazine show Dateline recently did a hidden camera piece in how individuals in wheelchairs weren’t even given applications for employment while those not in wheelchairs were. What I have to wonder after seeing pieces like that and after watching others on campus is what are we afraid of when it comes to dealing with a disabled person, mentally or physically?

Although discrimination against color is probably the sickest form of discrimination, discrimination against an individual with a disability is just as sick. Look, we’re all guilty of this, but we aren’t committing a life long commitment if we just say Hello, how are you? Maybe converse with them for a second, or just hold the door. So much is taken for granted in our lives, and the lives of so many others are forgotten.