Seeing as it is currently the year 2019, you would think that overt discrimination would at least have been beaten to the point that it makes people think twice about airing their hurtful views.
Unfortunately, the recent political atmosphere suggests otherwise.
To make matters worse, it seems that such silly skin-based discrimination is now being applied to animals that weren’t even part of the discussion in the first place!
Around the age of 15, Meghan Taylor was struck by a head injury so serious, it caused a whole laundry list of severe medical problems that has permanently disabled her.
The list is pretty scary to read through too – impaired imbalance, vertigo, hearing loss, frequent fainting attacks, and the scariest of all – ‘episodic blindness’, where she can randomly lose her sight at any given moment.
And even when she is comfortably sighted, she frequently gets so overwhelmed by dizziness and disorientation that trying to navigate her environment becomes a health hazard.
Now 22-years-old, the St. Helens, Merseyside native relies on her two service dogs to help her through her life.
A German Shepherd who functions as an assistant dog that helps her complete simple daily tasks (in addition to knowing how to phone for help in an emergency) and a black Labrador Retriever, who acts as her guide dog.
Pay attention to the color, it becomes important.
Like any other young person her age, Taylor enjoys going out and about to get things done.
To maximize her independence, she relies on the public transportation system and her guide dog, Rowley since her disability makes it incredibly unsafe for her to drive a car.
But what is she going to do when the very companion she depends on is discriminated against?
While boarding a bus with her two-year-old guide dog, she was confronted by a passenger who was apparently offended by Rowley’s presence.
The passenger demanded that the dog be removed from the bus – despite the very obvious handling equipment Rowley was wearing that marked him as an assistance dog.
Taylor, hoping to find the woman reasonable, attempted to explain to this stranger that Rowley was her guide dog.
Evidently, the woman had a very strange preconception of what guide dogs are – she accused Taylor of being a liar, on the basis that guide dogs are yellow Labradors.
According to this random passenger, Rowley could not possibly be a guide dog because he is black!
In reality, assistance and guide dogs can come in all sorts of breeds, sizes, and colors – they aren’t limited to just a single breed and color.
It was clear that this accusatory woman Taylor was dealing with was so convinced of her perception of reality being true, nothing Taylor could do or say would change her mind.
Taylor decided to save her strength and proceeded to ignore the woman for the rest of her ride – a good idea too since the woman just continued to spout all sorts of crazy nonsense unprompted.
It is sad that this sort of close-mindedness still exists today, allowing ridiculous sentiments like these to take root and grow.
Hopefully, people will be better educated in the future, so folks like Taylor don’t have to deal with more accusatory strangers like that random passenger.
