Unspeakable.

To close this week of Invisible Illness Awareness Week I wanted to tackle a topic that all of us face all too often - having to prove our disability.

Close-minded society will tell you that you must be in a wheelchair to be considered disabled - which is simply not true! While yes, many of us do have wheelchairs but that doesn't mean we are bound to them 24/7. I only use mine for long distances, or when I've used all my energy for the day and still want to go out.

One main example in which I have been publicly called out to prove my disability is written about here. I have faced this scenario on many occasions, but that one in particular was really memorable. But the reason I bring this up is because this weekend, as you may or may not have heard, Kanye West called out a couple people for not standing up and dancing to his song during a concert - both who were disabled. One held up a prosthetic limb to show why he wasn't standing, and the show went on....until later when Kanye noticed someone else wasn't standing up - this time someone in a wheelchair. He then said that he could not do his show properly unless everyone was standing up "unless you got a handicap pass and you get special parking and s**t". Excuse me?! WHAT?! Last night I was completely lost for words when I saw this. I can't stand Kanye for a lot of other scenes he has made over the years, but this one has put me over the edge.

If someone pays good money to come to a concert, they can sit the whole time or stand if they want to! But specifically calling out those who can't stand, and them blowing them off like it's such a luxury to have special parking is completely ignorant. Those of us with dysautonomia have trouble standing more than a few minutes, and thus need to sit - wheelchair or not. I remember being humiliated in front of a restaurant full of people when I was called out, imagine that humiliation for these people who were at a crowded concert!!!

Pointing out his ignorance and terrible behavior (these are the edited words I have chosen, in my head there are much worse things I have called him) is pretty useless, because any ding bat can see what he did was horrific. But it brings up an incredibly huge point that society just doesn't seem to get. Disability doesn't always require a wheelchair. You can't always see outwardly the illness ravaging someone's body. The cliche "Don't judge a book by it's cover" couldn't be more true...and don't be so ignorant! If someone wants to sit down, they shouldn't be called out for it. And no one should EVER have to prove their disability.