The most aggressive stinging insects are Vespid wasps which includes yellow jackets. They all aggressively defend their nests (adapted from Wikipedia), and speaking from personal experience... a sting from a yellow jacket can be rather painful, but if you are not allergic and treat it with Benadryl, the pain is brief and quickly turns into a distant but slightly unpleasant memory.
When dealing with a disability, life can be frustrating. Accessibility is not always the way it should be; everything takes longer than it does for everyone else, etc. I consider myself an aggressive, but reasonable, activist when I encounter obstacles that don't need to be there. My philosophy is the old cliche that you 'catch more flies with honey.' I have in the past sent emails to places, where the accessibility just did not make sense, and in kind words explained why. Every time I have been successful in making the suggested changes, at times within 48 hours! Honey is sweet....
However, when catching flies with honey, you need to remember that wasps also have sweet teeth (at least they do in my brain :-), and occasionally you catch and angry wasp near its nest, and get stung.
I was at an event for senior citizens the other day along with my friend Lesa from FDOA. We were supposed to be telling people about a program we offer called RAPAD. The event was held at a neighborhood health/community center in one of the poorer parts of town. I arrived to find that there was only one accessible parking spot, and two spots reserved for staff by the best entrance. The rest were, well, just parking spots that would require anyone with a walking issue to walk on an uneven surface for long distances. The closest parking spot was very far away, and there was no way i could have safely walked the distance to the entrance. I finally found a second Handicap parking spot, all the way at the end of the building. There was no signage telling people how to get into the health center, but there was a long ramp leading up a hill. I had a hard time imagining that you would have to walk that far up hill to enter the building. Physically I felt strong that day, and walked really well so walking the distance was not a major issue, and once I had tested all the entrances I could see, I decided that the ramp running all the way along the building was the way in. The slope was OK, and there were railings most of the way. But while walking up the hill I got increasingly annoyed. It did not make sense to me that there was a parking lot that would allow for direct access to the building for people with disabilities, but two of the three good spots were reserved for the staff. The honey was seeping out of me in a hurry.
During the event, I did build up a new supply. So when the director of the center came to thank us for being there, I mustered up my honey, and asked her kindly if she was aware that the setup was not really conducive for a place catering to senior citizens, and people with disabilities. That was when the wasp caught me, this specific kind of wasp stings with it's eyes, words, and legalistic attitude. The look I got was ice cold, and she very pointedly said "IT IS A.D.A. COMPLIANT. WHEN WE REMODELED, THE CONTRACTOR SAID IT WAS A.D.A. COMPLIANT. IT IS A.D.A. COMPLIANT, THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY". In Danish we have an expression saying "at finde en grimasse der kan passe". It basically means to seek the right expression when someone catches you completely off guard with a completely unexpected answer to a question. I am not sure what I looked like, but I have a feeling that my jaw was hitting my chest and I might even have drooled...
After that incident, I just couldn't help but wonder what would cause a person, working for the city, in a position where she is supposed to make sure people get what they need etc, to become so angry, and lethargic. What would cause this person to put in one truly accessible spot, and then reserve the second best for herself, and leave the rest of us hanging at the bottom of a hill. I was surprised at her anger, especially when the question was asked with honey and not arsenic. There is an incredibly easy solution to the problem, but I think that when dealing with this kind of legalistic people, even a whack upside the head with a baseball bat would make no difference.
Normally, when I experience places that easily could be accessible but are not, I believe it is not done with malicious intent, but rather just ignorance. I have now learned that there is an added, and not nearly as easily dealt with, component namely legalism. Yeah, she did what was required of her by the law, but she forgot to use common sense in the process, and unfortunately you can't make laws against people lacking empathy and common sense. You can't legislate common sense...
I sent a friendly email to the director of the specific department in the city of Tallahassee, and within 24 hours I had a very nice answer that it would be looked into, and he would get back to me.
I look forward to hearing from him, I hear he is a nice guy, so maybe the parking spots will be switched around to make more sense, and not just comply with A.D.A. standards, and maybe he will be able to take the sting out of the wasp.
I will continue to use honey in my "traps" in the future, but now I know that sometimes you may place the honey too close to the nest of an angry wasp.
My challenge for you for the week is to look around and imagine you are the one with a disability. Which unnecessary obstacles do you experience, and could they be eliminated or made smaller without much effort. You might just be surprised...
Love and Honey,
P
Contact email keepinghopejourney@gmail.com
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