Skip to main content

Accommodation in the News


A brief story.

I saw a documentary about Little People some years back. (Dwarfism, achondroplasia).  One gentleman featured in the film described an experience where someone of typical height visited his home. Naturally, many of the features in his residence had been retrofitted to accommodate his height. Including in the bathroom.

When the visitor emerged from “using the facilities” he remarked, with some irritation, “There’s something wrong with your toilet!”

That response has stayed with me for a long time. I am normal, thinks the man. I am of normal height. This toilet doesn’t accommodate me.

There is something wrong with this toilet.

This mindset prevails in too many areas of our lives and it is not only demeaning and limiting (think education and the workplace) but it can also be dangerous.

If humans come in a variety of manifestations, acknowledging that and acting on that should be the goal. Sorting out the “normal” from everyone else and then planning only for that “normal” subgroup comes from such a shallow way of thinking. It is neither efficient nor does it improve anyone’s quality of life.

To be accepted as who you are should not be an “extra.” You should not be treated as an inconvenience. 

The horrific shooting of Alex Lamoire by police he had reached out to for help has brought out an appalling number of police apologists. “This is how the police operate,” they lecture us. “If you don’t behave in a way that is congruent with standard operating procedure, you get what you deserve.”

We must accommodate police? Are we here to accommodate the police department?

The Howard County Police Department provides a secure environment for the citizens of Howard County by protecting life and property, reducing the opportunity for crime and disorder, enforcing the law, assisting victims and providing other police-related services as required by the community in a manner consistent with the values of a free society. - -  HCPD website

…as required by the community in a manner consistent with the values of a free society.

What does our community require? It says right there that we get to choose. Anyone who tells you that we don’t have the right to choose: 1. doesn’t believe in a free society and 2. is at odds with the mission statement of the Howard County Police Department.

This is what I choose:  that the police department must be trained and supported and evaluated and held legally responsible for serving all members of the community. Fact: humans come in a variety of manifestations. All are equally valuable.If our police do not acknowledge that and act accordingly they are not fulfilling their mission.

But our community must require that. In policing, in education, in the workplace, in public facilities and services. It’s not an extra. It’s the whole point.


Village Green/Town² Comments


Comments

  1. Julia A. McCreadyApril 2, 2026 at 6:00 AM

    Please do not submit comments here. This function will be disabled shortly. Use the link above instead. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more