{"id":1955,"date":"2019-11-25T15:07:10","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T15:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disabilityawareness.training\/?p=1955"},"modified":"2019-11-25T15:07:10","modified_gmt":"2019-11-25T15:07:10","slug":"cat-owner-in-cool-t-shirt-inspires-shoppers-disability-awareness-retail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.krackeddigital.co.uk\/?p=1955","title":{"rendered":"Cat Owner In Cool T-shirt Inspires Shoppers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hi, I\u2019m Dan. A cat owner from Chester. Here\u2019s an insight into my life as an \u2018inspirational\u2019 person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Logie Baird creating the goggle box (and inadvertently\nSky Sports. Thanks mate!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shakespeare writing Othello. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan pulling a \u2018Kill The Kardashians\u2019 t-shirt over his head\nunaided and venturing to the shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whoa. Take a step back there.<\/strong> What\u2019s so special about the last one? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is getting dressed on a par with fighting racism, the\ninvention of a ubiquitous household item, or the writing of a legendary stage\nplay? Am I inspirational simply by protecting the world at large from the sight\nof my middle aged (and recently slightly slimmer) torso?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I certainly don\u2019t think so, but apparently some do. A fact\nwhich makes me laugh at the idiocy of it, and winds me up. You see there\u2019s a common\nphenomenon where people watch the, quite often, mundane activities of a person\nwith an impairment and escalate them to levels of heroism not seen since Greek\nmythology. Here are some recent examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Oh it\u2019s fantastic that you\u2019re doing that<\/strong>\u2019 a woman commented as I lifted a bag of cat litter into the shopping trolley. \u2018What, taking care of my cat?\u2019 I asked bemused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Good to see you out and about\u2019<\/strong> said a random guy in the queue at the cinema. \u2018Have we met before I asked?\u2019 \u2018Emmm, no. No, just good to see you, em, you know. Out and about.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018That\u2019s great you\u2019re working with homeless people Dan. I mean, it gets you out the house doesn\u2019t it?!<\/strong>\u2019 remarked a visiting occupational therapist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have no desire to inspire anyone purely because I have cerebral palsy. If\nyou\u2019re wondering why this commentary is so patronising then ask yourself this\nquestion. Would you praise another shopper as they sorted Tiddles\u2019 bathroom\narrangements? Or congratulate them on taking their wife to the movies? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing I do in my daily life needs to be analysed and applauded as anything amazing. <\/strong>Yes, I live life to the full, with a happy marriage, and a job I find rewarding but so do millions of other people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not being inspirational when I watch TV, cook the dinner or wash any number of my ever growing T-shirt collection. Nor am I going for a Nobel peace prize when giving a best man\u2019s speech (even though I\u2019m really<\/em> good at it!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no extraordinary story behind anything I do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m just me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it would be really cool if more people, no matter how well intentioned they are, took that on board. I like meeting new folk and enjoy a chat as much as the next guy but please, let\u2019s leave the inspirational comments at the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading this guest blog by Dan, who is a member of our training team. If you\u2019d like to learn more about disability awareness training<\/a><\/strong> and how it can benefit your business then get in touch<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join us on twitter @EnhanceTheUK<\/a> to keep up to date with all our latest news. #EnhanceTheUK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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