Tolerance and Reasonable Accommodation
The following is intended to cover a purely hypothetical situation
and to foster emotion-neutral discussion.
© 2007, 2010, R. W.C. Stevens
What if some people, whose religious beliefs had them walking sideways, were to come to Canada?
How would we cope with such people among us? Perhaps we should welcome them,
but lay before them some obvious points:
Welcome to Canada.
We1 do not mind if you2 walk down the
sidewalk3, sideways, as might be your custom. We welcome you, but:
- Take note that we have a system, and it works very well for us.
We see no need to change.
If you feel you must change us, make your attempts through voluntary education.
- Please accept that it will take some time for us to become attuned to your ways,
and while that is happening, from time to time, one of us may walk in front of one of you.
Although a collision may result, please excuse us this unintentional trespass,
as we will hopefully forgive you for your co-involvement.
- Similarly, some of you may forget your new surroundings (or mistakenly take one of us for one of you)
and mis-interpret which way we are going, and so will walk in front of us.
We can have (a limited) tolerance to this trespass.
- Please accept that purely because of the skewed ratio of ‘us’ to ‘you’,
initially, we will be experiencing fewer of these excusable, mindless,
collisions than will you.
Individually, you will be having more ‘learning experiences’ from these collisions than we will.
It is therefore to be expected that the learning period, visa vi not bumping into others,
will be a brief period for you, and a longer period for us.
Thus we ask of you greater tolerance to collisions than we expect you to grant us.
- Although we may forgive you the occasional mindless bump, we have every right to object,
vehemently, if you intentionally and with considered forethought stick your feet out to trip us, as we go by!
- Please keep the bickering, as to whether it should be left-side leading,
or right-side leading, to your selves; and keep it civil.
- We walk on sidewalks, and on the side of the road facing traffic – there are cars out there!
We wear light-coloured clothing when walking at night.
(Or at least we are advised to do so, and so advise you too.)
So: Refrain from doing your sideways-walking mid-roadway;
Be visible;
and If you are among those who walk to the right – figure out a way to watch for traffic
that does not involve us switching to driving on the other side of the road.
(Remember, as stated earlier: “We have a system, and it works very well for us.”)
1 ‘We,’ and ‘us’: Although you are now among and part of us,
in this dissertation such terms are to be taken as meaning those to whom the concept of walking sideways is new.
This distinction is made for clarity of this text, not in discrimination against ‘you’.
2 ‘You’ and ‘your,’ in this dissertation, refers to those who choose to walk sideways.
Now that you have joined us, there should be no distinction between ‘us’ and ‘you’.
It is used here purely for simplicity of language.
3 Sidewalk: The entomology of this term reflects it being a walkway at the side of the road.
It does not reflect our having had any prior experience, nor any plans for experience, in walking sideways.
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