According to Google, a disability is "a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities." So, I pose the question, "Is skin color a disability?" There is no doubt in my mind that it shouldn't be. But there's little doubt in my mind that in today's society it is one.
Let's analyze skin color in terms of the aforementioned definition. Skin color is definitely a physical condition. Does it limit a person's movements or senses? No. But does it limit his or her activities? At times, yes. Therefore, skin color can be a disability.
Disclaimer: A physical condition may sound like a bad thing. It has a negative connotation. In no way am I meaning that here? When I use the term physical condition, I mean it as a state of being, not something good or bad. For instance, a physical condition I have is being female which may or may not be seen as a disability, but that's another article in itself.
Many of you may argue that skin color doesn't limit a person's activities. But I think you're wrong, and here's why:
There have been a plethora of police shootings of unarmed and non-threatening people of color. This is unacceptable.
Just recently, there has been the case of Charles Kinsey. As a mental health caretaker, he was in the middle of a road with an autistic patient, trying to convince him to come back to the center. The North Miami police say they received a 911 call about a man with a weapon who was threatening suicide. When they arrived at the scene, they found Charles
Kinsey and his patient. His patient was peacefully playing with a toy truck. Seems to me like a scene that would, first off, require no police, and second off, have a happy ending.
Instead, our story today has an ending that evokes mixed feelings. Anyway, Charles Kinsey laid down in the road with his arms in the air and asserted that he didn't have a weapon. Then, he was shot. Luckily, it was only in the leg, and he survived. However, he shouldn't have been shot in the first place. Personally, I feel angry that such an unfair and unnecessary incident happened, yet happy/relieved that he is still alive.
So what does disability have to do with this? While I recognize that the autistic patient does have a disability, that's not what I'm focusing on. My argument is that skin color has become a disability for Charles Kinsey and other people of color. He was presumably shot because of his skin color. As a result, it is implied that it is unsafe to have a darker skin color. If it is unsafe to have a darker skin color, then the skin color is limiting the person's opportunities to participate in life activities such as shopping or working. When this happens, it is easy to see that skin color is a physical condition that limits activities based on fear and safety.
In today's world, where we are supposedly civilized and highly advanced, why is skin color still a disability? That is racism. Racism has (rightly so) a negative connotation, but I think that people don't always realize that the things they do (or don't do) are racist. We, as a society, need to actively seek to love everyone.
