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Must Be Paraplegic To Be Seated or The 70’s Were So Un-PC

So, before we left work for the holidays I took the opportunity to clean up my desk area a little. Because in all the insanity of last week, it looked like someone had barfed paper all over my desk and sprinkled it with empty food containers. And I’m rearranging the stack of rolled technical drawings that I keep between my desk and the wall when I come across this:

For those of you who are unsure of what you’re looking at, I’ll save you the squinting: it’s an original hand-drafting of my theatre’s audience seating from back when the space opened in the early 70’s. So I’m sitting there, admiring the tedious and detailed hand-drafting, when I notice something Β on the drawing that cause my jaw to drop.

It was their rendering of the handicap section.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you’re reading that correctly. The handicap section is labeled “Paraplegic Section.”

The 70’s were so politically correct…

 

{ 5 comments… add one }
  • Camels & Chocolate December 21, 2011, 3:09 pm

    That is classic. Classy, too. They did something similar in China with all the handicapped bathrooms, but it was even funnier because it was a “lost in translation” sort of mishap. I’ll have to dig through my photos to find those signs…

  • Karen December 21, 2011, 4:44 pm

    as a product of the 70’s, I can assure you there were worse names assigned to various groups by those persons from the 50’s & 60’s; luckily some of my generation pushed through some political correctness, regarding women, minorities, and yes, even “being green” back in the day…..it took years for some of those initiatives to become mainstream, and I’m happy to say its much better now. I even had a t-shirt that said “A woman’s place is in the house……. and the Senate!”

    I suppose at least it didn’t say “Crippled Section.”

  • Lauren December 21, 2011, 6:12 pm

    Haha! (Was that un-PC of me to laugh? πŸ˜‰

  • Karen December 21, 2011, 7:05 pm

    seriously, it was “progressive” of the theatre at that time to have a section for the handicapped; i.e. paraplegic, crippled, etc.as bad as that sounds now. and note that this section it was in the very back, not nearer the front as it is now. am wondering how many stairs those folks of the 70’s had to be able to navigate, either in the parking garage (no handicapped stickers then) to make it into the theater itself. thank goodness it is much better now….

  • Mayor Gia December 26, 2011, 3:02 pm

    Hahahah wow. I love how they lump everyone together as paraplegic. What if you just broke both your legs or something?!? Sheesh. πŸ˜›

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