I read about an experience that a friend of mine had recently at Dublin.
I have never been there and after reading what he had to go through, I am rather glad I have never bothered to.
Dublin, for the non-chennaiites, is a pub/disco at Park Sheraton, which is listed among the top night-spots here. Cavalcades of swanky cars pull up and all the beautifully dressed people turn up to drink, dance and have fun.
It is however painful to know that the dress code for Dublin includes no sneakers, no shorts as well as no crutches. Being informed that it is the policy to not allow a physically challenged person into a pub, especially a pub that is supposedly ranked high, is to say the least, disconcerting. Perhaps adding insult to injury is the fact that the friend also was lectured on the immorality of drinking when it comes to a person like him. Saying that a person with a crutch has no business being inside a disco and charging him stag entry inspite of the fact that there were three women with him smacks of discrimination.
Perhaps the bouncers thought that he was someone small and unimportant and hence the place could get away with it, perhaps they just thought no one would be ready to take the institution head on, perhaps they just are insecure enough to imagine that a guy who makes more money than them relying entirely on his brains needs to be pulled down a peg or two especially because he seemed to have more women around him than they had seen before.
If this had happened in any other country, I would have said sue them till they bleed.
But this is India, where morals are judged not based on how good a person you are,rather on how rich you are and how well you hide the fact that you like to drink or have fun.
I have no idea why this fact has not come up before about Dublin, maybe it is because he happens to be the first physically challenged blogger who went there, maybe it is because he decided to talk about it instead of just being hurt and keeping quiet. Knowing it happened to a wonderful person who always laughs his way through life inspite of all the prejuidice he has faced, knowing that I wasn’t there to stop that hurt, knowing that he took a stand and still entered that place just to make a point on how he could enjoy an evening out with friends too, makes me feel scared that there are still ignoramuses around like the bouncers at Dublin, so proud of him for having stood his ground and so angry at the hotel itself (seriously, a policy that stops certain people from entering because they are physically different? ).
I for one will never enter Dublin. I for one will also make sure that this story is heard and told in as many places as possible. I have already written to the hotel asking them to explain what happened and will be following it up. I for one am not going to keep quiet.
