Not every doorknob will be disability friendly. If pressure from the social model fixes 20% of doorknobs, now there is a group of people can open 20% of doors where they could open 0% before.
Example:
I have a chronic pain disorder. I have substantial difficulty working in an office. WFH was an absolute blessing, and RTO has been a curse.
RTO is a regressive policy for disabled people who found they were finally able to participate in their industry for the first time in ages. Now they are expected to take on extra burden to function in an able-bodied world. Many, whose bodies do not allow that option simply have to go back on SSDI.
That is an example of progress in the social model that has regressed back to the medical model.
That is a man of straw! I’m talking about desk jobs, here, and I think that’s pretty clear from my comment above.
I don’t know how RTO could be seen as anything but the medical model —
Medical model: it is the disabled person’s responsibility to figure out how to function in society.
Social model: it is society’s responsibility to accommodate people with disabilities.
In any case, I’m actively involved in the disability community and this is one of the biggest — if not the biggest — conversations in the community recent years. WFH/RTO has become the poster-child for the conflict between the medical and social model. This is why I chose it as an example.
Other businesses don't agree. Managers at these businesses want people chitchatting with each other, grabbing lunch together, having hallway talks, etc. They think that desk work is at its best when it's a social activity, and often have specific points where they feel their business didn't work as well when Covid forced everyone to stay home.
Why does the social model of disability imply that the second group of businesses is wrong, or that we have to override their judgment?
It doesn’t, it claims that WFH is a reasonable accommodation for desk workers and employers need to adapt if they want their disabled employees to be as productive.
Don’t worry, though, companies loathe providing WFH accommodation; WFH is my only option and I’ve been unemployed and hunting for months. The arrangement that is most comfortable for able-bodied people is not in danger.
its not that hard to get to 99.999% though.
stop selling door knobs, or doors that accept round knobs. add incentives to swap or return round knobs. include checks for round knobs both for building inspections and insurance.
you wont wont get the last couple people that build their own doors and machine their own knobs, but thats gonna be a really small segment
Ok, but that's not a "Silicon Valley" thing.
Go talk to politicians or Home Depot and Lowe's and the home builders conventions.
That's why the post screams of mis-placed anger.
Silicon Valley probably would invent FaceID / NFC / Passkeys / WIFI authentication for doors - but that doesn't mean they'll get installed anywhere.