Personally, I would be happy if someone stopped and asked me about my disability. I have the great fortune of having a “hidden” one — I have stage 4 cancer. I’ve always bought my tickets like everyone else. On my last SWA flight, one of my flights was delayed and it didn’t look like I would be able to switch it to one that would get me to a potentially life saving surgery on time. I admit that I broke down in the airport, just asking the GA to help. There was such an outpouring of kindness; one man next me demanding the last seat out of town on another plane quietly asked the attendent to give it to me, even if it would make him late. Another couple specifically requested to move to another day so they could give me those seats. And after an outpouring of gratitude from me to all of them, the GA kindly gave me preboarding. I had never preboarded in my life. Now I’m out of surgery and will probably specifically request preboarding. And I actually would be delighted if someone would confront me and demand why a person who looks like she could have run a marathon 15 lbs ago is boarding before them. Then I can tell them the life-saving operation wasn’t successful, and now I have to heal before chemotherapy which will probably buy me only a year. I’ll likely cry. And I may get that one unkind comment that this doesn’t necessarily count as the type of disability to let me board before A groups. But if I see some humanity in their expressions, just a little empathy for someone who’s getting a tiny moment of respite when nothing else has gone right — or even a shaudenfreude moment of “at least I don’t have her problems” that will let me feel a tiny bit less guilty for “exploiting” the rules—it may be worth it.
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