Discrimination & Pilotless Flight

The People's Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast

Welcome to the crazy train that’s the People's Countryside Environmental Debate Podcast. There are no scripts here, Stuart and William are not experts either, they’re just two people willing to discuss the big issues, in an open and honest way.

In today’s episode they explore two listener questions. One is from Xiomara, Managua Department, Nicaragua and the second from Maidali, Nacional, Dominican Republic.

Xiomara’s question is as follows: “What can we do to address the discrimination faced by people with disabilities?”

William, straight off the bat, encourages everyone to stop seeing the individual as a person with disabilities, and actually just see them as the person that's there in front of you. Stuart takes this a step further, saying that you are only as disabled as society enables you to be.

They both go on to the discuss the positives of combining the Olympics and Paralympics into one event, that it may mean less competitors, but it would potentially be more inclusive.

They also delve into the subject of where discrimination comes from? Is it unconscious patronization, or unnecessary sympathy for a person with a disability?

William concludes this discussion by pointing out when you see somebody in a wheelchair, you see somebody with a white stick, or you see somebody who obviously has some form of disability. Don't automatically assume that this person is going to fit into a neat pigeonhole box for you. Instead, have genuine interest and empathy for the people around you.

Stuart concludes: keep talking about this stuff. If it's uncomfortable, then you're actually talking about something with substance. If the conversation is nice and comfortable, you’re maybe not pushing the boundaries enough.

Onto the second question, which comes from Maidali: “Pilotless Aircraft seem to be where you are heading. Would you guys feel safe not having a manual override?”

William has only heard of the idea of pilotless aircraft as a concept, and even though a lot of flying is handled by the computer, autopilot, he sees that a pilot as a human element will always be needed in the cockpit.

Stuart brings up the idea of driverless cars, buses, trains, so why not aircraft too? William counters this question as he himself sees driverless cars as being purely science fiction, and the only place they would work is in closed areas.

Stuart concludes this episode with two actions, one for both questions, the first is: have an internal conversation with yourself to see if you recognize you're discriminating. The second action encourages you to ask yourself the question: would you feel unsafe having driverless services, transport or otherwise?

William’s action: ask yourself what do you habitually do in your life and ask yourself the question. Does that really serve your needs and your life?

What do you make of this discussion? Do you have a question that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by sending an email to ⁠[e-mail]

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This podcast's overall themes are nature, philosophy, climate, the human condition, sustainability, and social justice.

Sign the Petition - Improve The Oxfordshire Countryside Accessibility For All Disabilities And Abilities: https://www.change.org/p/improve-the-oxfordshire-countryside-accessibility-for-all-disabilities-and-abilities

Fundraiser For An Extreme 8 All-terrain Wheelchair: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/wildmanonwheels

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