We don’t all “have the same 24 hours.”

Anyone who thinks that we do lives in a monster privilege bubble

Sheri Byrne-Haber, CPACC

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Wooden hourglass on a counter against a white brick wall
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

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By itself, the statement “we all have the same 24 hours” is an empty maxim. Commonly followed up with by “What you do with it is up to you,” or “Successful people just sacrifice more than you,” the statement turns from fatuous into aggressive, blaming, cringe-worthy, condescending, and in many cases, discriminatory.

I am a person with several disabilities. One of the things that people with disabilities inherently lose access to when we become disabled is that we don’t have the same 24 hours as everyone else does. The disability time thief sees to that.

Sometimes the disability time thief steals a few moments here and there.

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Sheri Byrne-Haber, CPACC
Sheri Byrne-Haber, CPACC

Written by Sheri Byrne-Haber, CPACC

LinkedIn Top Voice for Social Impact 2022. UX Collective Author of the Year 2020. Disability Inclusion SME. Sr Staff Accessibility Architect @ VMware.