r/askspain • u/CatFirst9921 • 4h ago
Cultura Children Staring in Madrid?
Hi all! I am a Spanish speaker, so feel free to respond in English or Spanish, I’m just writing this in English because I’m faster writing in that language.
My partner and I have been in Madrid for almost a week and have been really enjoying our time for the most part. There is one aspect that we have been dealing with that I am curious about from the perspective of people who are from here or live here.
I have a visible disability. I am an amputee and I have no legs and no fingers. I use two prosthetic legs to walk, and I have been navigating quite well, but I do have an uneven gait/limp. I have been dealing aggressive staring and pointing from kids here, most of which seem to be Spanish from the language I hear their family speaking.
Yesterday, two young girls were laughing and pointing at me while walking behind me. My partner confronted their moms (seems like they were friends on an outing with their daughters) because of how upsetting it was. My partner and I are always happy to educate. The mothers didn’t respond well and didn’t apologize or anything. They seemed upset that we would confront them, but the behavior was bullying.
We are from NYC, and I was raised in California, and we have travelled all around Europe and this is the first time there has been so much negative attention brought to my disability. Is this universal throughout Spain? Is there a cultural root as to why disabled people are treated like this? I want to understand as opposed to just writing off Spain as a whole for future travel. Thanks!
