Why Are You Questioning My Need for a Wheelchair?

[davidgillon]

Really good Huff Post piece on how normies make it difficult for wheelchair users with invisible disabilities. Rings absolutely true.

(And another Bendy speaking out, pro rata we must be one of the most published disability sub-groups!)

Comments

[dubhain]

By and large, I agree with that article. (Disclaimer: I don't use a chair at present — I walk with a cane. However I've recently spoken with my doctor, and I may be having to get one soon.)

However, as someone who's had the plate equivalent of a blue tag before (and may be getting one again, as well,) I'll note that the blue tags are frequently abused. E.g. I used to live in a college town, and had a hell of a time finding handicapped parking spots. The students were fond of using grandma's tag to grab a convenient and free parking spot at the U. I can't count the number of times I saw a car whip into a blue spot, and a student or two leap out of it and run at full tilt across campus. (Yes, I reported it, every time.) So, under some circumstances, it may be appropriate to kick-up a fuss about it.

That said, back when I had the plate, I also got snarked at. I was a fairly-well-built twenty-something male, who walked with a cane. I got the sarcastic comments about people like me getting all the best parking, and harangued by senior citizens that "those spots" were only for people their age. I also got yelled at, because there wasn't a hang-tag on the rearview mirror of my sport little black coupe. (Apparently, the plate in the back didn't count, by their standards.) I even got threats from the old folks that they were going to call the police and have me jailed, for parking in their spots, because I was too young to park in them.

So...yeah. I can sympathize with the author of that post. I agree with her, on most of her points. That said, the hang-tags (and the plates) can be and frequently are abused. The proper course of action, of course, is not to harrangue the person in question. Rather, it's to report the suspected abuse to the cops, and let them handle it. 'Nuff said.

[jesse_the_k]

Indeed, I adore this sentence:

There are many reasons why a person uses a wheelchair, but the biggest thing to remember is this: if you do not know the person then why they use a wheelchair is none of your business.

Hmm, there do seem to be many excellent EDS-affected writers. Has something changed in the diagnostic weather so that we're hearing more about it?