Really, I'm fine.
No, I don't need someone to be with me.
No, you don't need to call anyone.
Please, could you move out of the way of my wheelchair?
Seriously, I an fully independent.
OK, yes I need help with some things, but not with being out on my own.
I'd like you to move so I can get by you.
Really, you don't need to call the police.
No, I don't have a minder.
Really, I don't need a minder.
I don't have a staff at home, I have a husband there.
Yes, I'm allowed to be gay.
No, he doesn't have to be with me when I go out.
Please get out of the way of my wheelchair.
I'm not answering that question.
If you don't move, I'm going to call the police.
There's a security guard, 'over here, over here.'
This woman has me trapped here and won't let me move because she thinks I need a minder.
No, I don't need a staff.
Yes, I have ID but why do I have to show you ID? I just need your help to get out of here.
No, I don't have a certificate that says I'm allowed to be out on my own.
I'm done, I'm calling the police, and you sir are in real trouble. Your job is to help me from a woman who has clearly trapped me, a wheelchair user, in a corner and is blocking my free access.
Dial
(Everyone leaves)
I go on, alone without assistance.
WTFF.
Why do some people have such difficulty grasping the concept that disabled people are not children who need someone's permission to do things without a carer?
ReplyDeleteSorry you have to deal with such aggravation. But especially to have to deal with that aggravation, then have to deal with the same aggravation from the person who was supposed to be helping you escape!
Oh. Oh. Oh. I. Can't. Even.
ReplyDeleteCall police sooner. Say, "I need to report someone harassing a handicapped person in a wheelchair," into the phone (you don't need to actually dial if you don't want to).
ReplyDeleteAargh!
You sir, are clearly guilty of being: Independent! Also, guilty of being a great human being. And I'm sorry some humans can be soooo stupid, and just plain cruel.
ReplyDeleteWords fail me. I'm glad they didn't fail you at the moment. Clairesmum
ReplyDeleteNext time ask him for HIS certificate to be allowed out on his own....
ReplyDeleteSomeone seriously asked you if you had a certificate that says you are allowed to be out on your own?!
ReplyDeleteSRSLY?! *insert "I Don't Wanna Live on this Planet Anymore" meme here*
ReplyDeleteWhy do you have to fight just to exist in public?! I know it's not often in the Canadian (Or in my case, Aussie) nature to raise a fuss, but I'm going to take a page from our American friends - This is so egregiously bad that I hope you make some sort of formal complaint (police, store manager, corporate ownership, and/or appropriate authority). Even though the asshat that started it is long gone, the store's security guard needs to be reprimanded and trained on protecting customers from harassment. *UGH* After that debacle, you deserve a mental palate cleanser with the vice of your choosing... ice cream, stiff drink, punching bag, binge movie watching, etc.
I hope you follow through on the security guard. This goes beyond insensitivity. As I understand it, keeping you from leaving can be construed as a form of kidnapping. Too bad you didn't take her picture and probably can't find out who she is. Maybe the store has security cameras? Or is that just a thing here in the US? It would be nice to be able to scare the hell out of her.
ReplyDeleteGood Lord, I've never been in that situation - usually it's more telling people that no, really, I'm fine, I don't need help but thanks - not having to convince them that I can be out on my own in the first ****ing place.
ReplyDeleteBut then, I'm not a fat wheelchair user (yet? You never know what might happen in the future!) which seems to be "worse" than my dwarfism. I mean, I'm short and decidely non-proportional, but I'm on my feet at this point in my life. As if that means a damn thing when it comes to the things that really matter.
I'm not sure how you don't become homicidal sometimes, Dave.
These people sound like part of the problem not the solution. Their act to seem help may fool some fools, but it is more like unHelp. Sometimes telling people you will contact your lawyer works, but only in some situations. We need inclusion and independent living, people need to learn about Ableism. We need to have the right to be free of attacks based on people's -isms. People hide these in micro-aggressions, in unHelp, in torture treatments, causing stress that have serious health consequences.
ReplyDeleteLast time I checked people are not require to travel around with their papers at all times, #NotADictatorship
Holy moly! That is just awful behavior - ugh!
ReplyDeleteMy son, who is 18 and uses a WC, has been asked, "Is your mommy here?" WTH???? His "mommy"????? It is one thing to ask someone if they would like assistance, it's quite another to assume they do and to then attempt to force "help" onto someone. *shakes head* Ableism at its "finest"...
ReplyDelete