Wednesday, January 24, 2018

He Hit Me!

I was sitting in my chair waiting for the hallway in to the toilets clear. Joe was trying to convince someone, who was being polite, to go first so I could get in. It was marked as accessible but it was very, very, small with little room to maneuver. And I had to PEE. The fellow finally relented, seemed to now be a bit embarrassed that his politeness was a barrier for my entrance. He nodded to me, I nodded back. It was all good.

I reached down and undid the breaks on my chair and was about to push in.

Let me stop here and tell you where I was sitting. I was right outside the bathroom facing the door. This put me a wee bit into a large corridor. I certainly wasn't blocking anyone. People had been flowing by me the whole time, most choosing to give me more space than I needed. That wasn't a problem because it was, as I said, a wide corridor.

But then suddenly, a fellow chose to walk towards me and directly behind me. No problem. I could wait for a few seconds longer. He approached, walked behind me and ...

struck me.

He struck me.

Two punches, hard, on my back.

He spoke.

"Don't back up!" As if he figured that I was going to back into him. I had been stationary the whole time, I had seen him coming. I knew he was going to be close behind me. I stayed stuck to the floor, waiting for him to pass. There was no chance he thought he was in danger.

But, I didn't think I was in danger.

But he struck me.

This only took seconds and he was gone, down a busy to the point of teeming, corridor.

The shock, and the pain, of being hit silenced me for a moment. He had hit me hard, really hard, and he'd hit me intentionally.

He walked towards me to strike me.

It was purposeful.

And I am left to figure how how to incorporate this into my world view, into my sense of safety outside the door of my house.

I am left with dealing with the fact of the punches.

There's furniture in my head that needs to be moved. Work I don't want to do, but work I have to do.

He hit me.

9 comments:

john said...

Incorporate into your worldview?

I think you should be congratulated for continually being surprised by these instances of people being intentionally rude/mean/violent. It says a lot, that you haven't become jaded and mean yourself.

ABEhrhardt said...

I'd be wondering if there was video of the assault, to take to the police.

Would you feel the same if he had stabbed you?

Assault is assault. And a hate crime - he hit a man in a wheelchair.

You don't need to adjust your worldview to include criminals.

Unknown said...

I am so, so sorry this happened to you. What kind of crazy person punches another in public for any reason? It hurts my heart that you are treated like this.

clairesmum said...

I think that is what law enforcement refers to as 'battery'. It's a crime. It is reportable. If there is any chance of a security camera in use, that might add more information...
I am angry that this happened...it is a crime, and there is no such thing as a 'victimless crime.' And you know why you were punched, and not Joe or anyone else in that line. You do not deserve to be punched...nobody does, ever, outside the boxing ring.
Words hurt...fists hurt worse!


Shannon said...

Yes, that was assault. How terrible!

Andrea Shettle, MSW said...

I wish I knew what to say. It is horrifying and enraging to me that there are people in this world who think it's okay or justifiable to just randomly hit another person without provocation or reason.

Rosemary said...

Whenever I think that nothing will surprise me anymore, things like this happen. I am so very, very sorry you were struck , on purpose, and hard. Rosemary

L said...

A few years ago, a man repeatedly punched the back of my powerwheelchair as I was getting into a lift, because he was angry that there wasn't room for both him and me in the small lift.

It aggravated my neck/shoulder pain for weeks.

It aggravated my PTSD and fear of strangers for years.

Please think about talking to the police.

Please put the blame firmly where it belongs (him) and don't take any on yourself.

What would you say to a wheelchair user who came up to you after one of your professional lectures and told you this story?

Liz said...

For the last several days I've been trying to think of something to say that would be even remotely adequate. I've got nothing, except that I am with you, and wish I could do something to make this not have happened.