not looking disabled?!

motherofstudents

To the OP I wouldn't bother with a note, you shouldn't have to justify your use of a BB. What annoys me when I take my mother out is when we really struggle to find a disabled space. I'm sure that all these people who display badges are not genuine, eg they use someone else's or a fake BB, but I would never question them just in case they have a disability that can't be seen. I don't think it is my place to police the use of BB's but I can understand why some people do ask. I got out of the car once to come face to face with a Victor Meldrew lookalike shouting 'that's a disable space'. I just smiled and said 'Yes, I know' as I went to get the wheelchair out of the boot. He looked suitably embarrassed. It does seem to me that there are more BB's than there used to be and it is harder to find a space but I don't really know why that is.

nannytone_2

to be honest, his obvious discomfort made me laugh, though my friend was livid!

i don't look blind....i dont wear dark glasses and don't carry a stick ( even though i have one...........it seems to make matters worse as it's obvious i'm 'looking' where i'm going ( or trying to lol) it just seems to get peoples backs up)
i suppose he thought i was just being rude.

i think people with 'hidden' disabilities also need to make allowances for other peoples initial reaction to them.

jetta_wales

I've recently accepted cane training but I worry about the reaction too as I will always try and use what sight I have if I feel the need to but I do know that outdoors I really do need it if I'm on my own and dark cloud cover shifts (hence why I hardly ever go out alone as you just can't predict British weather), but then I'd go into a shop and put it away which will make no sense to people what so ever.

Oh I've remembered another one, I was reading a book on the same train journey mentioned earlier but a few hours later (long journey) and I had super strong reading glasses on and was holding the book by my nose (as I do and if I didn't have a nose I'd hold it closer lol) and some tw*t decided it would be funny to say to her friend that "she should have gone to specsavers" which they both found highly amusing and laughed quite happily about.

I was too tired and fed up to say anything so just gave them a foul look and continued to read my book.

I have an eReader now though but still hold it really close it doesn't hurt to read now though as I can make the print really big.

nannytone_2

i think that comment would have made me laugh too though! i must admit it's the kind of thing i would say, but i'd say it quietly enough for you not to have heard!

when my kids were younger they used to find it amusing to see how near they could 'creep' up to me before i actually saw them! it used to anger my mum as she saw it as them taking the mickey out of me.

i laugh at the mistakes i make and i'm rarely offended by silly comments. it all depends on the intention.
i saw a £`1 on the floor of a shop and picked it up ( sounds odd but im looking directly at something i see it........but if i was told there was a pound on the floor in a room. id take all day to find it!)
my friend said 'i thought you were blind, you vbloody liar!'
she laughed and i laughed............

we cant change our disabilities, but we shouldnt let them cloud every corner of our lives. laugh about it and it gets easier!

jetta_wales

Oh yes absolutely that's true but you know when something's meant light heartfelt or when somebody laughs with you and when somebody laughs AT you.

My sister and I used to be very close (she has the same condition) and if we were together and trying to find something or somewhere we'd often joke that it was the blind leading the blind. I'd see something in a shop and ask her what colour it was completely forgetting that she can't see colours either.

One of the daftest things that I have to chuckle about is the stupid places I leave my dark glasses. If I want to try and read something close or see something somewhere dark then I take them off. As a result I have left them in all sorts of places like the freezer, the attic, inside the TV cabinets and the best of all (took us a whole day to find them) inside the rabbit hutch as I couldn't see into their nest corner to see the kittens (yes baby rabbits are called kittens lol) because it was too dark and as it was dusk and I went straight back inside I didn't realise I'd left them there :-)

MrLeeLee

easy wrote: »

We all hate it when non-disabled people use our parking spaces/toilets etc. Yet you lot get sooo offended if someone asks why you are using disabled facilities if your disability is not an obvious one.

You know what, if everyone asked people who didn't have a blue badge why they are parking in a blue badge space, then fine, I completely agree with what you say. But I think we all know most of these people wouldn't have the balls to ask some fit and healthy 20 year old who rolls into a blue badge space and jumps out to do their weekly shop why they are parking there. I personally think the whole "you don't look disabled why are you parking there" goes a lot deeper than the person being concerned that there is a non-disabled person parking in a blue badge space.

jetta_wales

MrLeeLee wrote: »

You know what, if everyone asked people who didn't have a blue badge why they are parking in a blue badge space, then fine, I completely agree with what you say. But I think we all know most of these people wouldn't have the balls to ask some fit and healthy 20 year old who rolls into a blue badge space and jumps out to do their weekly shop why they are parking there. I personally think the whole "you don't look disabled why are you parking there" goes a lot deeper than the person being concerned that there is a non-disabled person parking in a blue badge space.

I disagree I think it's largely because of being younger that more older people make the assumption that you are not genuinely dissabled and they think they have some god given right to be foul to you because you are young and they are older.

easy

MrLeeLee wrote: »

You know what, if everyone asked people who didn't have a blue badge why they are parking in a blue badge space, then fine, I completely agree with what you say. But I think we all know most of these people wouldn't have the balls to ask some fit and healthy 20 year old who rolls into a blue badge space and jumps out to do their weekly shop why they are parking there. I personally think the whole "you don't look disabled why are you parking there" goes a lot deeper than the person being concerned that there is a non-disabled person parking in a blue badge space.

You know what, as a disabled person, I'm a little bit fed-up with the whining and grumbling other disabled folk are doing on here - looking for something to take offence about, building the odd little annoyance out of proportion.

Our disabled parking spaces/loos etc are a benefit that has been set aside by councils/supermarkets etc. They are very useful, and I'm grateful for them.
Yep, sometimes the general population out there get annoyed that we have this privilege. Maybe that person has just spent 20 mins trundling round searching for a parking space, maybe their grandad got turned down for a BB, maybe they are just having a bad day ...

Whatever, I'm pretty sure nobody on here is being rudely accosted EVERY DAY about these matters. Everybody gets hassled by someone about something now and then- life's tough, just get on with it.

I'm going to drop out of this thread now, because I feel some of the other posters are so determined to concentrate on the negatives of life, it annoys me.

Try to look at the brighter things in life instead :cool:

MrLeeLee

The OP started this thread because they were 'again' (sounds a lot more than now and then doesn't it?) challenged by someone.

The conversation has then moved on with other people having stating things that have happened to them.

I think it is ridiculous that you see this as people constantly moaning and that some of us are "determined to concentrate on the negatives of life".

May I suggest if you can't handle people putting their own thoughts about blue badge parking spaces and people who shouldn't use them, then maybe this thread won't miss you in your absence?

Trialia

Is that what that post was about? The user is on my ignore list and has been for some time, so... I'm not sorry I missed the whining.

After all, if we can't rant sometimes, some of us might snap and kill people, right?