Right, this is just a short entry- got to go ring my dad, read, and sit in the sun. I don't want to stay angry for long.
But something's just happened, as things are known to do, and it reminded me of something else that happened a while ago, as many things have. It made me irritated, nay, infuriated. What was it, you say? Well, it involved a girl in a wheelchair.
Was she at fault, you ask? No. Let me make that clear right now- wherever this post goes, it is not a tirade against the disabled.
What I'm referring to is a pet hate of mine. The disabled-friend leech. Often, they gather in packs around their unfortunate friend, all 'oohs' and 'I'll get that' in mock sympathy. They get more out of it than anyone else.
It happened as I was heading here (to the library). I'm walking through University House, and a mob of people are coming the other way. Leading the charge? A girl I've seen around quite a bit. So she's in a wheelchair, so what? I've seen her around enough to know that she's independent. She doesn't need this idiots hanging around. But being with her, you see, gave them license to do what they did next.
Completely ignore my presence.
Why am I so important, I hear you ask? I'm not. It could have been anyone, they still wouldn't have acknowledged them and moved out of the way. There were about ten of them. Walking from wall to wall, completely blocking the way. It's the same principle as the idiots that walk ten across, really slowly, down the Spine at five to the hour and stop everyone getting to their lectures. The same principle, but made worse by the fact that the leeches think having their 'friend' their is a medal, a talisman, some holier than thou god-given right to act better than everyone else.
They're not.
They're the most offensive of any of us, using a so-called friend for the simple purpose of elevating their status, literally leeching off someone else less fortunate to get ahead.
What it reminded me of was standing in the queue for The Sugarhouse (the SU nightclub) months ago. As we're all standing there, patiently waiting, someone in a wheelchair heads straight past to the doors. Fair enough, I don't agree with using the wheelchair to get in before anyone else (I mean, it's not as though their standing around), but then again it's not the sort of thing I'd really argue on the simple principle that you can't pick on the disabled or point out their wrongdoing nowadays even when they are clearly being infuriatingly 'victimised'.
The bit that got my goat was that the bouncers let in not just the guy in the wheelchair, not just the guy in the wheelchair and a helper or a mate, but about twenty people who wandered up to the front with the guy and effectively said 'let us in. We're with him'.
That's not how it works. That's not how life works. If you want to be malicious, fine, but don't do it at the expense of someone else, and especially not when they already have the stigma of being 'disabled'. Jesus, people are enough to make your blood boil.
I still wonder how many of those people the guy actually knew, let alone liked.
Of course, there is the possibility that the guy in the wheelchair was in on the plan and happy to use his stigma to get his mates in quickly. In that case, I'd really be ready to have words with him, but then I'd be the bad guy. Because all anyone would see, justified or not, would be me shouting the odds and pointing accusingly at a guy in a wheelchair, regardless of whether or not he know exactly what he was doing and exactly how to play the world.
But then again, that's another issue. And it's sunny outside. I'm going to go and enjoy it.
This is a fantastic entry! I completly agree with you I've seen this kind of thing happen again and again, in queues not just at the Sugarhouse but for the cinema and last weekend at Legoland. Fair enough the person in the wheelchair and even their main friend pushing them but then an entire swarm of people followed who were all laughing and joking and looking down on those who have to be patient and weight. I often hope the disabled person isn't in on it but I'm sure sometimes they might be and as you said life doesn't work like that. It is animalistic I believe when I see people trying to look cool or like a great human being for being with/helping out the disabled. It's great if they're family/friends or even someone who notices another person needs help and they're doing these acts out of kindness and goodwill or friendship but when it's for something and taking advantage, it is disgusting.
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