I was watching the news the other night and a little blurb came on about MS and how it affects more women and how they are researching this fact. More so I was interested in the woman they spotlighted. She was probably a little older than I am and had a son of about ten years old. She was trying to explain to him about MS and why she couldn't walk well. Her gait was noticeably affected. Then her boy talked about how he gets teased at school because the kids say his mom is a "cripple". That really got to me.
I was thinking...man...if I ever need a cane to walk with, and if someone said something to me I would have to be held back not to whoop them upside the head with the cane. Seriously...there is no excuse for cruelty.
I have been around folks with disabilities my whole life and I have been a staunch advocate for them. I am not one to ever put up with bullshit.
Have any of you encountered cruelty because of your differentness? How did you handle it?
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I wasn't gonna even write about this for awhile because it is so dreadful but speaking of cruelty in an up close and personal way...today my son was subject to abuse at the supermarket of all things. He has autism and he sometimes appears odd. He has some tics and he also makes some sounds like chirps and peeps. He also likes to sing and hum. Well evidently this disturbed the old woman behind us and...she starts yelling, "WHY ISN'T HE IN AN INSTITUTION?" I assume she was nuts. After being chastised for being rude and..."my son has autism, what is your excuse?" she still kept on until she abruptly left the line. I still can't comprehend this and while it seems easy to logically dismiss...I am very...disturbed. I watched her drive away in her Lexus and I wondered how she could be so very hurtful. Oh well...all in a day I suppose. Ignorant people are everywhere. I am happy to report that most people we have met have been nothing less than kind to us.
16 comments:
is there something wrong with being a cripple(not my choice of word, but nevertheless)?
In regards to the kids teasing the little boy about his mum being a cripple, I see nothing wrong with having a little chat with the school and the parents of those kids. Like you I would not let that one drop.
I'd take your cane and whack them for you..., then come back and pick you up.
Cruelty starts so early and never ends. One thinks it a genetic flaw, maybe it is. But we see the prejudices of parents passed onto a child before they even understand the words and I think, never understand the consequences of hurting, except the apparent joy of inflicting pain and discomfort.
Any perceived flaw is subject to it's infliction. There are pockets of ignorant cruelty everywhere, it needs instructed or ignored. Intentional, needs confronted with words, deeds or just plain dignity, for they have none and eventually, the true cripple is revealed.
that sunflower is powerful up there :D
yes, a lot of ignorant folk in this world, luckily a few wonderful ones make up for the assholes :)
Sometimes I am so ashamed to call myself 'human' because we can be so cruel to each other.
I have no idea how I would have handled your situation. I tend to be so shocked when people say such hurtful things that I clam up and shut down.
I also saw that news piece about multiple sclerosis, and was very disappointed because it wasn't very informative. The teaser for the piece was something like "why are women diagnosed with autoimmune diseases more often then men?" but the answer was "we don't know." Sigh...
That story about the woman in the supermarket got my blood boiling. I don't know what I would have done. Would just have been very hurt. Such a lot of ignorance in this world!!
Advice? You need to start carrying a cane NOW, whether you need it for ambulation or not!!! That way you've got it handy to WHACK ignorant people up the side of the head!
Just a suggestion...maybe there's a less violent solution? LOL
Linda D. in Seattle
great comeback to the old lady..
rude bitch!
she's the one who will end up in a senior citizen home with nobody to visit her ..
as for the children..
i teach hundreds a week. it's amazing how insensitive some children can be. yet they are kids who hopefully still can be taught differently .. unlike the old beeacht above. the few times i've encountered kids teasing other kids due to their differences i've acted on it.
and GREAT sunflower, btw..
I know we think we have an answer for when these situations happen but I think we go into shock at the time that someone can be so cruel. I don't know how I would handle it but I know deep down i would want to slap the person up side the head. They are their own worse enemy.
What a fucking bitch.
yeah...basically...deadman. lol i am over it already. she is lucky i didn't sucker punch her.
No one has been cruel to me but people have stared. I just stare pointedly right back at them until they turn away embarrassed (as they should be).
I am so sorry you had to deal with someone as ugly as that woman. What an awful bitch!
I love the new header BTW.
hat Lexus lady---pity her. She is a sad, pathetic person. Ha Ha, I have opened up that can on a few jerks. But I was a fat kid, then gay, I've lived with cruel people all my life, my mom taught me to feel sorry for them.
Too damn right the woman in the supermarket is IGNORANT!
Great to see you able to do the right thing and rise above it - why get dragged down to her level?
I do hope however that your son was not disturbed by her attitude.
"There's always some moron." That's the words I live by. No matter how good it gets there'll be someone who wants to pee on you because they're scared, petty, damaged, what have you. Thing is, nothing we can say or do will change how they are, so I just try to brush them off and go on. Not that I always manage, but I try. *s*
I know it's more fun to lash back at them, but you may as well be kicking at air. It sure is fun, though, isn't it. *lol*
I have a demyelinating disease very similar to MS. When on forearm crutches folks would yell from their cars-Why can't you walk??? What's wrong with you? Do you have Fibromyalgia?
People can be so rude.I don't have an answer.Ms/other "unseen" illnesses are pond for speculation.They haven't a clue-especially when there is physical pain.
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