Treating everyone with respect andkindnessis a good rule of thumb for any situation. But some people don’t care much for it; or for common sense, for that matter.
This redditorexperienced firsthand what it’s like not to be treated with kindness or respect. Far from it. She said that a store worker tried to force her out of a mobility cart as she believed that the OP was “too young to be disabled”. Scroll down to find the full story below, where you will also findBored Panda’sinterview with the OP herself, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions.
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You can never know what someone is going through or dealing with
Image credits:Tom Caillarec / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
This woman says that she had to prove her disability to a store worker, as she looked “too young to be disabled”
Image credits:Tatterfly / wikipedia (not the actual photo)
Image credits:Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits:Rayner Simpson / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits:Spicy_Scelus
“This was the first time it went this far,” the woman told Bored Panda
In an interview withBored Panda, the OP shared that what upset her the most was the store worker allegedly trying to physically remove her from the mobility cart, which made her disability worse for a few days. “It was annoying how she doubled down on her statement for no reason,” she said.
“If someone is using a mobility aid properly, and they have the proper tools (such as a valid handicap placard),pleaseleave us alone. It does more harm than good. If you see someone harassing a person using a mobility aid, step in. It helps us a lot and doesn’t make us feel as alone,” the OP said.
Roughly one-in-six people globally live with a disability, some of which might not be immediately apparent
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated1.3 billion people—or 16% of the world’s population—experience significant disability. That is one-in-six of us. And out of the 1.3 billion people, 80% reportedly live with a non-visible disability, which means that their disability might not be immediately apparent to those around them.
“You don’t have to be elderly or have clear signs of a disability to be disabled,” the OP emphasized. “There are invisible disabilities, such as mine, that you cannot see unless you are around someone with them for a long period of time. They are just as valid as someone who is blind, an amputee, or a diabetic.”
Some people with ahidden disabilitymight choose to wear aHidden Disabilities Sunflower– a symbol created to encourage inclusivity, acceptance, and understanding. A person wearing a Sunflower lanyard indicates that they have a non-visible disability, and that they might need extra help, understanding, or just more time.
Whether or not someone is wearing the Sunflower lanyard, you can never know exactly what they’re going through, hence the importance of the aforementioned rule of thumb. Doing the contrary—beingentitledand ignorant—can make people’s life needlessly difficult.
Some people have found themselves in similar situations, too
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