A "disability" experience...interesting

My friend shared an interesting story with me over the Holidays about an interesting experience.

I thought it was worth sharing....

My friend had her braces adjusted earlier in the week. By the end of the week she was experiencing a great deal of pain and had to go back to the dentist. In order to treat her issue, he had to freeze one side of her cheek and tongue. She accepted that...anything to make the pain go away.

After her dentist appointment she was making a donation to one of our local social service organizations. Parking is not plentiful at this place and she knew that she would only be a couple of minutes, so she parked the car by the curb, put on her hazards and got out of the car, ready to dash into the building.

There were two men having a conversation in the parking lot when she arrived. They must have been watching her every move, for when she got out of the car, they immediately yelled "you can't park there!"

My friend, wanting to explain that she would only be there for a few minutes began to speak.

Remember the freezing? Well, when she started to talk, her words were a bit slurred and she couldn't quite get the words out. All of a sudden, the men became a little kinder and changed their approach.

"Oh my" my friend thought, "they're being nice to me because they think I have a disability!" She wasn't impressed.

It was a story that she wanted to share with me. I said " let's look on the bright side, at least they were treating you in a kind manner!" We had a chuckle but continued to talk a bit more about it.

In my friend's opinion, being nice to someone just because they have a disability is not "cool". I agreed.

She said that it showed patronizing and phony behaviour. I agreed.

"It shouldn't have mattered whether I had a disability or not" she said. I agreed.

"Is this how people feel?" "I'm sure that they can sense that some people are nice to them only because they have a disability." I agreed.

"How unfair and how demeaning" we both said.

After that my friend said that she understood why people fight for their rights and for self-determination. It's that kind of attitude from others that really pis....es you off!

I agreed.