Pet Peeve:
When people act surprised and insulted when someone in a wheelchair stands up. A lot of people who use wheelchairs aren’t paralyzed, and can physically walk but not for very long, or at least can stand up for a moment if they need to. I’ve seen people look scandalized at someone in a wheelchair who moved their legs or stood up, clearly thinking “to be in a wheelchair you must be entirely unable to move anything below the waist and WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THAT WHEELCHAIR GET OUT OF THAT WHEELCHAIR YOU ARE RUINING THE GOOD NAME OF WHEELCHAIRERS EVERYWHERE.”
My grandpa was in a wheelchair for about a year before he died, because walking was so exhausting, and I remember one time we had to go down an escalator so he just stood up (because standing wasn’t too hard at that point) and people gave us looks like, “HE CAN STAND?? what makes you think he can use a wheelchair?? He is capable of standing for 15 seconds, so clearly he should be capable of walking through the entire Detroit Auto Show!”
In summary, stop assuming you understand other people’s disabilities and illnesses because it makes you look like an asshole.
Notes
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