Uplifting

I found a thread over on Reddit.com today, and it really made my day. This is the post that started it:

 

I work In a retail store as a Electronics clerk. A friend that I have known since Kindergarten works there as well pushing shopping carts. He had a tragic automobile accident several years back and is now mentally disabled.

Anyway today I was standing near the main entrance and he approached me and started asking about the LED tv’s. We talked for a minute before a customer approached us and got right in my friends face and said “There are no more shopping carts out there, You need to get more!” She talked to him sternly as if disciplining a toddler. (She could clearly see his was special and seemed to thrive on telling him how to his job)

I was getting a little angry and was about to put her in place, and explain to her that He deals with carts in the rear exit where there’s less traffic. It isn’t safe for him out in the main entrance.

But before I could say a word He calmly replied “your concern has been noted and I dont Give a Fuck”

Greatest thing he has ever said.

 

This wasn’t the only awesome post. Here’s several of the follow up comments, all of them being incredibly awesome.

I was friends with a girl with Down syndrome, and her family would speak in english (she spoke only Spanish) around her, when they didn’t want her to know what they were saying. So, the first time I met her family and they started doing this, she leaned towards me and explained, in Spanish: They are talking about me, and they think I don’t know. They are funny like that. Ignore them.

 

Years ago when I was a reporter I did a story about a social services program that was putting mentally challenged people in the work force to perform menial jobs. This particular person was being trained to bag groceries and he was very good at it. One store customer however, did not want him to bag her groceries. When she left, the man asked his trainer why the woman didn’t want him to bag her groceries. The trainer replied, “Some people are more handicapped than you are.”

 

Haha I was at Canada’s Wonderland and a guy was in a wheelchair by the front gates. I overheard woman say “cool chair can I take a look?” or something along those lines. The dude in the wheelchair responded AND I QUOTE ” Only if you show me your left breast”. I fucking died of laughter

 

The way Americans, nay people, treat the “disabled” is an odd thing. On the one hand, I would argue Americans as a whole treat those with disabilities very well compared to most of the world; you would be horrified to learn how many countries treat them. For example, in S. Korea there is a huge problem with re-training seeing eye dogs, because children love to throw rocks at them (the dogs). The blind in said country also have pretty much no social mobility beyond being a masseuse.

That being said, it is difficult annoying living with a visible handicap. It’s a mix of getting treated like a small child and people getting pissy when you ask a simple question. If I walk into a restraunt without having memorized the menu ahead of time, then I don’t know what to expect. I usually ask a simple question, “Do you have [item],” or “how much is [item]?”

These types of questions are often met with disdain. Most people point at the menu and say “We got what we got.” At this point, I have to re-phrase with the qualifying statement, “I can’t see very well, so can you please just tell me?”. Now, this is all simply to get some food at a restaurant. This, also, is usually met with further disdain because I’m taking time out of their day.

On the other hand, some people are insightful enough to notice I can’t see well. In my case, I have some visual cues (e.g. crossed eyes) or they pick up because I’m squinting, etc. The reaction in this instance is usually a lot better. The only thing is it’s somewhat hurtful to my pride being an arrogant son of a bitch. They always, always get that tone. You know, that tone people use when they’re talking to a baby. It’s humiliating, but you know they mean well. They talk slower, softer, and start explaining the most basic things to you (e.g. you have to get a lid and straw for your drink, etc).

When somebody treats me like a normal human being while still accommodating the simple questions I ask, it is so rare that I will remember it for the rest of the day if not forever.

I could go into a tirade about expectations, false deferment of fault, and a bunch of other boring stuff. I dunno, I’m not that special, but I could probably do more if people wanted an AMA legally blind person or something.

This one was my favorite:

Some years ago I was in a sandwich shop in Philly. Their was a handicapped guy working there… no idea what his condition was specifically, some sort of retardation/slowness. Anyways people were super shitty to him, including the workers there. I would have been nice to him anyways but I was extra nice to him on account of the assholes he had to deal with and may or may not have called the especially bitchy cashier that yelled at him a cunt bag. Anyways, not the point of the story.

The point of the story is a few minutes later as my friend and I are eating, the retarded guy ambles over and brings us this pile of cookies and other desserts from the restaurant:

“These are for you! On the house!”

“On the house? Does your boss know they are on the house?”

“The best part about being retarded is nobody pays any attention to you.”

“Indeed. You sir are more clever than you let on.”

“Stop by anytime and call Melissa a cunt bag. Have a nice day!”

 

My little bro has a mental disability, but he is a freakin genius like this sometimes. Best story…

I took him to the video store to hire a movie, he only had $2. He starts loading himself up with videos, popcorn, lollies, etc – I stop him and patiently explain that he only has $2 and can’t afford all of this stuff, that he can only afford one movie. He just gives me a knowing smile, grabs a bottle of Coke from the fridge, and walks up to the counter with his armload of stuff.

The lady at the counter rings it all up, and tells him the price, he starts slowly getting out the few coins he had and puts them on the counter, then looks up with his best (ridiculously exaggerated) hopeful “is this enough? I’m disabled” face. She pauses for a moment… then takes the $2, hands him the bag and wishes him a good evening.

After standing there stunned for a moment, I walk outside and he’s grinning from ear to ear. Knew what he was doing the whole time.

EDIT: To everyone who’s on my bro’s case for this, a little perspective: he’s a sweet and generous guy who is extensively involved in community and charity work, he works hard in a cafe for fuck all wages but saves up all year to buy my kids awesome xmas presents (and they adore him). He’s been bullied and pushed around his whole life by us “normal” people – his school teacher once hit him so hard it ruptured his bowel – but he rises above it and is unfailingly friendly and kind and helps everyone out (and often gets taken advantage of by “normal” people because of his kindness). The video store in question? He spent a shitload of money there every week hiring his favourite movies, this one incident didn’t send them out of business, and he’s not a serial offender, just a larrikin sometimes. So yeah, have a knock if you want, but odds are he’s a better person than you could ever hope to be.

 

I had a friend who was hit by a car and completely disabled physically yet had all of his mental capacity. It was bad because he could barely speak and it was very hard to understand him yet, deep inside his mind was clear as ever. He was in college as well and did very well.

anyhow, people (especially girls) would come up and talk to him loudly and slowly like morons and talk to him like he was a child. Ill never forget one girl in particular who even after I explained it to her (I was standing right next to him) kept talking like that to him. So I finally said hey man i’m really sorry I think she’s just retarded. which horrified her and cracked him up.

 

My wife is a special ed teacher and spent many years teaching and administering at a school for children with autism. She could home with some of the most hilarious stories of working with kids that were not only facing difficulty with language and communicating but also with social cues and what is expected in typical behavior. So sometimes a kid would say something that in sped terms is phenomenal, like expressing an interest or a complex response…but it might also be totally inappropriate for a child to say to a teacher… But would have been perfectly appropriate for two irreverent friends.

Example : trying to get a nonverbal kid to explain why he doesn’t want to play outside. He responds, in a complete sentence, to your question, and effectively answers your question. For this kid, that’s epic, make a big note, put it in their file, send a happy letter home. But the response was, “Because it is fucking cold out.”

doh

and the kicker is, the curse word is even used right. So, my wife would have to praise the kid while at the same time explaining that isn’t the language he should use… Even though she’s thinking, “damn right, it’s fucking cold. Lets do a puzzle.”

 

I was at the DMV the other day and there was a man leaving as I was waiting he only had one leg and as he was going to the door he had his hands full. A lady asked him if he could use a hand (with the door) he replied “No, I could use a foot!” Lol

 

There are two guys with down syndrome who catch the same bus as me in the morning and may I just say, if I’m really depressed or in a bad mood they never fail to cheer me up.

They high five me when I walk past them and do ridiculously funny shit like start cheering on a passenger for no reason, hands in the air and chanting, without practice, at the same time. They never fail to make me laugh and I just love them.