ABLED-BODIED PEOPLE USING ELEVATORS MEANT FOR OTHERS

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lidarkside

Active member
I am getting so sick and tired of seeing abled-bodied people using elevators meant for those who are incapable of using the stairs and escalators. After what happened on Saturday, I am so totally disgusted with people.

We went into the city to see a show. They have very small elevators in Penn Station meant for those who cannot get up and down the stairs or escalators. When we went to go back home, our train's track number came up; and we went over to the elevator for that track, because we had strollers. There was a man in a wheelchair in front of us waiting to use the elevator while abled-bodied people shoved themselves into it and went down. It finally came back up, and we took it down with the man in the wheel chair meanwhile discussing how unbelievable people are.

While we stood there waiting for our train, they announced a track change which required us to go back up on the elevator and take another back down, keeping in mind there's not much time left to do this. Once again, we had to wait for the elevator again while people who were capable of taking the steps or escalator shoved themselves in.

When it came back down we got on, and more people who could have taken the steps or escalator shoved themselves in. Before the doors closed, the man in the wheelchair came flying up begging to get on. We kept telling the people to get off and let him on. They just stood there holding the door open. There was no room left. We finally yelled for the woman to close the door so the elevator can get back down to him since they weren't going to get off. Meanwhile, we hear the man waling "Oh God, Oh God!" (he was with a bus group). Then the one woman turns to the other woman and says, "see, that's how nasty people act"!

What in God's name are wrong with people. People like this are a bunch of lazy arse, inconsiderate baffoons!
 
:wave: So sorry to hear of your encounter with rude people. It seems like in this day and age that more and more people do not have the manners that their parents and grandparents held dear. I do not like big cities for this reason. I am not familiar at all with how things work at a train station. Are the elevators marked as such for those unable to use the stairs and/or escalators? If not, I can understand why some might think that they are for anyone to use, (I personally would not know) but to deny access to a man in a wheelchair is inexcusable. For the woman to act like the man was rude is totally unconscionable, she has no clue. I hope that other than your train station encounter that you had a great time!
 
The elevators are marked with a handicapped sign next to them. These are just tiny, tiny elevators. The man's wheelchair took up a little more than half of it. So, you can see these aren't typical public elevators! It really makes you want to smack some people sometimes! :headbang: I really hope the man made the train, but I have a feeling he didn't!
 
:cussing: If the handicapped sign is there than those people really should be ashamed. I'm sure there Karma will come back to bite them in the :booty" .
 
Slippery slope tho...Just because you don't see their handicap, doesn't mean it's not there. This is kinda like the handicap parking stickers. I remember someone talking about someone not being handicapped, but how do they know? Just because someone doesn't look handicapped, doesn't mean they aren't.
 
bunnytoes said:
Slippery slope tho...Just because you don't see their handicap, doesn't mean it's not there. This is kinda like the handicap parking stickers. I remember someone talking about someone not being handicapped, but how do they know? Just because someone doesn't look handicapped, doesn't mean they aren't.
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You are absolutely right bunny! I know several people that seem pretty ablebodied and can walk a short distance, but are unable to walk up stairs or use an escalator.
 
All these people couldn't have been disabled. I didn't see any signs of any one of them having any problems. They moved/hustled fairly quickly to make sure they got in the elevator before anyone else. Plus, there is an escalator--no effort required--right next to the steps. I'm disabled and will use the steps or escalator when I can.

No, these were just lazy, inconsiderate people. :nono:
 
...and just to add, to give you an idea of what it's like at the train station. Everyone stands in front of a board above them waiting for the track number to come up for their train. When it does, watch out! Everyone is practically running each other over to get a seat on the train.

...and so were those running to the elevators!

In that situation, it's not really hard to figure out who isn't handicapped!
 
LIDARKSIDE said:
All these people couldn't have been disabled. I didn't see any signs of any one of them having any problems. They moved/hustled fairly quickly to make sure they got in the elevator before anyone else. Plus, there is an escalator--no effort required--right next to the steps. I'm disabled and will use the steps or escalator when I can.

No, these were just lazy, inconsiderate people. :nono:
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:whistle:
 
bunnytoes said:
Slippery slope tho...Just because you don't see their handicap, doesn't mean it's not there. This is kinda like the handicap parking stickers. I remember someone talking about someone not being handicapped, but how do they know? Just because someone doesn't look handicapped, doesn't mean they aren't.
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I have to agree with this 100%. My brother in law lost both of his legs, below the knee. He walks with a fairly standard gait with prosthetics. He is amazing, actually. But, he can't do stairs. One day he came out of a handicapped portable toilet and a man on a scooter yelled at him and called him all kinds of names, chased him down and confronted him. My BIL told him that he has prosthetics. The man wouldn't believe him.

My husband has severe arthritis. He can walk on level ground, but a flight of stairs would be torture to him. He has a handicapped parking placard and will only use it when the pain is intolerable. He knows people are much worse than he is. But, he suffers and, although he looks like a big healthy guy, he's not. What's worse, he is embarrassed when he has to take the elevator.

With modern medicine, people with disabilities are far more mobile than their counterparts when we were kids.

Now, I agree, they are not all handicapped. Yes, some are just lazy! You just don't know who is. I guess that also adds to the frustration.
 
I live just outside of Washington DC. I see stuff all the time that would make blood spurt out of your eyes! One that really amazes me is when I ride the Metro (subway) on the line that contains the Pentagon stop during rush hour. A woman got on the subway car hunched over with big metal braces on both legs. Not a single one of those federal government workers, or military brass would give her a seat!!! Those subway cars jerk and lurch like crazy, I have a hard time staying upright in them if I am standing!! And some of them were sitting in the designated handicapped seats! I stood up and gave her my seat, and loudly announced what I thought of their manners. When I got out at the Pentagon stop, someone pushed me 2 handed from behind and slammed me into a wall.

I really, really HATE it here. :cussing:
 
Although, I agree that sometimes you can't tell if someone is disabled or not, these people definitely were not. They were running for the elevator and running in front of the man in the wheelchair. These people were clearly not disabled, and this many people could not possibly be disabled. These were just lazy, inconsiderate arses--the lot of them. :cussing:
 
celticbikerbabe said:
I live just outside of Washington DC. I see stuff all the time that would make blood spurt out of your eyes! One that really amazes me is when I ride the Metro (subway) on the line that contains the Pentagon stop during rush hour. A woman got on the subway car hunched over with big metal braces on both legs. Not a single one of those federal government workers, or military brass would give her a seat!!! Those subway cars jerk and lurch like crazy, I have a hard time staying upright in them if I am standing!! And some of them were sitting in the designated handicapped seats! I stood up and gave her my seat, and loudly announced what I thought of their manners. When I got out at the Pentagon stop, someone pushed me 2 handed from behind and slammed me into a wall.

I really, really HATE it here. :cussing:
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Oh, we see that all the time here too. Very rarely does someone give up their seat to pregnant women, women with children, or the elderly either. When I was pregnant, only once at times when I had to stand did someone give me their seat. People won't look at you either. They act like they don't see you. :cussing:
 
That sucks those a$$holes did that, LIDARKSIDE and Biker Babe! Both stories made me want to punch someone in the face. And I don't think it's my hormones talking.

Why on God's green earth would they not get out of the elevator to make room for a man in awheelchair? I wasn't there but I would bet the house that those people were NOT handicapped.

And Biker Babe, OMG!! Getting pushed like that from the govt.'s finest!!! Just goes to show that not all men in uniform are gentlemen. Freaking pissants. They wouldn't have pushed a man like that, trust me! At least not one like hubby. And to not give up their seat is utterly disgusting. Good for you for being really loud about it even though you got treated like that.
 
You know, it seems like the lower level military tend to be the more polite and gentlemanly ones. I used to live near a huge proving ground military base, and those guys would fall all over themselves to open doors for you, and call you ma'am. These Pentagon guys with fruit salad on their shoulder are rude as all heck. I guess power does corrupt.
 
I have the invisible disabilities (FM, RA, other autoimmunes)so it is a slippery slope.

One comment about handicapped restrooms. They are handicapped ACCESSIBLE -- not handicapped exclusive.
 
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