Just yesterday, I was ten minutes late to my tutorial class because for whatever reason, almost every single person in my lecture decided to use the elevator instead of going down one flight of stairs while me and my classmates -- the ones who didn't have that choice -- were stuck waiting for the next elevator.

I constantly have to navigate around people walking up the ramps -- or, worse, standing in the middle of them -- because they couldn't get off their phones for two seconds to use the stairs instead.

At least twice a week I end up in far more pain than usual because people who don't need them take up the accessible seats on the bus and I either have to stand there and wait for somebody to get up (Which is already hard on my body) or just wrap my arm around the pole and try to suffer through a few stops until somebody gets off (Which has already caused several dislocations). As much as people like to brag about how they'd "always give up their seat for a poor handicapped person", they're far more likely to stay right where they are and ignore you in favour of watching Instagram reels on their phone.

And I've tried asking people to move. Directly. Making eye contact and everything. They'll just look down at their phone and ignore me until the bus driver or somebody else says something. And only then can they magically notice me and get up.

Before I get a bunch of people leaping to yell about people with invisible disabilities: I know. I know there are people with invisible disabilities, I spent most of my life with only invisible disabilities. I can guarentee that not every single person in my lecture of 60 people has an invisible disability. This is not the problem.

The problem is that able bodied people see these resources and supports made specifically for physically disabled people and assume they're entitled to them. Most of them see it as something that's put in place just to comply with certain rules or laws or regulations as a 'just in case' thing. Nobody thinks that disabled people are actually out and about. We're an afterthought to them.

And I get it. I do. We all have our blind spots.

Don’t even get me fucking STARTED on elevator entrances that are so small that I can barely get in or out of them in a safe manner. Recently I was having so much trouble reversing out of an elevator because it was so small that the doors started closing in before I had gotten out. Luckily I had my best friend with me to stop the doors, but what the fuck??

the “common cold” can and DOES hospitalise disabled and chronically ill folks. your “little cough and a sore throat” IS LIFE-THREATENING TO US.

i was close to GENUINELY DYING from the fucking flu last year because some fucktard decided their high school attendance was more important than the health of those around them.

disabilities and chronic illnesses are not a joke. we are not being dramatic. WE ARE DYING. because you didn’t want to put on a fucking face mask or stay the hell out of public spaces.

YOUR. SELFISHNESS. IS. KILLING. PEOPLE.

what don’t able-bodied people understand about that???

your actions have consequences, whether you see it or not.

there should be fucking legal repercussions for shit like this, because the amount of disabled people who have died because able-bodied people are so fucking selfish is beyond disgusting.

you can get legally punished for physically injuring someone, why shouldn’t you be able to be punished for threatening their life by giving them an illness when their body cannot cope with it??

we saw what happened during COVID. so many people died because others weren’t following lockdown restrictions. we saw people, and CONTINUE seeing people, becoming disabled after contracting COVID.

WHY IS NOTHING BEING CHANGED?

i am sick of fearing for my life because of able-bodied selfishness.