This reminds me of what happened to me many years ago. I was riding a moderately packed tram to school, still half asleep, when a guy came up to me and showed me an ID card. I thought he was a ticket inspector and so I look my pass and showed it to him. He nodded and went away.

Only after a few seconds my brain finally managed to decipher what was written on his card - that he's disabled. So obviously I jumped up and lead him to my seat with apologies, but I found it hilarious how we both apparently misunderstood each of our ID's, just in opposite directions.

Not all handicaps are visible. I know someone, quite young (mid-30s) and very healthy-looking. But she has a bad tension: if she stays standing for too long, it's very uncomfortable and she may even faint. Older people feel entitled to take her seat and don't understand when she refuse.

My personal rule is to never assume someone isn't handicapped when in a disabled seat or parking etc. Disability comes in many forms, often invisible.

My niece was stopped in the corridor at school by a teacher who shouted "are you deaf or something?"

My niece removed her hearing aids, slowly.

This is a crazy story and all, but I can't help but notice that there are like 5 usernames on-screen for a single post, and I have no idea which is supposed to be the OP.

I have chronic fatigue syndrome, I used to be able to walk at a slow pace for short distances, but anything like the distances involved in grocery shopping was too much.

One day I went to pick up some tools from a big big box store. The walk from my car to the front of the store was a bit long, so I sat down on the provided electric scooter, the one specifically for disabled people to use. I proceed to get out my phone and mindlessly scroll the internet, giving myself a rest before shopping. After a few minutes an old woman walks through the front doors of the store and confronts me, quite annoyed: "Do you really need that?"

"Yes, actually," I replied, "but you can have this one and I'll wait for the next."

Before I could even move to get up, she turned around and walked out of the store.

I still can't decide if she was too embarrassed to take me up on the offer, or if she had only walked in there to confront me and left the instant it was obvious she was wrong.

I'm a big fan of the improvised weapon feat.

I hope she got him in the throat.

Long time ago I witnessed a fight over who is more handicapped and thus allowed to sit on the handicapped space in a tram. It was... something.

This is some curb your enthusiasm shit right here🤌

This will sound weird when I start, but I promise if you read the whole thing it will make sense.

A while back (10, 12 years) I had major heart surgery. And so for a few weeks after I had problems doing some things, like walking for more than ten, fifteen minutes at a time, or sitting up right for more than five minutes.

But the doctors said I needed "exercise" (bastards) so my beloved and I would go out to the shops, and she'd made me walk (because she loved me) and we'd take a wheelchair with us.

Aside from the whole "walking" thing it was kind of fun, because imagine two people walking down the high street, pushing an empty wheelchair. One of them carrying a towel (and hugging it tightly) and the other walking slowly for no apparent reason. The number of strange and confused looks we got was really hilarious at times. Especially after I got tired and had to sit in the chair so she could push me for a while (which happened a lot, because of - you know - the surgery and the tired) and we saw someone who had seen us a few minutes earlier when I was up and walking about as if I was fine.

Needless to say I seldom, if ever, gave up my seat on the bus, train, bench or anywhere else if anyone asked. Even if the person asking was 101 years old. I did explain why, and no one argued with me, but sometimes I got some dirty looks for that as well. Because I looked young and fit with no physical injuries.

It wasn't forever, and I never claimed to be disabled, and after eight or nine weeks I could bound about like a gazelle on heat. But those first few weeks? We got a lot of strange looks. And I know I said it was hilarious, but only because if I had decided to take offence then I would have whacked the wheelchair into so many people I probably would have been arrested :)

(The towel, if you were wondering, was for my chest. Having your chest cracked open and put back together hurts a lot, but then if you sneeze or cough oh my sweet fucking god it hurts so much more. Putting a towel against it mitigates it some but still -- fucking ow!!)

Based

You can learn a lot about a culture by how they treat their disabled people.

This is partly why I drive, you don’t have to explain yourself to others or put up with assholes