I want to take a minute to vent about a huge pet peeve of mine; people who use handicap facilities when they're not physically impaired. For example, our office building has a door that is both manually and mechanically operated. The door is a manual door but has a handicap button on the adjacent wall, which when pressed will mechanically open the door.
When mechanically opening (ie. using hydraulics) the door takes about 15 seconds to fully open, creating a bit of a traffic jam at the entrance as people have to wait for the doors to fully open before entering/exiting the building.
Let me say this before I lambast - the button is there to assist someone with a physical impairment. Any physical impairment is a valid reason to use mechanical assistance to open the door. I don't even mind if someone's hands are full because they're carrying boxes - it's okay to use the button.
Where I have an issue, is when every able-bodied/freehanded 20-30 something-year-old uses the handicap button as a permanent alternative to the door handle because they're too lazy to manually open the door. Have we seriously become so inconsiderate and lazy that we will actively delay ourselves, and others because the door handle requires too much effort?
I look at it this way - if you're cutting corners at the front door, where else are you cutting corners in your life? If you're physically capable, you should be using the door handle.
I definitely see your point - but I also do question whether people realize the door will work manually as well. I have seen people stop at doors like that in utter confusion trying to figure out how to operate them. It doesn't sound like that is the case here, but I'm just saying I wouldn't be surprised if some people honestly don't know that the manual function is an option.
I'm curious but does your same line of thinking apply when you see people taking an escalator directly next to stairs?
Also the hydraulic system on it makes the door a bit heavier and not as smooth to open. So to your point, if someone was trying to open it manually and it felt different they may resort to pressing the button thinking they are breaking it by manually pulling/pushing. But in all honesty OP is probably right most people are just lazy.
I had the same issue at a door where I went to college. If you tried opening manually by pushing, it was quite literally almost impossible to open, and I'm a large-ish dude. I ended up always pressing the handicap button to have them open automatically because it spared me the unnecessary effort of heaving the doors open.
In this case, it's very obvious it's a manual door - not a heavy one at that. If I have a choice I'll choose the stairs, but do not look down on people for using the escalator.
Counterpoint - the handicapped shitter in the office restroom is often a throne compared to the claustrophobic regular man's shitter. The seat is higher off the ground, the stall is far roomier, and it's just a better experience in general.
Haha Being WSO I knew the stalls would come up - the $64 question, is it worth the risk?
The risk being the nightmare situation where you see two wheels of a wheelchair patiently waiting underneath the stall door, because you wanted the space of a small yoga studio to take your afternoon poo.
What's he going to do, chase after me?
Reminds me of seeing able bodied people drive up to the shopping center, park in the handicap space and just hang the H/C plaque on the mirror and walk in with zero impairment. Those people send me on full monkey tilt. I'd love to see police officers running the tags and seeing if they match the H/C pass, as often it does not. If I could be an officer for the day I'd boot every damn car/person I saw doing that.
Fun story: My late Uncle was injured in a motorcycle accident. Injured is an understatement, he was paralyzed in various parts of his body (one hand, part of his legs, etc). He was confined to a wheelchair. This happened before I was born so I always remember him that way. Sucks. He was riding not fast and there was some loose gravel on a mountain road, he went over the cliff.
He was interesting. He hated help from people. It was hard to watch him struggle with things, but he would feel worse if I stepped in.
Anyway, able bodied people parking in the handicap spot was a huge problem for him. He used to hate that. Some dude parks in the handicap and steals my uncle's spot. Cut him off and parked. Dude hops out all fine, no placard or anything. My uncle asks the guy wtf. The dude is a punk about the whole thing, tells my uncle it's not a big deal for him to push himself a few stalls further. My uncle then decides to go in reverse and find another spot. Just kidding, that wouldn't make this even a story. My uncle goes into reverse, puts it into drive, and floors it. Multiple times. Both cars are wrecked.
He lost his license and had to pay a bunch of fines. Pretty hilarious though. He wasn't a mean guy, he was super nice to everyone. Just had moments if someone did something blatantly wrong.
Exactly. Just shows that person's ignorance. Wheelchairs are very bulky and there's a lot of equipment that goes into getting someone from a wheelchair to the driver's seat of a car.
Spinzone, maybe the handicap button is a test to see which seemingly able folk are actually handicapped mentally.
I pissed in the women's bathroom at a burger king today. Best I could do. I identify as an octopus and they got rid of the portajohns at the park for the winter.
I pissed on a woman in a Burger King bathroom Would not recommend
A lot of the people who do this are FAT. Literally these fucking lardwhales are too lazy to walk up a flight of stairs or walk for five minutes. Fuck fat people and their laziness, leave the handicap facilities for people who actually need them.
Hard disagree. Handicap things (excepting parking spots) are not there for the exclusive use of handicapped folks, they are there to make things easier. To use the stall example, if I walk into a bathroom that is full up, I'll use the handicap stall. If it's empty, maybe that's when you look at it askance.
After all, asking someone to wait ten minutes to pee is not a big deal.
like your sister, the nun
Female Confirmed!
No man needs 10 minutes to pee.
Also no man uses the word pee.
Can't believe no one has mentioned this comedy gold yet from none other than Larry David himself:
@Keyser Söze 123" as a genuine curiosity, if all of the stalls in a bathroom or showers at a gym were full aside from the handicapped ones, would you consider it in bad taste to use them? I don't see this as a like for like of your doorway situation, but interested where you draw the line.
In the situation you described, absolutely not. If you gotta go you gotta go!
Where I would draw a like to like comparison to the doorway, would be if you were prioritizing its use because it was "more spacious."
I do it to avoid germs/bacteria that could eventually cause me to need the button.
I would not do it nor would I park in a space marked for handicapped. I know some people do it, though.
Because I press the button to open the door, I am also profiting from mass murder
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