Life With a Disability (2)

Hey, I’m back talking about my weird life again, aren’t you a lucky bunch. If you haven't already, you can read Life With a Disability (1) here.

I wasn’t sure what to talk about this week, but then on Friday (16th) I went to see Florence and the Machine at Birmingham, this was my 4th time seeing them live and it gets more amazing every time.

Not only did I have an incredible night it also sparked some inspiration of what to talk about on this blog post and that is my number one pet peeve about going to events such as concerts and football matches. 

That is the attitude of other disabled people, now this is a very specific situation and I will start by saying obviously it is a handful of people I am talking about.

At the concert I was lucky enough to be very close to the front, but there were crowds stood in front of me, so to get a better view during my favourite songs or to take videos, I stood up. I’m very fortunate in that I am not permanently bound to my wheelchair, I can stand and walk. When I have paid to go to a concert or a football match, if I need to I will stand up to see better. 

On Friday, there were already some people stood up on the disabled platform from the beginning and I heard the lady next to me complaining, saying they shouldn’t be on the platform because they can stand. This initially put me off getting out my chair, but by the third song I thought f*ck it and stood up and enjoyed my night. I am so glad I did, even if that woman did mutter to her mate about me.

This isn’t the first time someone has commented on me standing up. Luckily, I haven’t had any negative comments directed straight to me, but at a football match I have overheard a fellow wheelchair user make a comment when I stood up to see better, which I think is so unfair. If someone else in a wheelchair stood up, or even if they started dancing, I’d think good for you, you enjoy the life you’ve been given, not make some rude comment or try to tell them where they should be.

I appreciate every day what I am able to do and if I can take advantage of my ability to stand up for a better view, I’m going to. Everyone should just support one another, even when it is frustrating seeing someone do something you wish you could. How is making them feel guilty about it going to fix it? I don’t understand what the woman sat next to me thought she was going to achieve by saying you shouldn’t be on the disabled platform if you can stand. It achieved nothing other than making me feel a bit guilty about doing it.

Congratulations if you made it to the end of this post, it was a bit of a ramble. Thank you so much for reading and for all the support I’ve had regarding this blog, it’s gone so much better than I’ve ever thought it could.

Speak soon,

Alex.