Is it discrimination to treat Handicapped people better than the rest of us?

[Nieroshai]

Going the extra mile to help a handicapped person function as well as the rest of us isn't discrimination, it's a society oiling the gears. Otherwise, if a handicapped person demands to be treated like they deserve more than just that help, then it starts to be pure selfishness on their part and pandering on ours.

 

[Rylot]

Is asking to be allowed to participate in society really the same as asking to be treated better than average?

 

[joshthor]

handicapped parking places are not discrimination. they allow handicapped mobility. i work in retail, i have several customers who even with the handicapped parking that can barely get to the counter as it is. other customers that are in pain walking, and other customers that are in wheelchairs that have crippled limbs.

it allows them the freedom they need. mental handicaps are a different subject.... i think its not nice to call them names or make fun of them. they dont have any control over what they are like.

basically, dont be an asshole. put yourself in thier shoes and consider what it would be like to live as they are forced too. im not saying cater to them like they are a dying baby, just treat them like...well people who need a little more attention to get by.

 

[Tselis]

So long as you don't treat non-handicapped people worse, then no. There is nothing wrong with making accommodations to people who do have handicaps, so that they can get into a building, or up to a certain floor, etc. Basically, there is nothing wrong with giving them things that put them on par with 'normal' people. What rubs people the wrong way (now adays anyway) is that life has pretty much shit on these people, so laughing at them just adds a handful of healing salt to the massive wound. It's just kinda tacky. Now, that having been said and out of the way. If you are an asshole to everyone, or just a plain jack-ass, and are treating them the same as you treat everyone else, then you aren't doing anything wrong. Do be prepared to take some flak for it though. I should know, I married a classy asshole. Or, as he likes to say, a class-hole. =) Hope this has helped.

 

[Pr1de]

What do you escapists think?

I think you should quit trying to justify being a jerk

This. Handicap parking spaces aren't discrimination, they help people who can't move easily, something that you take for granted. And yeah, if you laughed at a guy in a wheelchair or a person who was mentally retarded, you are going to get called out on it. Rightly so. Equality doesn't mean treat everyone the same, because people all aren't the same. It sounds like you are trying to rationalize being a jerk to the less fortunate.

But discrimination means that people are not being treated the same (aka equality) so in turn people without handicaps are being discriminated against. Of course, the reason they get special treatment is because we think they are special but if I point it out suddenly I'm suddenly a jerk again. Either your special or your not, cant have it both ways!!!!

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

As I see it, catering to the special needs of handicapped people (the parking spaces) is not discrimination.

Giving a handicapped person an advantage in any real competition (job interviews, contests, sports etc) is discrimination.

You mean what actually happens all the time everygoddamn where in real life? people pretty much always give them an advantage, hell people with special needs get jobs MADE for them by certain companies, yet guys like me are constantly looking for work to pay me enough to try and not die and get out of the debt i've gained through trying to stay alive and not homeless...

Even though I've heard it said that people in wheelchairs and with certain other handicaps are just as good as anyone else.

As a PERSON yes they are every bit as good as anyone else, as a labourer... not so much, but hey doesn't help that lawyers use them as a great way to sue for discrimination everywhere they can gain even a toehold, and make tons of money off of others doing that because MAYBE that employer wanted someone who could reach a high shelf without specialized tools he has to pay for, or could climb a ladder, or a great number of things one needs to do to do a job...

political correctness is a plague, not saying in any way that people with physical disabilities are in any way not a value to society, it's just sad to see them coddled like babies and given jobs they can barely do anyway when they are already payed by the government to live, and people who can't scrape enough money outa the shithole where we live to rent an outhouse without 3 room mates, can't get work...

 

[Wintermoot]

discrimination is treating people differently because they are different that includes positive things.

 

[Sean951]

It is technically discrimination, but most of the time it's something we can deal with to make another's life better. The only time things like this bug me are when they directly effect me, such as the ONLY open parking being handicapped, or the urinals on my dorm floor being made for someone of significantly less height. I'm only 6' tall, but those urinals splashed enough without making them 6-12" lower...

I think the worst/best part of the discrimination are the school assemblies I had in high school. We had a special education program that was recognized as being one of the best in the nation, and every year there was a big assembly we all had to go to where they would sing and do little skits. It was one of the most boring assemblies of the year, and I hated it because half of them literally couldn't speak, so they hit a button and the computer "sang" in a monotone voice. At the same time, it made them incredibly happy, and they loved it, so it was definitely worth adding a bit of happiness to their lives at the expense of a few hours of my time.

 

[Xisin]

What do you escapists think?

I think you should quit trying to justify being a jerk

Thanks! You point and laugh at random people that look funny...I haven't had that done to me since I was in elementary school. Way to raise the bar >.>

 

[Thaluikhain]

And no... letting the dude who lost the bottom of his torso in Nam park closer to the store is just common courtesy. Which no one has any more, so they had to paint little "don't be a dick" reminders on the parking lot and attached a $300 reminder fee.

That's nicely summed up.

Yeah, it really sucks having to slightly go out of your way to help people whose livex are demonstrably worse than yours in various respects.

 

[Callate]

Spend a few days not going up onto any raised surface that doesn't have a ramp, not going through any door that wasn't wide enough to pass a wheelchair, waiting for an elevator any time you need to go up or down a single floor, struggling for a several minutes or needing help with any door without an automatic opening mechanism, and consider how "discriminated against" you are as someone with full use of your limbs.

As a purely semantic point, you can make a claim of being discriminated against, but as any sort of meaningful point of morality or reason, to put it politely, it doesn't pass muster.

 

[QuantumT]

To not give them the spots would be more discriminatory. I've known people where the handicapped space was a matter of necessity rather than convenience, i.e. if the spot hadn't been there they wouldn't have been able to go at all.

As for mentally handicapped people, it's a bit harder to draw the line. I have a friend (and I mean that in every sense of the word) who is mentally handicapped, and sometimes he's just frickin funny. A lot of the time it just ends up happening where he'll just say what everyone else is thinking, and when he does everyone seems to realize it and it's hilarious.

 

[Kefo]

Oh for the love of the gods dude... Are you serious? Just because they have "learning difficulties" doesn't give them the right to go and hurt others and not be reprimanded for it. They CAN learn, even if it's a slow process, they can still learn.

Actually some of them can't learn. An example would be someone with Prader-Willie, you can try to teach them to eat 3 times a day and normal sized meals but that wont change the fact that their brains are telling them that they are starving all the time and to keep eating regardless of what it is.

 

[Kefo]

To not give them the spots would be more discriminatory. I've known people where the handicapped space was a matter of necessity rather than convenience, i.e. if the spot hadn't been there they wouldn't have been able to go at all.

As for mentally handicapped people, it's a bit harder to draw the line. I have a friend (and I mean that in every sense of the word) who is mentally handicapped, and sometimes he's just frickin funny. A lot of the time it just ends up happening where he'll just say what everyone else is thinking, and when he does everyone seems to realize it and it's hilarious.

Does your friend have Aspergers?

 

[tthor]

i wouldn't so much as say 'treat better' as I would say 'accommodate disabilities'. like if you are nicer to a guy in a wheelchair, that is discrimination. But if you're helping him by holding a door open or something, then that's good. In conclusion, feel free to be a prick if you must, but just nicely hold the door for them while being a prick.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

What do you escapists think?

I think you should quit trying to justify being a jerk

This. Handicap parking spaces aren't discrimination, they help people who can't move easily, something that you take for granted. And yeah, if you laughed at a guy in a wheelchair or a person who was mentally retarded, you are going to get called out on it. Rightly so. Equality doesn't mean treat everyone the same, because people all aren't the same. It sounds like you are trying to rationalize being a jerk to the less fortunate.

But discrimination means that people are not being treated the same (aka equality) so in turn people without handicaps are being discriminated against. Of course, the reason they get special treatment is because we think they are special but if I point it out suddenly I'm suddenly a jerk again. Either your special or your not, cant have it both ways!!!!

Equality

the state or quality of being equal

Things like handicap spaces help level the playing field. Yes, a wheelchair bound person gets accommodated more than you, life must be so hard.

 

[QuantumT]

Does your friend have Aspergers?

It's a fair bit worse than Aspergers. If I had to describe it, I would say that he's like this mix of an adult and a 10 year old. So sometimes he has an adult's insight into a situation, but not the accompanying sense not to keep it to himself, which honestly I find refreshing.