Hmmm, interesting subject.
In reality, I think the issue goes deeper. Society has turned 'discrimination' into a nasty word, so to speak. To discriminate is merely to observe a difference. However, it is often used in the context of oppression - which I vehemetely oppose.
As far as handicapped parking goes, it's a clumsy approach to a problem. If there were no handicapped parking, 99.9% of people would park close, without regard for the handicapped people that might want to visit as well - if only because no handicapped person visibly wants it right then. Until we have telepathic internet via neural implants, so that handicapped people can broadcast "I'm en route to the store, someone save me a spot that's close", then we will have to make do with handicapped parking.
I'm fairly certain that if we were all aware of whether or not a handicapped person was on their way, we'd gladly save them a spot close to the entrance. I'm also pretty sure that the few people that would willfully take that parking spot in spite of knowing would be justly rewarded with dented doors by the adjacent drivers.
Now, in the case of the 'ugly' cancer victim, I fail to see how it's cruel, or even wrong, to call it like we see it. In that regard, even if the cancer victim is called ugly to their face, they always have the option of not caring what others think of them. I'd even go so far as to say that if they're so vain as to be offended by being called ugly, it's the risk they knowingly take by being so obsessed with vanity. Maybe they'll learn their lesson to not give a damn about what other people think about them.
What's the difference between the two scenarios? The cancer patient can instantly void the opinions of people that call them ugly, through sheer willpower - and if they choose not to do it, then that's their business. The person in the wheelchair doesn't have the option of solving the problem through willpower alone...unless they have magic powers of teleportation, or their own personal warp drive.
Thus, no handicapped parking for wheelchair-bound teleporting wizards. And no handicapped parking for wheelchair users who have cybernetic warp drives built into their non-working limbs.
It's pointless and childish to believe that all people are equal - because we're not. A wheelchair-bound person will never be equal to an olympic runner, and the olympic runner will never be equal to the wheelchair-bound person.
The original poster said, "Handicaps are like a 'no-touch zone', while everyone else is fair game." And in this sense, it is oppressive discrimination against the majority. If they cannot mentally deal with something as trivial as the words of the IRL trolls, then they truly need to re-evaluate where they stand as a sentient, sapient, human being. The solution is to stop caring about something so useless as what other people think about you.
As far as mental handicaps...I don't see where it's cruel (or even wrong) to state that an 'adult' has only the mental development of a small child. Nothing really matters except the intellectual age of the brain. The age of their body is irrelevant. If we downloaded their mind into a robot body, and downloaded a young child's mind into a robot body, then how would we tell that the mentally handicapped person was ever an adult?
Call me a cruel, heartless bastard if you wish, but as stated before, I'm immune to the negative opinions of other people.
