to think these people were selfish and rude.

[cakeoclock]

The push chair v wheelchair on a bus just reminded me what happened this weekend.

I was christmas shopping with friends (one in a wheelchair) in Harvey Nicks Leeds and it was pretty busy. We stood waiting for the lift, the doors opened and it was rammed full of people (no push chairs). Not one of the miserable gits got out to make space for the wheelchair just looked away until the doors shut and we had to wait ages for another lift. There were escalators less than a minute walk from the lift.

AIBU to think that this is lazy, selfish and awful and to hope if any of you are reading you feel ashamed.

Erm, I'm not sure actually

Shopping centre lifts dont usually take to long, If I was already in a lift I wouldn't get out to make room, I would budge up definetly but not get out.

Also bare in mind it is insano time in any shopping centre, I wouldn't get on barge central escalator when someone able bodied or otherwise could just wait 2 mins.

AGAIN WITH THE WAIT 2 MINS?

I give up.

I think that given some of the attitudes on here I'd best tell my old, disabled mother to do all her shopping online from now on, heaven forbid she may want the same opportunities as others

Blimey blimey blimey.

Thanks for a great post, Pag.

Ninky - my mum was wheelchair bound too, and I have experienced what you describe a dozen times, if not more. My mum getting more and more upset as she was unable to leave the shop, and the lifts whizzing up and down crammed with people who didn't give a fuck.

Yes, make them wait. Who wants to use their legs if they don't need to? Remember...lifts weren't invented for disabled people. Me me me. I want, give me, it's mine. me first. Etc etc...

Fab.

Ninky I'd get her a sign to hold that says "Let me in the lift, cunts", but your ma might not appreciate it.

hehehe

The thing that is most puzzling for me is a strange disconnect between how people behave in different situations.
Help for Heros is a massively popular charity. People got really arsy about the England football team not being able to show respect by wearing poppies, about our brave boys not being taken care of post injury. Jimmy Carr was ripped a new ass hole for his paraolympic joke. All big emotional issues.
On Saturday X -factor did an item on three life limited teenagers in one family, all in wheelchairs.a short film showed how bloody hard their lichees were. The crowd cheered as the x-factor guys sang a charity song. Children in need made a record amount.

We seem to see charity as good and honourable. We feel terrible about injured soldiers, about children who lose limbs or have profound disabilities. We care we are compassionate.
But when faced with a person in a wheelchair - why the fuck can't they wait.

It is odd isn't it?

AGAIN WITH THE WAIT 2 MINS?

why on earth not everyone else has to,

If the had hard lichees that would be weird wouldn't it?
You know what I mean

Oh they'll cheer them on but don't any of these 'heroes' expect them to get out (or not use the life in the first place) of a lift for them to make their life just a little bit easier.

Difficulttimes

I think necromantic is illustrating that you seem to be ignoring the many posts where people explain that it's not really two minutes.

I think a lot of these "wait 2 minutes", "another bus along in 4 minutes" attitudes spring from the idea that people in wheelchairs don't have anywhere important to be.

Most able-bodied London commuters would spontaneously combust with impatience if asked to wait for the next bus/train/lift. But people are quite happy for a wheelchair user to wait every time someone doesn't fancy getting off the bus or making room in the lift.

Is it because many people think wheelchair users are just that little bit less important and busy than them?

Have you read any of the posts on here Difficult? Mine, at the top of the page for example?

Love the idea of the sign, I think by the end of that day even my very gentille mother wouldn't have batted an eyelid at the C word!

Easier to issue platitudes about anonymous people in line with popular opinion than actually inconvenience yourself for a real life person, Pagwatch. Sad really.

I agree with Pag. It's not 2 minutes. It's 2 minutes for every batch of inconsiderate people.

That's a lot of 2 minutes.

One point though for the people in the lift not getting out as described in the OP, I don't think they can in any way know how long the person in the wheelchair has been waiting though, can they? They could be the 1st lift to be full, they could be the 20th but there is no way of knowing though, is there?

Perhaps it would work if the person in the wheelchair would just say to the people in the lift that they have been waiting for a long time and would anyone kindly be willing to take the stairs? I think a lot of people would immediately do it.

I don't think it is necessarily malice or deliberately being inconsiderate. Apart obviously some people on this thread who are.

So it is. 2 minutes, then 2 minutes, then 2 minutes, then 2 minutes....and I speak from experience here...I'm not speculating.

Many lifts full of people who couldn't give a toss.

And kungfupanda I think you're right. I think people DO think that wcu have nothing better to do.

I had to wait in a queue for the lift at IKEA the other day behind people with empty trollys. EMPTY FECKIN TROLLYS! What's that all about then? They take them up empty. They bring them down empty. Then they go shopping on the ground floor.

Pictish - sounds like you are channelling Macbeth.

"Two minutes and two minutes and two minutes
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day"

I would get out
I did, when I was doing CBT training - I am petrified of lifts so we spent about an hour going up and down in different lifts. A lady was waiting who was in a wheelchair and so we got out and waited

onefatcat lifts may OT have been inventd for disabled people, but the reason they are installed in every single new building is because its now a legal requirement to offer access for disabled people. Hopefully the next time you tell a disabled person 'lifts werent invented for you' you might remember that.

Here's a thought, if you took the stairs or escalator in the first place, then you wouldn't have to get out of the lift in the first place to make way for someone who needs it more than you.