I was on a packed bus yesterday afternoon. A kind lady offered me the priority seat she was sitting in,which I gratefully accepted. Just for the record I have osteo and rheumatoid arthritis in my knees,hips,elbows,wrists,feet,shoulders and fingers. I also have severe tendonitis in my right shoulder,combined with RSI. Plus I also have fibromyalgia (although I appreciate that is not a 'visible' illness,nor would expect a seat on the bus if it was the only condition that I had wrong with me). I use a walking stick,and as long as I get a seat on the bus,all is well. I find it very difficult to stand,not so much because I can't stand,but because I struggle to keep my balance on a moving vehicle. Even holding on with both hands is a struggle because I have very poor grip in my fingers,I cannot hold on very firmly. Also,I end up getting my shoulder wrenched.
Anyway,bloke on crutches gets on at stop after me. He looks around and sees no vacant seats and his gaze alights upon me. 'Scuse me,can I sit there?' he says. 'Mm,no,I'm actually disabled'. I would point out that my walking stick was clearly visible to him (I was holding it in front of me). He glared at me and said 'You've only got ONE walking stick,I'm using 2 crutches!' Before I could come up with a suitable response,one of the men sitting in one of the priority seats behind me jumped up and offered him his seat. He accepted it,sat down,then proceeded to mutter under his breath for the rest of the journey. OK,I can't say for certain that he was ranting about ME,just that I heard the words 'fucking bitch' and 'cow' a few times.
I thought,honestly,it's coming to something when I'm having to play 'My disability trumps yours' on the bus! What would you have said in this situation?