There are lots of people who think like this.
My best friend has struggled with mobility for years but her condition has recently deteriorated so that she needs a wheelchair. Both of us were shocked at how people behave.
She’s been pushed out of peoples way in her chair.
People address me rather than my friend like she doesn’t exist.
She struggles so much with selfish people but one of the worst examples was with a disabled/baby change toilet.
My friend has bladder issues as part of her condition and the need to wee comes on suddenly. She has frequent urine and kidney infections and so when she needs the toilet it’s important she goes quickly.
Last month she went to use the disabled toilet with a woman in front waiting to change her baby. She asked if she could go ahead in the queue and the woman with the baby glared and told her to wait her turn.
I was waiting with her and asked if she was just waiting to change her baby (I wasn’t sure if she had a hidden disability and didn’t want to assume) she said yes and started ranting about how hard it was to be a parent and changing nappies out and about.
I lost my temper which I’m not proud of but I said being a parent is a choice and being disabled isn’t, I pretty much told her to move out of the way to let my friend use the toilet.
I do have sympathy and understand that sometimes a nappy can leak or there can be a poo explosion, a baby won’t feel the same humiliation though as if an adult can’t control their bladder and wets themself in public because of someone else being selfish or gets an infection from being forced to wait.
My friend has also been forced to wait due to a woman breastfeeding and said a queue was building up, this was in a place where there was no reason for the woman to breastfeed in the toilet and she was unapologetic when she came out and saw the people waiting.
Someone else commented about the abuse of hidden disability lanyards at the airport, I noticed this as well. I was at the airport yesterday and DP was treated with slight suspicion by staff when wearing his lanyard, when it became a bit more obvious he was genuine attitudes changed.
Almost half the people on our flight had a lanyard on and I gave the benefit of the doubt until I saw a woman with 5 children all wearing them. Someone else questioned it and she said she had borrowed them from a friend as there were 3 adults with the five children and sometimes the group spilt and they all wanted priority/fast track entrance. This woman was almost bragging about it like it was some sort of life hack and not making a mockery out of a service designed to help vulnerable people.
It really makes me angry that people seem to see it as disabled people “having perks” rather than them needing these things for accessibility reasons. I am sure no one would swap being able bodied for these things so why resent them and try to take over?
People seem to be becoming far more selfish and self centred and it’s unpleasant to witness. Look at the fact the OP has failed to understand what the sign in her OP can possibly mean and seems to have taken it personally and has had to have the possible reasons behind it explained rather then work it out herself.
I just hope none of the people who are selfish and thoughtless ever genuinely need to use disabled facilities, they might then feel ashamed about their behaviour or insensitivity.