• liv@lemmy.nz
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    9 days ago

    I understand your point of view but fwiw, this isn’t an excuse and I do care about disabled people.

    I myself am disabled with mobility challenges. My wheelchair is very rickety and fragile because I can’t afford a decent one or a power assist (most people don’t know this but in New Zealand, people disabled by serious illness are generally not eligible for disability funding - so if you are not mobile, you don’t get mobility aids, you are just… left to rot, which is what I was talking about in the last comment).

    I also have to lie down a lot if I do go anywhere, and I can suddenly collapse or need medication or warm clothing, so my wish list for public spaces is going to be a bit different to the needs of a healthy disabled person with independent propulsion, which is who most people think of when they list the kind of things you listed.

    I don’t expect society to cater to my kind of disability. But I’m only human, and you possibly have no idea what a huge boost it is to me, being semi house bound, if I get to go to a shop or an event. My town took away most of the disability parking around its main street when it made it pedestrian friendly, which is why I said it matters how it is done.

    Before I got sick I was never a “car person”, I didn’t even own one - just used public transport and walked to work every day. From an environmental perspective it’s quite mortifying that I am all “but muh car park” and need a car. My only consolation is that being this disabled, my carbon footprint is pretty small by western standards.😔