Dear Bi-pedal Members of Dragon Con,

[paidiraiompair.livejournal.com]

Greetings from one of those of the "wheeled" persuasion.  I, like all of you, am starting to get very pumped about the upcoming festivities of all things Geeky and Awesome.  As we all prepare with apps, cos-play and altering our sleep (or lack thereof) schedules, I'd like to add some things to consider whilst we all enjoy the merriment.

As we converge into the acreage which is DragonCon, there are many "tricks to the trade" so far as navigating between panels, dealer's rooms, parties and the occasional hunt for food.  That said, we are all in the crowd together, in elevators, skywalks, crosswalks and mad dashes.  For those of us at chest/waist level, please understand that though the city and hotels all try to be "accessible" (please hear the AIR QUOTES), there is sometimes only ONE route for us to take.  Other times obstacles like the decorative step at the food court bar us from tasty treats, and there isn't ALWAYS some handy gang of Klingons to lift us over them.  (Though the times it HAS happen were AWESOME!)

So we ALL get frustrated trying to get from here to there, which gets more intense each day.  Bi-peds have achy feet and knees, wheelies have sore arms and blistered thumbs.   It’s hard not to take it out on ANYTHING or ANYONE that happens to (or is perceived to) slow the process.  It is said that those of the geek populace have a firmer grasp on the laws of physics, so here are some applications for us wheelies that might not have been considered by the able bodied.

-       Going uphill is triply difficult when we have to stop/start (due to the actions of folks in front of us) and momentum is lost. If you see a floundering wheelie and wish to help, ASK FIRST.  It’s not ok to assume and then push us like a piece of furniture.  Also grabbing our chairs to push without notice is the top cause of getting a spoke through a finger. 

-       Likewise, going downhill IS easy, but we assume you do not wish us to run you over.  You don't have brake lights and our hands ARE our brakes.  In addition, pretending to jump out in front of us, or worse ACTUALLY jumping in front of a downhill wheelchair is not only stupid, but is bound to get someone REALLY hurt.

-       It’s fine to wait like everyone else for a turn in the elevators.  However, giving up and taking the stairs isn't really an option for us.  (Though it is true I've been known to take an escalator or three, much to dismay of security, most wheelies can’t)   Endless full cars of folks "going down to go up" etc just screws it up for everyone.   If no one is willing give up their place for a wheelie it is NOT ok TO LAUGH AT US while they do it.  If you see such a situation and wish to exert a little peer pressure, we would be very appreciative.

-       Understand that if you are clogging traffic flow to take a picture, we can't always "just go around". Many ignore the “don’t stop in walk ways to take pictures, so I may ignore the “don’t ruin the shot”. 

-       This is the South and so folks like to open doors for one another. In the politeness be sure to stand on the outside portion and not in the entry way itself.  Also watch that the entire chair has cleared the door before you let go.

-       In crowds our eyes can either be on the ground watching out for YOUR collective toes (as you need them much more than we do) OR watching out for pointy fairy wings and other sparkly/furry appendages that litter the path. NOT both!  (Trust me, you’d rather we hit your wings/tail/costume piece than your toes because that sh*t hurts!)  If we bump into you we do not require that you gasp in horror that you have crippled us NOR do we do it on purpose. Standard politeness applies to us all, and when it's my bad, I apologize.  Our mobility devices do not make us saints or idiots (and heavens above NOT INSPIRATIONAL).   
 
-       Also remember that while the bi-pedal often have MANY choices of a bathroom stall, we usually only get ONE.  It's fine to use them if we are not about, but when we are, we should be allowed to be the next one in there.  

Those of us who are more Con savvy do try to travel with our own bi-pedal helpers and know there are perks for them as well.  Some of us have extra storage via built in packs or undercarriage shelves.  (Ideal for carrying pocket programs, vendor purchases and extra liquor, just sayin')  Our "rock star parking" passes can be quite handy when space competition gets fierce.  A lot of us know the "secret" elevator route to the Food Court and I always share my cab back to the hotel after a late night partying with Jedis, Star Fleet, and Alternate History aficionados.  
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All in all, I want to say that we are disabled, but what handicaps us, most often, is the environment. As we watch out for you, please think look down once in a while for us. Lastly, rolling on carpets (and boy is there A LOT of it) is like you’re trying to walk constantly in two feet of loose sand. One crack in a sidewalk, uneven door jam, taped over wire can leave us a heap on the floor.  (Adding in the rum can also be a contributing factor as well)  Which reminds me; FRIENDS don't push FRIENDS in their wheelchairs when they are drunk!  So say we all!

~Dances With Wheels

Writer’s note:  Please understand that these observations are my own, though shared by many of my fellow disabled Dragon Con attendees over the last 26 years.  Every one of these examples HAS happened to us on MULTIPLE occasions.   I offer them in good spirit and apologize if anyone is offended by the words “gimp” “wheelie” “Bi-ped”, “Geek” or “able-bodied”.

Comments

[dulcimeoww.livejournal.com]

I'm recovering from an abdominal surgery, and as such expect to be in a wheelchair part time this year. It's one of those situations where I can walk, but it will cost me walking at another time, but I still need to walk as much as I can, but I need to also not overdo it and set the recovery back. -_-'

What is the etiquette for being a part time wheelchair user? I live in horror of offending someone when I get in and out and it looks like there's nothing wrong with me, but at the same time I want to make life easy for everyone around me and if I CAN use a different bathroom stall or lift my own damn chair over the step (actually, that one may be more difficult as I've been under a lifting restriction for the last two months and my strength is gone), I feel like I ought to do those things and keep traffic moving. I won't have my own bipedal helper, either, because I don't know when/if I'll need the chair. Is there a protocol for soliciting volunteers who want to go to the same place that I do? I am of course willing to wheel myself, but as mentioned my strength is gone so it might be really slow.

[timba.livejournal.com]

Well, for me, I understand sometimes wheelchair use, so if I were to see you getting in and out, I'd prolly assume you weren't totally broken....however, I MIGHT look twice if I saw you LIFTING it (side note: as the child of a Nurse Practicioner and someone whose been there....don't do any lifting after abdominal surgery!)

Honestly, do what you can, don't OVERDO just cause you think that you're not "as" disabled...and if people eyeball you, you can either explain, or roll on your merry way. YOU know that you need your chair, so don't feel bad!

[paidiraiompair.livejournal.com]

As a border gimp (here's a good essay of that term ( http://hoydenabouttown.com/20110813.10393/border-gimps-living-on-the-border/ )

you should be mobile in WHATEVER WAY YOU WANT and to h*ll to those who are ignorant that we are not CONFINED to or BOUND to our chairs.

[cetkat.livejournal.com]

Well, when you think about it, there's really no benefit to faking wheelchair use at DragonCon. It makes it harder to get around, not easier & disability services aren't limited to obvious disabilities.

I for one wouldn't think twice if I saw you get up temporarily. I also think that though I'd have no chance of lifting a wheelchair with someone in it - I could handle pulling an empty one over a step. I think it makes complete sense to attempt to go that way and ask for help.

I have no idea about any volunteer protocol.. but I think that if you can find a single person going to the same panel as you, offering to make them your disability +1 in exchange for pushing you would be fair. Other than being able to sit with a friend, that's really the point of having it.

[cheriedcds.livejournal.com]

you would get two stickers on your badge-- wheelchair and End of Row. If you prefer to wheel into a room, you will be seated in a wheelchair cut out. If you prefer to park and walk in, you will get and end of row seat. We have quite a few people that do that, I have not heard of any problems.

[bheansidhe.livejournal.com]

If you've struck up a conversation with a solo someone, don't be afraid to ask to swap priority seating for the use of their muscles. People are usually happy to volunteer. For example, I provided sighted narration to a non-sighted guest that I was sitting next to (at her request) and was happy to do so.

[paidiraiompair.livejournal.com]

That's because bheansidhe you are AWESOME!!!

[doctoraicha.livejournal.com]

I'm not wheeled, but I often require a cane. The thing is, LOTS of connies have canes, and lots are just decorations. Men are decorative too, but they are also necessary, and I do need that disability services sticker because I cannot stand for hours at a time. Most of the wheeled connies I've met have been brilliant, but I get sick of the gimp-eyed stare I get when sitting in the disability services area outside a panel. Just because I can walk in 1.5" heels doesn't mean I'm scamming the system. Anyway, some of your post applies to us tripedal folk, too, and I thank you for posting. The crowds, especially in the Marriott, are totally insane. (One reason I've spent the last the years at Hilton rather than Marriott is that I can actually access my room fairly quickly even at high elevator use times.)

[dmedicus.livejournal.com]

Right there with you. This will be my first year I have to use disability services and I use a cane. I understand the glares, I look like a relatively healthy 42 year old male, but the looks I get when I park handicap. I am curious to see how I handle this year.

[doctoraicha.livejournal.com]

Most folks are great, actually. I don't mean to imy they aren't. Much more so than the general population. Sill, sometimes people are stupid, especially when they have been drinking. Lucky for me I'm not much for dragon after dark and I'm in bed by midnight or so. Lol.

[dark-blade.livejournal.com]

You'd think that common sense would dictate--assume a cane is needed for support until otherwise informed. Either way, DON'T KNOCK IT OUT FROM UNDER PEOPLE OR GRAB FOR IT.

[melodicblue.livejournal.com]

People have actually done that to you? What turds. If that ever happens again, let me know. That's a big no bueno.

[dark-blade.livejournal.com]

Hopeinfreefall's had more trouble with it than I have, but yes. We've both had people not pay attention and kick or knock one out from beneath us.

[silvers-shadows.livejournal.com]

People knock my stick out deliberately all the time. The most common reason I hear is "I wanted to see if you'd fall".

*facedesk*

[doctoraicha.livejournal.com]

OMFG, right? Ugh, people are so oblivious sometimes.

[glasscannon.livejournal.com]

Chiming in as occasionally tripedal, always disabled person too. I have a rare genetic illness that makes every joint in my body dislocate rather easily -- I've sneezed and dislocated limbs, for instance. When my hips, knees, ankles, or feet are bothering me but my shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hands are holding up pretty well, I may use my cane for extra stability and stamina. But when my arms are giving me trouble, my cane will actually do more harm than good, and increase the chances of a dislocation or subluxation. So just because I'm not using a cane doesn't mean I'm not really disabled, or suddenly better. It's just part of managing my illness. It also means there may be times when I really need the grab-bars in the handicap stall but won't have any outward indication of illness or disability. As long as we can all agree not to be judgemental assholes to each other and extend a bit of empathy to our fellow con-goers, I think we'll all do fine. ;)

[doctoraicha.livejournal.com]

yes, this!

In the words of the king of geeks himself, "Don't be a dick." I always add my own collolary:

"Don't be a dick; because that shit adds up."

[paidiraiompair.livejournal.com]

Please see my comment above and GIMP HOWEVER YOU WANT!!

[elsabroso.livejournal.com]

Confession: I have been one of those jerks that jumped in front of a wheelchair-bound person to snag what was clearly their spot in an elevator. To my small credit, I didn't see them and as soon as my husband (who HAD seen them) hollered for me to jump back off, I felt like a total ass. After that the people in the elevator made room for the wheelchair to board and it turned out all right in the end.

I am still embarrassed about doing that.

And anybody that laughs at a handicap person trying to get on is getting hauled out and thrown into the nearest sarlacc pit.

[archersangel.livejournal.com]

while we're confessing things;
in 2010 at my last dragon-con, in the process of rushing to the bathroom (it was an emergency!) i almost tripped over a man in a wheelchair. i apologized then & later publicly here in a thread about stories from the con that year. and if he or someone he might know (anyone hear a story about a guy in wheelchair almost getting flattened by a chubby brunette with glasses wearing a white shirt after the scott bakula panel that year?) is reading this, i apologize again.

i still feel bad.

[dark-blade.livejournal.com]

Every year, I tell myself that I will just say fuck it and run into the idiots who deliberately* jump in front of me on a slope to play chicken.

Invariably, the only times I manage to remember to override the shoulder-rending, skin-tearing reflexive STOP is when I'm on a steep sidewalk that a collision would possibly end up throwing me out into traffic, or at minimum overturn my chair.

Sigh.



*Note: Deliberately means said person sees me coming and makes the conscious decision to get into my path and then STAYS there, or leaps back and forth repeatedly.

[paldin43.livejournal.com]

Remind me to build you a jerk catcher for the front of the chair.. perhaps with blades..or something pointy.

[dancing-darling.livejournal.com]

As a Deaf con-goer I definitely understand and look out for my fellow "gimps" at the event. I also get looks because people try to talk to me (especially from behind) and I simply can't hear them!

[paldin43.livejournal.com]

No drunk driving got it..

[andrew norton (from livejournal.com)]

Can I just add a plea from some volunteers. In some of the smaller rooms, Disabled people aren't so common, and panel seating is 'more informal'. Now, while we can see someone come in with a wheelchair (it's kinda obvious) and help, those who are less 'obvious' Really shouldn't be shy in at least attracting a volunteers information. We can't tell someone who needs help or a priority seat a lot of the time so please LET US KNOW. Don't suffer in silence, or get upset. Wave a stick in the air, Prod a rotten stinking filthy Fitty to get someone. (and I know what disability is like to an extent, I've arthritic legs, and I'm mostly blind in one eye; to most con goers I look like a regular guy with glasses)

[lanikei.livejournal.com]

I try to be aware of chairs, canes, and scooters, but I have had a few negative experiences as well. We can all stand to be more politely vocal about our needs.

The biggest one though... please please PLEASE be aware of escalators. We nearly had a hugely dangerous pileup one year because a scooter had parked itself in front of a down escalator. I can bowl through a person on 2 legs if it comes to that, and not much damage is likely to be done to either of us. But I can't go THROUGH the scooter or OVER the scooter. I certainly understand that sometimes you're stuck behind others, but maybe give the escalators a wider berth if you can't quickly move out of the way of the steady stream of folks. (I'm also short and had no way of SEEING the hold up until the last possible second which added to the stress and meant I couldn't be polite about it.)

I would also like to add that crowds are a challenge for everyone and that being wheeled doesn't mean you can make the crowd part for you. Sometimes we all have to go at the measured pace of zombies. If lack of momentum is the issue - something I hadn't considered, but makes perfect sense! - I'm certain there's a gallant lad (or lass) standing within easy reach who won't mind pushing you for a bit to give your arms a rest while we crawl through the crowded hallways.

[paidiraiompair.livejournal.com]

IF that gallant lad or lass ASKS US before they start said pushing, then that is fine. We are NOT asking for parted crowds, and I don't think it would matter WHAT was blocking the escalator, NO ONE should be doing that.

[lanikei.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately some folks DO start rolling through faster than the crowds around them. As noted, no one is perfect, and I can certainly understand the momentum issue now that someone has pointed it out to me.

As for the escalator, no one SHOULD do it, plenty of people do. But for safety's sake I can holler and shove a person out of the way, the scooter is... much heavier and a harder fall for everyone involved.

There is bad behavior at the Con on all sides, I like to assme most of it is not intentional but merely the result of exhaustion, distraction, or accidental ignorance of our surroundings and those around us. (Ooh! Shiny! Is that Shatner?!)

I tried to keep my post as respectful as possible while still alerting the Wheelies to the probably unintentional hazards I have encountered personally, just as the OP educated us Bipeds.

Few of us are used to the kinds of crowding we encounter at the Con, and our best bet is to remain aware and politely vocal about our needs. So yes, I would certainly expect someone to ask before they touched my person or yours/your chair.