Tom Rightmer wrote in a message to Barbara McNay:
 > everything is working in good order. There are times, though, when
 > it can take me two minutes to unbuckle and physically get out of the
 > car.
 BM> I wonder if we should shatter his complacency more by telling him what
 BM> an effort it is to get *into* the car?  It thecop who wants to
 > comandeer my car wants me top move any faster than that, he is going
 > to have to physically pull me from the car.
 TR> There are many times that high speed and all the stuff you
 TR> see in the movies is not necessary. Chances are, the police
 TR> officer might even ask you to drive and have you stop the
 TR> car well out of danger. A portion of this discussion seems
 TR> to indicate that police officers have no compassion or
 TR> understanding for people with disabilities, and that would
 TR> be incorrect. I might not even be able to drive your car,
 TR> depending on any special controls or devices that may be
 TR> installed in your vehicle. For the right reasons and the
 TR> right cause, your messages indicate you would do everything
 TR> you could physically do to help. I've never heard of a
 TR> police officer who jerked a disabled person out of their car
 TR> and dumped them in the street to commandeer their vehicle.
 TR> You have to remember that commandeering a vehicle is a very
 TR> rare situation to begin with. Your chances are probably 1 in
 TR> 10 million that this situation would ever come up for you,
 TR> like winning a lottery.
 TR> I've been very fortunate to only have several unpleasant
 TR> experiences with disabled people in my 21+ years of duty.
 TR> The vast majority of my contacts with disabled people have
 TR> been very pleasant. I've had the advantage of having several
 TR> very close friends who are disabled, and I have different
 TR> thoughts about disabled people than the average person. I
 TR> consider them to be differently abled, not disabled. In my
 TR> observations, God has given strengths and positive traits
 TR> that overshadow the disability, thus the term "differently
 TR> abled". I learned this from a young man who became angry
 TR> when people would call him disabled; yet he was partially
 TR> paralyzed, in a wheelchair, and almost blind. I can't speak
 TR> for all police officers, but I would bet that the vast
 TR> majority of them do have compassion for differently abled
 TR> people. I will now probably be accused of being patronizing
 TR> toward differently abled people, but I really don't care.
No problem there Tom.
What Barbara and I are getting at is the "tone" of the responses certain 
individuals gave that appear to indicate they expect us to leap out of our 
car, salute three times and give praise to the Almighty that we were so 
blessed as to be chosen to have our property taken in a cavalier fashion.
I have no objection to giving any and all possible assistance to law 
enforcement personnel, and do not mind some discomfort while doing so.
I remember onetime when I stood in a driving rain, wearing a wearing a vest 
and waving a flare to help direct traffic on a flooded portion of a major 
highway.
I was there, help was needed, and I volunteered.
I was there for over four hours that afternoon, and I was frozen and tired 
when I finally got home.
And I am sure you know how nerve wracking directing traffic can be.  ;-))
Alan
Team OS/2,
Fidonet 1:107/101, ibmNET 40:4371/101, OS2NET 80:135/15
internet: alanrackmill@mindspring.com
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