Barbara McNay wrote in a message to Tom Rightmer:
 > There are many times that high speed and all the stuff
 > you see in the movies
 > is not necessary. Chances are, the police officer
 > might even ask you to drive
 > and have you stop the car well out of danger. A
 > portion of this discussion
 > seems to indicate that police officers have no
 > compassion or understanding
 > for people with disabilities, and that would be
 > incorrect. I might not even
 BM> Something that needs to be said is that the great majority
 BM> of people are either helpful or neutral.  However, there are
 BM> times when people's attempts at being helpful can be a
 BM> serious hazard to my safety.  Take, for example, those doors
 BM> in commercial establishments which swing open when you push,
 BM> then are closed by a pneumatic closer.  Ever become familiar
 BM> with one with a strong resistance to being pushed, then
 BM> almost fall to the floor one day when it had been adjusted
 BM> to much less resistance, unknown to you?  Or yanked open, if
 BM> it's a solid restroom door, by somebody who just happened to
 BM> be leaving?  If the distance is quite short and there are no
 BM> obstacles to my doing so, I often go into a place with my
 BM> cane.  Often, people will see me coming, and hold the door
 BM> for me, which is all right.  Negotiating such doors becomes
 BM> hazardous when people rush up behind me and push the door
 BM> open at the very moment when I am expecting, and *depending
 BM> upon* its resistance.  People who rush up from the other
 BM> side and yank the door open at the critical moment present
 BM> the same hazard.  I simply haven't the agility that most
 BM> people have to recover from the sudden loss of support. 
 BM> There are other hazardous situations, but I think this
 BM> suffices to show that in spite of people's best intentions,
 BM> we with disabilities have to look out for ourselves.
And that doesn't take into account those who will knock you over in their 
attempt to get in front of youso that they CAN hold the door open for you.
Talk about the cure being worse than the disease.  ;-))
Alan
Team OS/2,
Fidonet 1:107/101, ibmNET 40:4371/101, OS2NET 80:135/15
internet: alanrackmill@mindspring.com
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