Where were the good people?

Did you see the video footage filmed by Channel 5 news on the day of the Supreme Court ruling in the so-called wheelchair v buggy case?

Kerdesan Gallardo was subjected to horrendous treatment from mainly one passenger, with another joining in at the end. They made it sound like Kerdesan was holding everyone up and they treated her like she was less  valuable than an empty buggy. I am sure that most people were horrified when they saw it.

How that lady managed to keep her composure, let alone bravely board that bus, I do not know. I am not sure that I would have had her strength.

But I also haven’t lived her life. This isn’t the first time this has happened to her and she knows it will not be the last. Plus, she had somewhere to go and there is just one space on the bus that she can use.

But the part which horrified me most wasn’t the woman being awful, nor the man who joined in. Nor was it the person who had so thoughtlessly stored an empty buggy in “the wheelchair space” before heading upstairs with their two children.

The part which really horrified me was that NOBODY stepped forward to say that these people were in the wrong.

NOBODY stepped forward to say that it was most certainly not Kerdesan Gallardo who was holding up the bus but the person who had thoughtlessly used “the wheelchair space” as a storage area.

What have we come to when we quietly sit by and ignore a situation where a person is being bullied in full view?

I appreciate that it would take great courage for one lone person to speak up, but how many people were on that bus? If even half of them spoke up for what is right, Kerdesan could have boarded that bus comfortably, just like anyone else expects to.

For I am sure that there were a great many good people on that bus.

Maybe they were afraid of that woman who was already treating Kerdesan so awfully?

Maybe they were afraid she would start on them?

There are a lot of spaces on the bus for an able bodied person, yet only one that a wheelchair user can use.

There is no “equality” in access to public transport. Equality would mean an equal ability to board the bus as a walking person and when there is just one space a wheelchair user can use, surely we should all be making sure it is available to them?

If you are on a bus and a wheelchair user is trying to board but can’t, give a smile to the person obstructing the space and offer to help them move. If there is unattended luggage or an empty buggy in the space, move it.

Do something to assist before anyone begins to behave as this passenger did.

Maybe we don’t need a Supreme Court ruling after all?

We just need good people to help each other.

 

 

 

 

 

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday

Published by Ordinary Hopes

Cape-less Crusader, changing the world one toilet at a time.

34 thoughts on “Where were the good people?”

  1. I completely agree – it startled me that this had to become a court ruling when surely common sense would dictate that one is more important than the other? This kind of stuff infuriates me. Hopefully in future people will stop and think before doing.

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  2. Bus drivers will drive past a wheelchair user because they do not want the hassle from the pushchair users…..There will never be a way of policing this until people do as you say and try to be helpful to everyone on the bus….

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    1. It has happened to us, twice in a row. Neither time did the driver even ask anyone to move. They just opened the door, called out “there’s a buggy in the wheelchair space” and drove off.

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      1. Yes, that is my most frequent experience too. The SC ruling indicates now that drivers have to at least ask the owner of the buggy to move or fold it, and try not to take no for an answer (meaning ask twice?) so tbh I don’t think very much will change as long as people are more concerned with getting from A to B as fast as possible.

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  3. People want to travel without having to think about anyone else and unfortunately thats the way a lot of people are now. All it would have taken was two seconds for someone to fold the buggy or the lady having thought about others before even getting on board with a double buggy then leaving it to go upstairs in the first place. Sadly we live in a society where everyone thinks of themselves first and not others and that is just plain and simply wrong. 😦

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  5. It’s awful. I’m a public transport user and I have never used a buggy space, when my children were small I carried them in a Mei tai because pushchairs on buses are a nightmare for a start, and I didn’t like to take the wherlchair space. It’s not rocket science it’s called being thoughtful and it’s a shame more people don’t do it!

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  9. I can’t believe she was treated that way! I bet these are the kind of people who wouldn’t even give up their seat to an elderly person on a bus. Unbelievable.

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  10. It’s awful I can’t believe that no one stepped in. I just can’t do that if I see something I think is wrong or that someone is in need I will offer to help. The way I see it, if I ever was in that position I would want someone to help me.

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  12. I’m actually in shock that someone could be as rude and horrible to someone who can’t help their situation. The fact that not even the bus driver could stand up for her was ridiculous. Yes, parents can’t lose their rights to transport, however we fundamentally cannot stand for members of society being treated in such a way simply for wanting to do something many of us take for granted.

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  14. It makes me angry just watching that video. This man and woman obviously have no idea what Equality means. They obviously don’t give a monkeys about anyone else. I’m angry that no one else stood up to them, because now they will believe that they were in the right. If someone stood up to them it would show them that they are wrong, and hopefully they wouldn’t do it again. But now they probably will.

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    1. If several people had just stepped forward and spoken up, many more on that bus would have learned how to do it for the future.

      Sitting back and ignoring it when abuse is happening in front of you is just not okay. I hope all those people on the bus have had time to think about how they might have done it differently.

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  17. Its such a shame that people are too scared to stand up and help. We are all too bothered about others opinions / being noticed / being singled out! All it takes is one good person to make a difference to someones day x
    #KCACOLS

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  20. It is a shame people seem to be frightened to stand up for others as it makes them uncomfortable. I find it very strange that no one helped and the poor lady was even put in this situation in the first place.
    #KCACOLS

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  21. I spent time in a wheelchair after a nasty bout of viral meningitis and it was a good learning curve for me. Previously I had tried not to stare at people as I thought it would offend them, then when I found myself in a chair no one would look at me, people in shops would talk to the person pushing me not me. I am sure all of the reasoning’s were not negative similarly different people want different things, I have since always smiled and struck up conversations with people with mobility problems since and have had some amazing conversation and made friends, though there has been one or two that ask if I am doing it for pity, or they think I am talking the mick. Perhaps there were good people on the bus but they were afraid of offending her? In the end we are all people with individual thoughts and feelings. It makes me sad to think no one helped and then sadder still that I am not surprised . I teach my son to respect everyone and to be kind and helpful I hope those lessons will mean one day he will be someone on a bus who helps. Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next Sunday xx

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  23. Wow. I hadn’t heard about this case before but it just makes me want to cry for her. What horrible treatment. What did she do to deserve being treated so poorly because of her disability? I agree with what you have to say! Let’s be the difference and stand up for people when wrong is being done! I have to admit this would be really hard for me because i’m quite timid and i really hate and have a hard time with people getting mad at me, and I really dislike that about myself. But I’m certainly going to be more aware and try harder!!!

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    1. You are clearly one of the good people. Thank you.

      I am also quite a timid person. I find campaigning for accessibility really stressful but I know my discomfort is nothing compared to that of my son and hundreds of thousands of other people in this country. And that is why I keep forcing myself to keep trying.

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    1. It was shocking to watch it. We are lucky to have a lot of good people around us but we have also experienced some less than kind people. I hope more people will watch that video and think about how they would support someone if they witnessed a similar situation.

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  26. See I’d heard this story mentioned but I try not to engage or follow the news as it usually upsets or depresses me. Possibly naive and foolish but I love my bubble and it keeps me happy and anxiety free.

    I am stunned now I know what it was all about tho! I mean wtf is wrong with that woman! The lady in the wheelchair has absolutely no other choice. No choice! The pushchair can just be folded up! And I agree with you. Why on earth did no one come to the woman’s assistance! This world worries me.

    #KCACOLS

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  27. Pingback: Accessibility Stories 02.17 – our inclusive home

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