Dude, Where's My Toilet Cubicle?

Woah, woah! HOLD ON DUDE. You mean only handicapped people can use handicapped toilets?

Ex-cons, educators, and now the disabled are the latest victims of Wendy/Xiaxue's poison tongue, and even though she claims her scathing remarks are reserved for two individuals, her tone seems to betray a more general disdain for these unfortunate folks.

It all started with her supposed conversation with her brother. Apparently, her brother saw someone getting an earful from a disabled man after he was caught trying to use a disabled cubicle. To his credit, Wendy's brother thought the guy got what he deserved, but Wendy (being Wendy) had to be controversial, as usual.

The man stopped at the handicapped toilet instead of the normal male toilet, because well...
1) it is nearer afterall
2) maybe he shares my love for handicapped toilets because they are so freaking spacious and usually has your own mirror and wash basin! Coolness!

I don't know what the fuck is this person's problem, but he shouted at the innocent man who opened his door:

"You come inside here for what, you are not even handicapped!" and etc scoldings.

Woah, woah! HOLD ON DUDE. You mean only handicapped people can use handicapped toilets?

You mean, the handicapped can use the other cubicles then?

She was equally unhappy that a male friend of hers got the same blow dryer treatment for using a disabled cubicle in the cinema.

Another one was my friend who was using a cineleisure handicapped toilet... When he walked out, he was severely lectured by a man who was wheel-chair bound, the latter chiding him for making him (latter) wait.

I don't know if it is the same grumpy, crazy person who did these two scoldings, but if it is not, then it seems a little too much of a coincidence.
How come people have this notion that only the disabled can use facilities for the disabled?

*Roll eyes*

So tell me ... our government spent millions of taxpayers' money to build so many facilities for the physically disabled, and only they are allowed to use it?

Oh, excuse me for going down the slope instead of the stairs, will you? I shouldn't have. MRT lifts - don't use it, cannot use it. Use the escalator instead.

WTF is this?

I don't know how much the government spent on such facilities (don't care either, 'cos I'm not writing a thesis here), but if Wendy really thinks they spent millions, then maybe she can direct me to her source? And by the way, MRT lifts can be used by others, including old folks who may have difficulty making their way up the stairs or escalators. As a matter of fact, until recently, most of the MRT stations aren't exactly accessible to people requiring wheelchairs; many public places (including tourist attractions) still aren't.

Sure, if I SEE that you are physically disabled, and you need to use the handicapped toilet, then yes, obviously I will let you use it and go use a normal toilet.

Of course, it wouldn't look good if she didn't. But what if she's already inside? Can she see through the cubicle walls to know that someone's waiting to use it. And even so, is she really going to move her butt (literally), apologise, and let the person use it instead?

Don't even go near the issue of handicapped parking lots. That is different, because waiting for a parking lot is not a matter of 2 minutes.

They're not. It's not a matter of waiting time; it's a matter of princple.

As far as I am concerned, you have a physical disability - and that is where you have a disadvantage. Your bladder is working fine isn't it? So you wait, just like normal people do, when there is a queue for the toilet. The rest of us queue up to use a toilet - I don't see why the disabled should be any different.

So a person's disabled, but his bladder must still be working fine, right?

Diabetes can damage the nerves controlling bladder function; it can also lead to limb amputations. I'm no expert in this area (okay, I suck *grin*), but you don't need to be a doctor to know that not everyone who's physically disabled is free of other illnesses. And even if it isn't the case, she didn't have to make such callous remarks.

And finally:

Pissed with unreasonable people. What pisses me off more is when the society at large condones bad behavior when it comes from supposedly piteous people. So what, handicapped have the rights to be unreasonable meh? If I ever break my leg (choy!) I think I shall use my crutch to anyhow whack anyone who comes near my MRT lift.

Between inconveniencing a disabled person (and still insist you've done no wrong) and getting chided for doing so, which is more unreasonable? The answer's pretty obvious, unless you're Wendy. Also, did she have to belittle the issue (and these people's plight) with her lame joke about breaking a leg?

Come to think of it, maybe she should just go ahead and break a leg after all. It might help her appreciate better the sort of difficulties these "supposedly piteous people" go through everyday in their lives.


Wendy obviously thinks that the disabled are too "privileged"--especially when she asks "why the disabled should be any different". What she doesn't realise (intentionally or otherwise) is that these people are very much "under-privileged" in most things people like herself take for granted. They have difficulties landing jobs available to normal people; they have problems getting around; those with families to take care of have to shoulder the psychological and emotional burdens; most already feel ostracised by their own society even without people like Wendy making them feel even smaller.

What may be "expensive" facilities to Wendy are, to these people, the simple things that make their lives more normal.

And while we're at toilet cubicles, there's only one cubicle reserved for them in every toilet, so why deny them even of that? It's disgrace that Wendy thinks they should just keep quiet and wait their turn.



Oh well, it's nice to know our government's call for a more caring society is heeded; and it's even more heartening to know that Singapore's "oldest blogger" and "ultimate expert" has done her part to support the cause by writing such a mentally-challenged piece of social commentary... Now if only it were "mentally challenging" instead. =)



nb: Really, I should stop blogging at ungodly hours... -_-