Columns Dec 25, 2013 at 4:00 am

Healthy Bodies, Shriveled Souls

Comments

1
Shockingly some people are assholes...and they ride the bus.
2
"To all the asses on the bus: What is wrong with you?"

Back surgery? Torn ligament in knee? A hundred other possible things? Suck it up you whiny bitch.
3
Most of the time people happily do give up their seats IME. This is from metro's website:

If the priority seats are full and you need to sit at the front of the bus, tell the driver. The driver will ask riders in the priority area to make a seat available for you, however, customers are not required to move. Remember, some disabilities are not visible and no disability has priority over another.


http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/accessi…
4
#2 nailed it. How the fuck does the IA know what medical issues the people already in the seats have? Typical whiny noise, like the handful of deaf whiners bitching about a guy who's been signing for the Men's Choir for THIRTY FUCKING YEARS... Suck it up Anonymous Douche Bag.
5
Seattle is the ONLY city I've ever been where fully grown men will not offer their seat in a full bus to an obviously pregnant or infirm or old woman. I've seen it hundreds of times, but only in Seattle.

You assholes wouldn't last 30 minutes in the south.
6
Have you been out there lately? Everyone has a cane, a crutch, a Jazzy, a brace, or a cast! And about 60 percent of them really just need a treadmill and a healthy diet. You cant walk down the street anymore without running into to someone on prozac, percaset or some other anti-psychotic when about 80 percent of them need to put down the liquor, drugs and cigarettes. I have no doubt that if this person weren't faking it, someone would have gotten out of their seat. I've seen it many times riding the bus and the ones that complain the most end up being the system abusing fakers!
7
You can't assume that bodies are healthy just because they look such, you whiney bitch. Take better care of your own self and you won't find yourself needing to rely upon the kindness of strangers.
8
From the south: Have you been riding public transportation in the Atlanta area, lately? No one is getting up to let the disabled/pregnant women/disabled women, etc. sit down! I'm disabled, living in a suburb of Atlanta and while it's true that there's more caring folks in the South than in Seattle, it's not all peaches and cream. I also lived in Seattle for eleven years and far too many people there do tend to be assholes when it comes to getting up and letting a disabled person sit down. It's true, one can ask the bus driver for help but WHY should one have to?! God, people, get a fucking clue, already!

Either too many people from the Pacific Northwest are moving to the Atlanta area or, worse, people in general are just letting their asshole inner selves come forth. Sometimes, when I'm fairly certain I won't be shot or stabbed, I'll say something. "Hey, move over!" usually works.
9
Seattlebb: Oh, I do so hope you fall down a flight of stairs and break everything--including your stupid big head. Maybe then you'll have a little compassion for other people. Who the fuck are you to be telling people to exercise? Who died and made you King of the damn universe? I bet you're a Repugnantcan, too.
10
Ooops! In my righteous anger, I got that asshat's name wrong. It was to Seattlebcc that I directed my vitriol. Apologies to all and sundry.
11
What is funny to me is that, instead of having empathy for an individual whom, for a segment of their life is suffering from a disability, the folks here call her a "whiny bitch" and start trying to make excuses for individuals they never even laid eyes on to attempt to ascertain whether or not they may have some hidden disability. I can tell you some of the disabled I have seen in the front-of-bus disabled seating. Let see, there's "too high to function properly cuz I just scored some monster trees" slacker guy, "I'd stand up but my pants may fall the rest of the way down" little peckerhead, "I can't stand up and hold the rail because then I won't be able to text/play my game/post on Fb" lame girl, and my favorite; dirty, stinking, passed out and sleeping one off homeless dude.

The best part about most of your comments is that you are all in fact the whiny bitches. I guarantee in the same position as IA you'd be complaining or making some other sort of passive-aggressive statements or genral attitude that you have been inconvenienced by the above menagerie of bus riding morons.

Take a lesson... STOP BEING DOUCHES and join the human raise. People want community not a bunch of islands unto themselves... FUCKERS...
12
@8DrummerGrrl:More caring folks in the south, huh? Seriously? Do you hear yourself? THE SOUTH? The south where they fought for slavery? The south, that gives us Duck Dynasty and the Effing bible belt. Hey bitch, I'll take rude people on metro over THE SOUTH any day. So please stay there, and don't come back to my awesome,righteous city ever. Thanks.
13
@I anon: It sucks, but everybody has their own shit. Their life probably sucks as much as yours, so maybe instead of whining, just find a seat, and assume your life is easier than anyone who's not mind reading what you want. Everyone in the world is not your mother. It's not our job to look out for you. Learn to look out for yourself.
14
Sorry, but most of the people who plop down in the priority seats move just fine. They're mostly young, clueless and entitled. If someone is pregnant, has a leg brace or is older and/or noticeably infirm, it's a good bet they need the seat more than those with all the "hidden challenges," i.e., entitlement issues. Common courtesy is increasingly uncommon. So, getting with the zeitgeist of the times, here's a nice big fuck you to all you calling this chick a whiny bitch.
15
i thought this was going to be about the yoga-butts (i'll be back for that one). i'm happy to defer to the elderly, the lame, and the ladies.. unless you scowl at me and expect it. you sound kind of scowly.
16
@4, 6, and 7,

If they have hidden disabilities, they're more than welcome to say such to her. They say jack shit because they're not supposed to be sitting there, and they know it.

@15,

Sure you do.

@5,

Men are far less likely to give up their seats than women are. This is true in the South and the North, and is especially true of white men. If Seattle has a particular problem with people not giving up their seats, the city's race demographics are more likely to blame, not our geographical location.
17
Is the disabled person female? Is this from the illustration? I've read this a couple of times and find nothing to suggest gender. Maybe that is just something we naturally assume though in good old fashioned progressive Seattle.
18
In NYC we have the same problem, you gotta just say something. If they won't move then shame them loudly. Then, and this is the most important step: SHUT THE FUCK UP. Nothing is worse than the muttering jerk who cares THAT much about a damn seat.
19
I was on the bus one day, back seat that runs length ways. This little cunt and her boyfriend sitting on the back seat. She has her purse and jacket on the length ways seat in front of her. A man gets on the bus snd walks back and asks if he can sit there, please pick up your jacket and bag.. she says no, they were there first snd she calls him an old fucking lazy indian... shes like 17 years old. The little bitch.
21
I'm glad this IA has been posted because this is a problem. I know a bunch of people sitting in the priority seats don't have hidden injuries because they board the same time as me and I see them twirling around and hopping up and down excitedly. Then when the bus comes they are the quickest ones so they get to the front of the line and take the priority seating. If I am in the front of the bus and I see this shit I tell the 20 year olds to give their seat up when someone elderly or injured gets on the bus. I first wait for them to make the right decision but if they don't get up then I open my mouth. I don't like to be a busy body but over the years I've seen this getting worse and worse. Parents, please teach your kids consideration.
22
Keshmeshi said:
If they have hidden disabilities, they're more than welcome to say such to her. They say jack shit because they're not supposed to be sitting there, and they know it.
Why should they have to say anything? Their health issue is none of your fucking business.
23
#16, yes absolutely, though never for your punk ass.
24
#16, keep drinking the tea. jeez man.
25
of course that was back when I lived in your shit town. fuck you seattle.
26
No. 6 nailed it and no.11 is kinda right, the rest I don't really know, I've been rideing Metro for 11 years and have seen/analysed it all, aside from the people who ride it back and forth to work there's some real shitbags on the bus,,,,HOWEVER....a lot of these "disabled" people have this "entitled" air about them, like everyone owes them everything....well fuck them we don't...I'm disabled and don;t even give a flying fuck about the seats,,,if the fuckbags don't want to move they can take those disabled seats and stick them up they're ass
27
And fuck no. 25 "bakatya" if you don't like Seattle why the fuck are you reading our newspaper.. fuck you and whatever fuckhole you live in now
28
#25 My guess is that you live in Sedro Wooley with your parents because you're broke and don't have a job. You use your Mom's computer and look at porn when she's at the grocery store and act like a badass online. You are a loser. Go find a job, quit jacking off to porn on your MOTHERS computer, and last but not least, quit posting your lame, limp wristed, drooling criticism of a City that you probably never lived in and hopefully never will. Go away!
29
1) As someone who has been riding the bus for 20+ years in Seattle, IA's point is valid. This happens all the time. People are distracted by their devices to they don't pay attention. Some are just assholes who don't care.

2) You can't always tell when someone is disabled or for whatever reason needs to sit, or use other accommodations for the disabled, like the bus lift or the tunnel elevator.
30
#28 is clear a typical elitist Cap Hill ranger...
31
WOW.
32
Wow, this comments thread has totally taken a turn for the douche.

As a (relatively) young and (until recently) healthy person who's had various mobility issues over the past 18 months (degenerative joint disease), I feel the letter writer's pain. It really sucks to be in pain and not be able to sit down. I find that my physical pain often gets expressed as anger (or tears), which may explain the writer's attitude.

At the same time, I don't necessarily look disabled at first glance -- I have a limp, but my leg supports aren't super obvious and most days I don't use a cane -- and I've gotten dirty looks more than once from folks who want my seat.

On days that I know I'm going to be in a lot of pain, I carry a cane. It helps with the getting around, but mostly it's because a cane -- like crutches or a walker -- is a very clear sign that its bearer has mobility issues. I find that people are a lot more willing to give up their seat or hold the door open if I'm carrying a cane.

If I know that I absolutely must sit down and there are no seats available, I ask the driver to make a request for the priority seating area. This almost always gets the job done. If it doesn't, I suck it up and stand. It's not fun, but hey, it's better than walking.
33
I have a LOT of health problems and I need to sit down. I use a cane. I recently went home to visit (NYC) for 10 days and took the subway a LOT. Many, many people offered me a seat, and I never had to stand. Not even once.

I feel for IA.
34
Really? Not one of you mentioned ACCESS? you can use THEM to get around town instead of bitching like a bunch of school kids playing "king of the hill" or should I say,"king of the seat" on metro busses...that is what we pay taxes for! Here is the website:
http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/accessi…
Now,stop whining you can't get a seat and start whining at the city council for more ACCESS busses...
35
@34, such a beacon of community you are for informing folks about the Access bus system.

I mean, as if the stigma of disability isn't bad enough. These folks aren't looking for untoward special treatment...they are looking for a little understanding when they get on a fucking metro bus. Those placards posted above the front seats may just be suggestions, but obviously douche nozzles such as you can't take the hint.

I don't understand how we haven't devolved to complete anarchy at this point. It is where we are headed though, if we don't want to play nice with other...
36
I am still pretty much speechless after reading the responses to this. It's seriously disturbing how hostile people are to the disabled. I am disabled. I became disabled when living in Seattle. I lived 35 years as an able bodied person so I do, absolutely and positively, know full well how the disabled are treated differently. The comments here are just the tip of the iceberg.

I left Seattle in 2007 and was diagnosed with a progressive, degenerative neuromuscular disease. I returned on vacation in 2009 and was using two canes. One time (and one time only) I attempted to use the bus, in the U-district, and every single priority seat was taken by a college student and not one of them got up. I had to stumble my way past them to make it to the first available seat I could find. I was furious. I was also relatively newly disabled and seriously depressed so I said nothing. Now, if I were able to even get on a regular bus, which I am not, I would raise holy f'in hell with able bodied a-hats sitting in that seating. GET UP AND MOVE YOUR LAZY STUPID INCONSIDERATE BUTT AND BE HAPPY YOU ARE NOT IN ANY WAY SICK OR DISABLED. Seriously? And of course the passive-aggressive plague that infects Seattle just makes situations like this so much worse.

As for ACCESS, you can't just call an ACCESS bus. You must apply for paratransit and it is a process - typically involving a long application process and being seen by a doctor (not your own doctor who is well versed in your physical limitations, but a doctor chosen by the transportation organization - in Seattle's case King County Metro).

Seriously, this is not the kind of society I want to live in - where people just believe that everyone is faking it or taking what someone else thinks is theirs. We have one planet and we all have to live together, so freaking man up and start treating each other with respect and kindness and consideration.
37
I left Seattle in 2007 and was diagnosed with a progressive, degenerative neuromuscular disease.
Cry me a river. I'm sure you want discounts on everything as well? You're just another entitled yuppersnob.
38
Arthur Zifferelli: Go fuck yourself.
39
fck Zifferelli, you are one dark mf soul....
40
Ziff - I used to think you were funny when you were posting about the malt liquor and cocaine on every article, but you're showing your true self lately and it ain't anywhere near pretty, smart, or funny...I feel for how it must be in your head...
41
Well I just came up with a New Year's Resolution: to stop reading the comments in this fucking column. I need a brain shower.
42
Not all people are assholes, but unfortunately it often appears that way because assholes are typically the loudest or the first ones to speak up.

Granted, the typical asshole who speaks up here, only does so due to the ability to not be identified, another way to put it is if they had to be responsible for what they say, the vast majority would not be an asshole. Plus there is the fact that these letters are anonymous so it can be assumed some of these complaints would never be voiced without the comfort of anonymity.

So what we have is someone saying they repeatedly are left standing on public transportation, that they have a visible medical need and able bodies occupy the reserved for physically disabled seats. Then there are the claims that not all physical disabilities are visible and the typical "second" and "thirds" appearing to agree, confirm, or justify each point of view

so what do we have here, other than a decent online publication that appears far more popular, read, and heavily chimed in upon by public persons when the reality is; a perfect example of the shitty wave of the future where the "new world" media uses an "evolved" when the better word is adapted method to further manipulate and form public opinion to be any opinion they'd prefer it to be, a psychological ponzi scheme of sorts.

But fuck the media and their piss poor understanding and use of all forms of the evolve and or evolution

Fuck the journalism and journoterrorist majors at every state college and university, esp the ones who graduated from the University System in Oregon and Washington

How can they report the truth, when they fail to respect the truth?

They cannot

Perhaps a valid question to ask, since it is obviously going to take years, as in at least a generation before genuine assholes are thinned out of this house of the living, perhaps the appearance of journoterrorists and wannabe assholes stepping up to fill vacant genuine asshole positions is only a symptom of a greater problem

Perhaps the problem is public transportation. If Anonymous routinely rides buses that are filled to standing room only, than either either expansion service or scheduling of service needs to be revisited or brought to the table to re-examine as the 33 and one third years it takes on average to cross or traverse from one generation to the next is 33 years to long in my humble opinion. Since it is obvious the war of words and worlds is still for all intents and purposes, ON, the symptoms are as bad or worse than the disease, I for one vote for points of demarcation that clearly point out places of transfer of responsibility and if there are discrepancies, then give the green light for all out war as opposed to this upper class caucasian male ponzi scheme of maintaining power and control over the minds of the masses (and the females who will also always back those in power who have control)

The truth is they couldn't give a fuck what the public thinks or how far from or in touch with reality said opinion aligns , because THE TRUTH is they couldn't give a flying fuck about what Is rael and what is Not

Their only concern is that they have the power to govern it all, and anyone with any knowledge of the Truth of what Is real is fully aware that that type of attitude is Not serving The People

he is the Last person you could ever want in any government position. Luckily there are those of US who recognize he wasn't The First, and sure as hell won't be The Last.
43
Because when you let the either over-privileged caucasian males govern by lies and manipulation of The People's minds you get the type of shit that happened to the Government of Lane County.

You have a team of three or four seasoned and semi-seasoned journoterroists who single handedly force mold a perceived public opinion which in turn has an effect on the leaders in governmental positions.

The government is not a teet and you are not a baby being first in line at the dispensation of Heaven. The taxes paid by working class are not to fund quarter million dollar web sites which could be hosted for one or two thousand and maintained by volunteers as the typical volunteer can outwork the high paid executives for one reason and one reason only

They care
44
Either = rightwing liars or angry atheist liars
45
Not all disabilities are visible. But people on buses are self-absorbed assholes at the same rate as everyone else in the world, which is too fucking high, for sure.

Please wait...

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