I want to start out with a story. So yesterday I was walking into my high school building. We have, as most schools should, a handicap door, where you can push a button and the door will automatically open. I think it is a wonderful invention, however I do not think it is for anyone who is not handicapped. What bothers me is that so many people use that door. When there are 5 other perfectly fine ones, that only take about 3 seconds to pull open and walk through. But no, instead of actually opening a door by themselves, most students will hit the handicapped door button and wait for the door to open, which takes quite a bit more time than if one was to do it them self. I don’t understand why there is a line in the morning to get in through the handicapped door, and none of the other doors are being used. If everyone that was using that door was not capable of opening one them self, then yes, I would understand. The problem is, all of them are able to open a door on their own. It makes no sense to me why people won’t take the time out to open a door on their own. They take for granted that they can at least open a door. When there are people out there that would love a chance to be able to stand up and walk to a door and open it themselves. Instead, they have to use the handicapped door. They don’t get the opportunity to even open a door on their own, and yet those who do don’t take advantage of it.
Good story right? Well what about another one? So I think this one took place a couple of days ago. I was walking to the stairs, since we now have a three story high school, and I noticed that the elevator was packed. Yes, that’s what I said, the elevator was packed full of people. Not that shocking? Well what is, is that not a single one of them was unable to walk up a flight of stairs. There was no one in a wheelchair, no one in a cast, and no one on crutches in that elevator. Not a single person in there. What amazes me, is that these people were so lazy that they wouldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs. And again, it seems unfair when there are people who would love a chance to walk up stairs on their own. It drives me crazy to have to see these things happening. And I have found, through my countless hours of study, which I suppose I haven’t done all at once, but over the last three years, this has been occurring almost every day, that what the problem boils down to is, laziness.
I just amazes me. Is it like this everywhere? A few weeks ago I personally experience this, because I was on crutches, and I had to wait a over 5 minutes until I just pushed my way through the door. It is only one door, and I needed to go out, but every person who is capable of holding a door open for themselves was coming in through that door, and being on crutches it is hard to hold a door open. I was very frustrated. I am just in awe that people can be so rude and uncaring. I just don't know what else to say. When did we get to be so lazy, so uncaring, so...rude?
I notice many people using the handicapped doors at college. In fact, there's a group on facebook with a name like "you know you're a college student when..." and one of them is "you push the handicapped button to open a door." I agree people are lazy, but I can't say that I'm not lazy myself. My high school also had three floors, and the elevator was only for handicapped people who had a special key for it, so we had to walk up the stairs. It wasn't that bad but I always remember saying things like "man they really need escalators." I think in college it gets worse for some people since you have to walk further to classes. I find myself using the elevator to reach my dorm on the 3rd floor when my backpack is extremely heavy or if I'm really tired. But if there was a handicapped person waiting in line or wanting to get in the elevator I would let them through. I'm lazy but I do realize that people have it much worse off.
Oh my gosh--I'm glad that I'm not the only one completely annoyed by this. EVERYONE at my college uses the handicapped doors. Seriously, there is like a wall of doors, and a LINE of students backed up at the handicapped door. It's like...is it really that much effort to open the door? Hold the knob...turn...pull.
And the elevator thing too! Well, I'm glad that I'm not alone. I was starting to think that everybody at my school was just so lazy.
Interesting topic though!
Allison
"Be the change you want to see in the world" ~Mahatma Gandhi
Oh, I have to add something. Even though I am lazy, I have not once used the handicapped doors
Oh and cool topic, too, I have to add.
I'm one of those people ONLY when there is no one else around that has to actually use the door. I look around to see if anyone that is meant to use that door and is going to use it, and if there isn't I use it. But if there is a flight of stairs vs. a packed elevator it will be here I come stairs. But it's not because I'm lazy I just think it's really cool to have such technology that doors AUTOMATICALLY open at your leisure.
--I am nothing special, just the combined efforts of every
person I've ever met and every book I've ever read.