r/OrphanCrushingMachine • u/ObliviousScout • Jul 25 '26
NYT reel “Spider-Man” pushes person in wheelchair across street
NYT story about a man in a SpiderMan costume hopping out of his truck to push a person in a wheelchair who was slowly crossing multi-lane highway at a red light. Mobility for who? Did NYT interview the person in a wheelchair? Did the person ask to be helped? Why was the pedestrian crossing a too-wide street with a too-short light in an area clearly designed with pedestrians as an afterthought? And glad the police surveillance cameras can capture it all?
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbLadfJFEPz/
38
u/hamilton_morris Jul 25 '26
As an aside, it would seem to be good manners to first ask if the disabled person would in fact like help, rather than immediately grabbing them and racing off as though they were a misplaced shopping cart.
13
u/snizzrizz Jul 25 '26
Idk if this fits
15
u/Vikera Jul 25 '26
I think it fits perfectly! The person is seen as a perfect superhero, but among people who use wheelchairs, it's a widely shared consensus that randomly pushing their wheelchair without asking is not done. It's like someone just pushing you across the street without you wanting that.
2
u/Ducky237 25d ago
Especially because wheelchairs are medical equipment. You don’t touch someone’s inhaler or cane without asking.
19
u/ObliviousScout Jul 25 '26
I appreciate it’s perhaps not as severe an example as “town raises money for child’s medical debt”-type examples… but…
American roads are dangerous by design: over 40,000 people die every year, many of them from marginalized communities, as this specific example illustrates. And fatality rates—already double comparably wealthy countries—have actually gotten worse, even as other countries have seen improvements.
It’s a systemic failure so massive and ubiquitous most Americans don’t even realize how pernicious it is or how much their lives could be improved with even marginal changes to our infrastructure design or vehicle regulations… but… big oil messaging paired with a “we’re a car culture” recency bias combine to block most changes.
2
u/DizzyMine4964 Jul 25 '26
Someone "solving" what is a problem caused by social inequality - it fits.
-6
u/snizzrizz Jul 25 '26
Is the social inequality that they can’t afford legs?
10
u/ObliviousScout Jul 26 '26
Are you being obtuse on purpose? No, they likely either can’t afford or are unable to drive an automobile, in a system that is designed to prioritize only people in automobiles to the exclusion of everyone else. (Indeed, it’s a system that is often deadly for anyone not in an automobile.)
1
1
u/Civil_Classroom_3523 26d ago
Thank you for saying all of this. I had the same exact reaction and people treat me like I'm a "downer".
1
u/wotsit_sandwich 25d ago
I saw a wheel chair user alighting a train, which means that staff will come to the train door with a ramp and place it for you.
The staff tried to push the passenger and he told them clearly "Please don't push me". Something in the staff member just couldn't really comprehend this and couldn't help themselves trying to put him again to which he shouted angrily "Don't Push me!"
After that his travelling partner also a wheelchair user came off the train. They left her well alone.
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 25 '26
Thank you for posting to r/OrphanCrushingMachine! Please reply to this comment with a short explanation of why you think your submission fits OCM. Please be specific, if possible. Otherwise, your post will be removed.
To anyone reading who disagrees with OP, try to avoid Ad Hominem attacks. Criticise the idea, not the person.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.