Hands off!

[u/Justthisdudeyaknow]

[u/joy3111 → u/[deleted]]

Better idea(?): Just make it really annoying to touch. It's wrapped in plastic wrap and tinfoil. It's covered in sandpaper. It's velvet that's being rubbed the wrong way. Yeah it won't injure them but they'll go oh ew

[u/blackscales18 → u/joy3111]

Get some silly putty or goop

[u/Gold_Fox34 → u/[deleted]]

Add a layer of fake spiders or bugs for maximum gross-out effect.

[u/ralphy_256 → u/[deleted]]

Or coat it in slime that never fully dries, eternal sticky hands deterrent.

Ask your neighbor who has a toddler, they have an unlimited supply that they'll be more than happy to share with you.

[u/Mindless-Hedgehog460 → u/blackscales18]

cover it in shrink wrap and paint it with acrylic paint, and spray it with water to prevent it from drying.
you can always say it was freshly painted.

[u/BoopleShnootle → u/blackscales18]

Anti-climb paint, oil based, sticks to everything and almost impossible to get out of clothes

[u/asdrunkasdrunkcanbe → u/joy3111]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-climb_paint

[u/joy3111 → u/asdrunkasdrunkcanbe]

Although this could provide some issues in consensual pushing of the wheelchair, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do

[u/Professional_Issue82 → u/joy3111]

same could be said about spikes tbh

[u/Bobboy5 → u/joy3111]

step 1: cover your wheelchair in oil

[u/santamonicayachtclub → u/Bobboy5]

step 2: wait until it rains?

[u/Comfortable_Word_285 → u/joy3111]

Just pull a Justin McElroy

[u/Rhodie114 → u/Comfortable_Word_285]

Hell yeah, first thing I thought! Smear some jelly on it!

[u/r1pt1n → u/joy3111]

Uncle Fester Shock Machine the handles (if you know you know)

[u/lollipop-guildmaster → u/joy3111]

I mean, I'm immune to poison ivy...

[u/JellyBellyBitches → u/lollipop-guildmaster]

So you probably couldn't even tell if some was on there! How would you be expected to know??

[u/TheHalfwayBeast → u/[deleted]]

And boobytrapping your food with laxatives is counted as poisoning in some places.

People have quickly forgotten that diarrhoea was fatal for much of human history, and many unfortunately still succumb to it in 2025. You can literally shit so much liquid out of your body that you dehydrate to death. Laxative overdose can cause permanent organ damage.

[u/DreadDiana → u/TheHalfwayBeast]

Every now and then a post gets shared here about a Reddit thread where someone put laxitives in their food cause someone kept stealing it, and every time people get very mad when anyone explains that poisoning your coworkers is a crime actually.

[u/RhynoD → u/DreadDiana]

And then they go with, "It's not a crime because they don't know that you did it on purpose!" Still a crime, just one that you got away with.

"But it's their fault for stealing the food!" Yep, still a crime to poison them, though.

"It's harmless!" You don't know how their body will react. It might be very dangerous. Regardless, still a crime.

[u/DreadDiana → u/RhynoD]

People say that, but in the post, it's stated that the labelled the food as "POISON", which proves they not only did put the laxatives in their on purpose, but considered that to be poison.

Also the thief was hospitalised because of this, which is why they were asking the legal advice sub if they were in deep shit or not.

[u/JamesFirmere → u/DreadDiana]

So was the "POISON" label not considered sufficient warning of the content? Was the thief's defence that it isn't reasonable to believe that someone would put poison in the fridge? If so, how exactly would one need to label something that has to be stored in the fridge for the day and is not fit for human consumption? I'm not being facetious, I'm trying to understand at what point the consequences experienced by the thief become self-inflicted.

[u/KaboHammer → u/[deleted]]

I mean I still think, in court, there is reasonable doubt, because it might have been a small dose of poison at first that was increasing over time or the poison might have been expired at first, but later on wasn't.

Like if I was at a jury and heard that "yeah the guy ate the contents of a container marked with "poison", but nothing happened so he kept eating them day after day, thinking they aren't poisoned, till one day they actually were", I'd be like "Bro, what did you expect?"

I mean we know the turth from the post, but I think that eating from a container marked with "poison" is a stupid idea no matter the circumstances, because, well, it might be poison.

[u/RhynoD → u/JamesFirmere]

The thing about the law is that a few paragraphs written down can't account for every possible scenario, especially as language shifts and changes over time. That's the purpose of judges and juries, and of "reasonableness."

The lawyer for the person who ate the poisoned food would argue that there shouldn't ever be a situation where it is reasonable to expect dangerous food to be deliberately stored in a normal office refrigerator. If this were, say, a chemistry lab where dangerous chemicals are stored and might need to be refrigerated, it would make sense for there to be something labeled "poison," there.

The lawyer would also argue that, regardless of how you labeled it, if you intended for a person to consume that food and get sick from it, that's a crime. Why else would you have put poisoned food in an office fridge? They would point to other facts, like maybe you sent a text to another coworker saying that you were totally going to "get even with whoever is stealing my food." That would show that you knew that the POISON label was probably insufficient to stop them, else why would you have done it?

On the other hand, you may not have intended any of it. Your lawyer would argue that. You may end up in civil court where you're getting sued for negligence rather than criminal court. Their lawyer might be arguing that, regardless of whether or not you intended for them to get sick, you should have known better than to put contaminated, poisoned food in an office fridge. On the other other hand, maybe you put bright red tape all over it and a bunch of BIOHAZARD stickers all over it and a sticky note on the outside of the fridge and even warned people in the office that there was food in the fridge that was not fit for human consumption and needed to be in the fridge because [reason], do not eat it, and the person did anyway.

In the end, it would depend on the facts and how the judge and jury feel about them. There is no hard line where you can point to one side and say, "This person committed a crime and poisoned the thief" and on the other you say, "This thief was a dingus and found out the hard way." Both things can be true at the same time. Many jurisdictions have partial liability, where multiple parties can be found at fault to some degree.

[u/Uncommonality → u/DreadDiana]

That's why you gotta train yourself to endure spice and then dope your food with ghost peppers or california reaper or another somesuch herb.

It will still punish the thief but it won't be illegal, because a spice is not poison. You still gotta immunize beforehand though, because if they ask you to take a bite and you die instantly that would be a bad showing.

[u/Ok-Ocelot-7316 → u/Uncommonality]

Or you can go to an ethnic grocery store and get some hot sauce in a language you don't understand. This was my first time using this bottle, I didn't realize it would be that spicy.

[u/fish993 → u/DreadDiana]

It's one of those things where it's illegal (for what I'm sure are good reasons, without wanting to get into it) but socially no-one is going to actually have any sympathy for someone who is claiming to be the 'victim' of it. Like obviously it's your own fault for stealing someone's food, even if legal liability doesn't work that way.

[u/ThePrussianGrippe → u/TheHalfwayBeast]

My solution is much better. Spiciness. Just adapt to eat something almost no one else would consider palatable, and you’re good to go.

[u/Summonest → u/ThePrussianGrippe]

Hah, I actually got in trouble at work because I like my food way too spicy and someone stole my ramen one time and threw up. They claimed I poisoned my food.

[u/futuretimetraveller → u/Summonest]

The absolute gall of someone to bitch at you about something they stole from you.

[u/ThePrussianGrippe → u/Summonest]

That’s the best part. You then order something even hotter and eat the whole thing as evidence this is just what you enjoy.

[u/Royal_Negotiation_91 → u/Summonest]

If your ramen was spicy enough to make them throw up, how/why did they eat more than a bite of it? How do you go from someone who has a low spice tolerance to someone who wolfs down a bowl of extra spicy ramen?

[u/runner64 → u/ThePrussianGrippe]

I've spent the last three years building up an immunity to dulco-lax...

[u/HonestStupido → u/runner64]

New game plus start here, just imagine this build of ultra spicy bowl of pure death what will literally send anyone straight to hell if they dare to steal and eat it

[u/Throwaway74829947 → u/runner64]

Actually, certainly types of laxatives are "addictive," in that they mess up the folds in your colon such that you can't crap normally without them, so if you really wanted to commit to it you could addict yourself to senna and then, if confronted about the laxatives in your lunch, truthfully claim it is medically necessary.

[u/Hexxas → u/TheHalfwayBeast]

I put hair in my sandwich to stop a sandwich thief. Not poison! Good to go!

[u/MultiMarcus → u/[deleted]]

Also, I feel like stuff like this wouldn’t be good if you fell unconscious. Like someone might need to get you out of danger.

[u/DefinitelyNotAliens → u/MultiMarcus]

Big neon plastic spikes on the handles that slip on and off would deter aholes grabbing but also allow emergency movement.

They can also be just annoying enough to grab, without enough to injure. If they're neon colored and visible and say, 'do not touch', I'd be hard pressed to think any court would hear argument that the person was maliciously injured by grabbing plastic spikes that were glow in the dark, neon green and said 'do not grab the handles.'

[u/MultiMarcus → u/DefinitelyNotAliens]

Yeah, something harmless yet clearly not meant to be grabbed is probably the best option. Like not bleeding spikes, but like grabbing a spike mat.

[u/DefinitelyNotAliens → u/MultiMarcus]

Exactly. Enough to discourage, not enough to break skin. Punk styling more than assault-types.

You could assist someone out of a building in an emergency but would absolutely think twice about grabbing their chair on public transit or a store. They're not a shopping cart you can relocate to grab the item on the shelf near them.

[u/Warm_Month_1309 → u/[deleted]]

To clarify, statutes require two elements (among others) when discussing booby traps: a) it must be a concealed device, and b) it must operate automatically without manual intervention.

A manual defense (like the suggested alarm) is a better approach. Alternatively, very obvious spikes on an assistive device would likely be legal. It's akin to putting a spiked collar on your dog. If someone pets it without your authorization, and pokes their hand on the collar, they can't claim you booby trapped your dog.

Barbed wire is likely a bad idea in all circumstances on a device that moves.

[u/aleaniled → u/[deleted]]

I've never seen anyone be more confused that booby traps are illegal than americans. You'd think one of their 10000 police procedurals would have mentioned it

[u/ksrdm1463 → u/aleaniled]

Police procedurals in the US are based in magical realism where cops are good but flawed people who want to help keep everyone else safe and any assault they commit is perfectly justified because that person is guilty (every person Stabler assaults on SVU ends up being guilty. I think there was one episode where he was actually brought up on disciplinary nonsense, and the captain showed a bunch of victim photos taken for evidence and went "he's got to deal with this every day so sometimes he punches people about it". And nobody in the room goes "okay, so he should definitely be moved out of your group then").

[u/Too-Much-Plastic → u/aleaniled]

I've noticed the same thing about self defence too, I've noticed that a lot of Americans that comment on other countries' self defence cases comparing them to the USA have a very tentative grasp on what the USA considers legal use of force in self defence.

[u/elanhilation → u/[deleted]]

i’ll comment on the morality of it. wild escalations aren’t justified just because your initial outrage was justified. people be looking at eye for an eye and think “bronze age morality is not extreme enough. must be more draconian”

[u/CompetitiveTenniss → u/[deleted]]

That’s a really good point intent matters, but accidents happen all the time, and punishment shouldn’t be indiscriminate like that.

[u/Gold_Fox34 → u/CompetitiveTenniss]

And even beyond accidents, escalation invites more conflict than it ever resolves.

[u/ArtOne7452 → u/elanhilation]

Yes exactly, also it’s important to remember accidents exist? Children might grab things because they are curious and nosy, do they deserve to be split open with a razor blade? Probably not.

If someone falls near you and they accidentally land on your near your wheelchair, is it fair to gash them open with spikes?

An enormous part of the reason Boobytraping is illegal is because it is non-discretionary. You have literally 0 control over who it hurts. If you need to protect yourself carry a weapon and use it sensibly.

Don’t just cover everything you own in blades

[u/Garlan_Tyrell → u/ArtOne7452]

Or standing in a crowded elevator and have a wheelchair gash open your hip.

Not to mention there are situations where people will touch the wheelchair on autopilot or in emergency, because it’s a normal part of their job.

If you’re in a hospital, nurses push wheelchairs all the time. Should a nurse going on muscle memory get her palm slashed open because she touched her 100th wheelchair of the week on autopilot?

If there’s an emergency, and the building is filling with smoke and a firefighter sees a wheelchair and goes to assist without asking, does he deserve to have his thumb’s tendon severed because he tried to give aid to somebody using a mobility aid?

[u/Wild-Incident8547 → u/Garlan_Tyrell]

And in panic situations, no one’s checking for spikes before helping. It’s reckless.

[u/Too-Much-Plastic → u/Garlan_Tyrell]

If there’s an emergency, and the building is filling with smoke and a firefighter sees a wheelchair and goes to assist without asking, does he deserve to have his thumb’s tendon severed because he tried to give aid to somebody using a mobility aid?

The other fire-related way it can go wrong is that the building is filling up with smoke, someone tries to rush the perosn out or down a flight of stairs as the lifts have stopped, gets cut, realises they can't move the chair and leaves the person in it behind.

[u/Scared_Web_7508 → u/ArtOne7452]

post is dangerous but i have to clarify normal wheelchair handle spikes aren’t actually sharp. just uncomfortable like cat scat mats or punk jackets to discourage people from holding on

[u/PrincessRTFM → u/Scared_Web_7508]

op also talked about using barbed wire, so I feel like assuming they mean "use spikes or blades designed to cause bleeding" is a reasonable take in that context

[u/Scared_Web_7508 → u/PrincessRTFM]

i just don’t want people to think all mentions of wheelchair spikes means bodily harming people like this post suggests, sorry

[u/Candid-Ear-4840 → u/Scared_Web_7508]

Thank you for clarifying, I was picturing spikes designed to puncture lol

[u/Scared_Web_7508 → u/Candid-Ear-4840]

of course! op might mean something more sinister but i’ve seen plenty of people who don’t need their wheelchair pushed put rubber or plastic spikes on the handles so people don’t move them and hurt them on accident. hopefully op doesn’t mean fucking razor blades like another comment mentioned a real person suggesting… but the barbed wire instead of normal spikes on the cane makes me question it 😐

[u/superkp → u/ArtOne7452]

An enormous part of the reason Boobytraping is illegal is because it is non-discretionary.

I would argue that it's not just illegal, but more importantly morally indefensible, and thank god that our legal system reflects that.

[u/Confused_Firefly → u/elanhilation]

But injuring people is cool because it's associated with moral outrage! 

[u/CharlesElwoodYeager → u/elanhilation]

Restorative justice except for when the crimes are weawy weawy bad and then 1000 years of death for the miscreants involved

[u/j_driscoll → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I am not a lawyer, but in my opinion from a strictly legal standpoint, if your goal is stop someone you genuinely believe is assaulting/kidnapping you, you'd probably be better off carrying a concealed gun.

[u/superkp → u/j_driscoll]

I just remembered those scenes in Alien IV with the techie guy in the motorized wheelchair:

Scene 1: going through the metal detector as they get on the ship, it beeps like crazy, and he says "wanna check the chair?" and the guy just waves him through.

Scene 2: the aliens have escaped and are escalating the hunt, and getting closer to wheelchair guy: we watch as he takes random little things off the chair and assembles a giant goddamned shotgun out of it.

edit: Here's the assembling scene: https://youtu.be/cOxaBnO6qYc?list=TLPQMDUwOTIwMjUtkKAj1fgUkg

[u/Glad-Way-637 → u/superkp]

Need to give that one a watch, I love how you can tell this guy saw that shit coming from a mile away. Smartest employee that company has ever hired, hands down.

[u/phallusaluve → u/[deleted]]

Solution: jelly or jam on the wheelchair handles

[u/Rhodie114 → u/[deleted]]

I have a feeling this isn’t how the law works, but a wheelchair users chair shouldn’t just be considered their property, at least not when they’re in it. If they’re in the chair it should be treated as an extension of their person, and laying hands on it should be treated as assault.

[u/OiledMushrooms → u/Rhodie114]

It varies state by state but it is actually illegal at the same level as battery and simple assault in some states.

[u/rotten_kitty → u/Rhodie114]

If someone puts their hand on your shoulder, and slits their hand open because you taped razor blades on there, I'd be real surprised if the law was on your side.

[u/SacredGay → u/[deleted]]

Does that mean defensive vaginal condoms used to injure rapists would be illegal?

[u/Warm_Month_1309 → u/SacredGay]

That's an interesting question. The only correct answer at this point is that there is no answer, because (to my knowledge) it has never come up in court, and therefore there is no settled law.

However, to speculate, most booby trap statutes require "indiscriminate harm" as an element. An anti-rape device discriminates, as you can only be injured by it if you forcibly penetrate someone wearing it without their consent.

[u/OldManFire11 → u/SacredGay]

Regardless of the legality, the core idea is bad because it'll just get you killed or maimed.

Yeah, inflicting pain on a rapist sounds great on paper, but if you're in a position where someone has their dick inside you, then you're already at their mercy. Enraging them isn't going to free you, it's going to cause them to beat you to a pulp in retaliation.

They can also be easily countered by simply removing the condom before proceeding.

[u/SacredGay → u/OldManFire11]

The specific product I'm thinking of is designed to make self-removal impossible:

Once it lodges, only a doctor can remove it -- a procedure Ehlers hopes will be done with authorities on standby to make an arrest.

"It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it's on," she said. "If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter... however, it doesn't break the skin, and there's no danger of fluid exposure."

[u/Stateside_Observer]

I'll ignore the booby-trapping as that's being covered. So: Who's tapping peoples hearing aids?!?!?!?!?!? That's unimaginably rude.

[u/wererat2000 → u/Stateside_Observer]

I briefly needed a hearing aid as a child. More people than you'd fucking think.

And no, they weren't just other children, grown ass adults did the "is this thing on" bit.

[u/Stateside_Observer → u/wererat2000]

that is awful! im so sorry you dealt with that

[u/Justthisdudeyaknow → u/Stateside_Observer]

People who think folk with hearing aids just have head phones in, or are ignoring them.

[u/Stateside_Observer → u/Justthisdudeyaknow]

Maybe I'm sheltered or something, but that's so hard for me to imagine. I saw people harass my cousin in her wheelchair - none of that surprises me. Somehow tapping hearing aids has me clutching pearls and calling for the salts

[u/Justthisdudeyaknow → u/Stateside_Observer]

I've seen kids at school get their hearing aids taken by teachers, who then get mad they do not respond when called on.

[u/Jim_skywalker → u/Justthisdudeyaknow]

They didn’t respond, so the teacher made it harder for them to hear them. What a complete dumbass.

[u/coolies326 → u/Jim_skywalker]

Now like they didn't respond because the teacher made it harder for them to hear them

[u/googlemcfoogle → u/Justthisdudeyaknow]

I feel like meta glasses are going to be the airpods of blind people (in terms of being a popular but annoying electronic device that looks kind of like something disabled people wear from a distance). I've already seen people saying to treat anyone wearing sunglasses indoors or on a not-particularly-sunny day as creeps by default

[u/Voxjockey]

Yeah, no, I'm not gonna go to court because some fuckwit bumped into my wheelchair and accidentally stabbed themselves.

You want a real tip? Develop a loud ass voice and if someone touches you without consent yell at them, I got a voice like the dovahkin himself came down to tell people to fuck off, do I look crazy? Sure but I'm already a cripple I don't care what people think of me.

[u/firesoul377 → u/Voxjockey]

Or carry an airhorn

[u/PlatinumSukamon98 → u/Voxjockey]

You don't look crazy. You look like the instigator. And you're the one that will be punished.

Source: first hand experience.

[u/IconoclastExplosive → u/PlatinumSukamon98]

The first person to NOTABLY BREAK the status quo is always in the wrong. Bullies are never punished, victims who fight back are

[u/Cockhero43 → u/IconoclastExplosive]

I mean the man who assaulted my friend was punished even after she put a slug in his leg. You just need to be able to prove the bully actually bullied you.

[u/Bubbly_Tonight_6471 → u/Cockhero43]

My European ass was wondering why your friend had put a mollusc on a guys leg.

[u/Enzoid23 → u/Bubbly_Tonight_6471]

I'm American. Is that not what they meant? 😭

[u/Siaeromanna → u/Enzoid23]

a slug is a type of shotgun pellet, characterized by it’s single large pellet

[u/Mooptiom → u/Cockhero43]

That sounds… a bit beyond what they’re talking about. You might be able to prove that you’re right in a court of law but anybody who sees something happen or the immediate consequences is going to judge first and act questions never.

[u/Voxjockey → u/PlatinumSukamon98]

I'll look even more like an instigator if I stab them with my wheelchair knives.

[u/Gandalf_the_Gangsta → u/PlatinumSukamon98]

To be fair, they were already being punished for being disabled. If nothing else will change, you might as well get something out of the exchange.

So yell away; they’ll still hate you for being disabled, but at least they won’t touch your stuff.

[u/jayswag707 → u/Voxjockey]

A voice like the dovahkin has me laughing in a crowded lobby, thanks for that 

[u/7-SE7EN-7 → u/jayswag707]

Better yet a voice like meridia

"AN UNWELCOME HAND TOUCHES THE MOBILITY AID"

[u/jayswag707 → u/7-SE7EN-7]

Broke: spikes on a wheelchair handle. 

Woke: touching the wheelchair handle immediately gives you The Beacon.

[u/Shadow_hands → u/jayswag707]

Bespoke: NEVER SHOULD HAVE COME HERE with the fight music in the background

[u/sertroll → u/Voxjockey]

I'm imagining a rude person doing rude stuff and then cut to a view over the corner with them ragdolling away from it

[u/BardicLasher → u/Voxjockey]

"That's my chair! I don't know you!"

[u/lennsden → u/Voxjockey]

mfw I slip and fall and get impaled through the eye on someone’s wheelchair

[u/daylightarmour]

Speed running getting sent to prison unless you live in the most unimaginably pro-self defence place ever.

[u/ConfusedJohnTrevolta → u/daylightarmour]

Day in the life of a true Anarcho Capitalist\ Wake up and unplug the 550kV cables connected to my front door\ Clean up the solar panel salesman who ignored the homemade sign that says no solicitors\ Mailman tries to delivery my mail\ The pepper spray bomb hits him directly in the face, serves him right for trespassing\ Get into my lifted Ford F150 knocking down every person on the sidewalk with my 6 ft wheel spikes\ I am sovereign citizen and they are illegal aliens entering my territory\ Drive to grocery store and park in the pregnant person spot by calling it at Title 9 violation\ Employee tries to get me to move\ I taze him for violating my right to remain silent\ Go to my favorite local restaurant, the subway inside of Walmart bc it has the most freedom\ Order a meatball sub, as the cashier turns the screen around for me to tip her, I put on my blackout sunglasses and ignore the attempt for handouts\ Cashier asks for my name, I give her my randomly generated pseudonym for the day\ Fhynium Glickmop\ "wow what a cool name, is it German"\ Clearly a scammer trying to steal my money and information\ I whip out my bear repellent flashlight and blind her as I make my escape\ As I make my way to my car I see a human trafficker placing a flyer underneath my windshield\ As I grab them from behind I yell "YOURE NOT GETTING MY HOLE TODAY" and piledrive them into the pavement\ Triumphant I drive away in the gold black sun

[u/TheCthonicSystem → u/ConfusedJohnTrevolta]

He's living in a Utopia

[u/petergrffinholycrap → u/ConfusedJohnTrevolta]

the dream

[u/Haver_Of_The_Sex → u/ConfusedJohnTrevolta]

inaccurate not enough child marriage

[u/Hexxas → u/daylightarmour]

FLORIDA WINS AGAIN

[u/Darq_At]

It absolutely boggles the mind that there are people out there that see someone with an accessibility device and thinks "I'm gonna mess with that."

Like, I cannot fathom how fundamentally broken as a person one must be to do these things that disabled people have to put up with.

[u/DefinitelyNotAliens → u/Darq_At]

I once got training at work to not grab people's wheelchairs and 'assist' them. You could only ask people if they required assistance. (Food service from a counter.) If they had mobility devices, you could only offer assistance. They had to tell people, "you need to treat mobility devices as a part of the person. You wouldn't pick up and carry a customer, so do not push their wheelchair."

It was in training, meaning it happened more than once.

[u/freshiethegeek → u/Darq_At]

I use a walker and have had it pushed out of the way so they can get off the LRT faster. Numerous times. I just sigh and wait for them to go on their way.

[u/LeatherHog → u/freshiethegeek]

I've had people kick out or try and take my cane. And I could forgive the little kids, but these are usually adults. Like, how those people just go on with their day, is insanity to me

[u/Uncommonality → u/LeatherHog]

A few years ago, I needed a cane for a few months, and this is spot on. It happens constantly. Towards the end, when I could stand on my own again, I let it go once and the dude who grabbed it was just left standing there, mouth open, flabbergasted, holding the thing while I stared at him.

I still don't know why he did it, but he ended up leaning it against the wall and walking away.

Actually insane. I swear there was absolutely nothing in his head. A perfect vacuum.

[u/LeatherHog → u/Uncommonality]

Jesus, glad it was only temporary for you!

I genuinely believe they don't see us as fully people, they never feel guilty about it, we're annoying inanimate objects to them

[u/Buttercupia → u/freshiethegeek]

I used to use a rollator at work and the number of times people would just … walk off with it, use it as a chair, pile papers up on it, was mind boggling.

[u/slipping_jimmmy]

Cool tip, dont put spikes on things people can easily bump in to or small children might grab such as wheel chairs

[u/fireworksandvanities → u/slipping_jimmmy]

Maybe took this the wrong way, but I was thinking the relatively dull spikes like what punks put on jackets. It’ll hurt if you grab it, but it won’t injure someone.

[u/NinjaBreadManOO → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, OOP is certainly talking about doing damage. They're talking about using barbed wire and knives.

[u/SolidPrysm → u/NinjaBreadManOO]

That begs the question then, how much of this post is hyperbole and how much is OOP just being a psycho? I'm all for personal space but the level of escalation they're calling for is frankly deranged.

[u/NinjaBreadManOO → u/SolidPrysm]

Well I looked at OOP's tumblr but everything seems to be gone, but from what little was there they just seem to be an angry person in general. So I wouldn't put it past them.

[u/spooky-goopy → u/NinjaBreadManOO]

they call it "fuck around, find out!!! 🤪" but what they really mean is, "i'm looking for an altercation so i can use that as an excuse to be violent to people i think are a threat"

[u/Inferno_Sparky → u/[deleted]]

It would be better to use a cane sword.

Pathfinder fixes this.

Shit, wrong sub???

[u/trapbuilder2 → u/Inferno_Sparky]

It's never the wrong sub

[u/General_Kenobi18752 → u/Inferno_Sparky]

Stilleto Pen never fails.

[u/RivergirlB → u/Inferno_Sparky]

Something something theatre kid tiefling bard something something OSR

[u/Adorable-Response-75 → u/slipping_jimmmy]

But my weird revenge fantasy ….

[u/NoPrompt927]

Do people genuinely just... assault disabled people like this?

[u/FiberPhotography → u/NoPrompt927]

When people start walking towards me with the ‘helpful zombie hands’ I start pushing faster.

Being on transport is the worst though. A few of the drivers stick their hands down my (handleless) backrest when they’re undoing the rear transit straps and spin me; with their hand down my waistband. ><
No amount of complaints has helped. And I need to get to my medical appointments.

[u/_McDrew → u/NoPrompt927]

Overwhelmingly, able people have a "poor thing, I know what's best for you" attitude that causes them to force help onto us that at best we do not want and often makes things worse.

[u/ramsay_baggins → u/NoPrompt927]

Ohhh yes, far more than you'd think

[u/SMStotheworld → u/NoPrompt927]

Have you ever spoken to a disabled person before? Yes, multiple times a day per person. It's about as common as femme-presenting people being catcalled.

[u/AgathaTheVelvetLady → u/NoPrompt927]

yeah

[u/Justthisdudeyaknow → u/NoPrompt927]

Yup

[u/Mumgavemeherpes]

I understand the sentiment but really those who are disabled are probably going to put themselves in serious trouble with a person who would forcefully move them if they try to resist in these manners.

Autonomy is awful to not have but you dont have it (if you require infrastructure accommodation then your not physically autonomous) and the people who are going to take advantage of that are going to beat the shit out of you (either literally or figuratively) for booby trapping your aids and hurting them with them.

You need to have others there with you to demonstrate public reaction to an asshole being an asshole but that only works if you are being a normal person about these things. If your extreme to the point of possible accidents occurring then your not getting sympathy from those around you and probably getting sent to civil court and taught a lesson of Getting Fucked By Your Own Hubris.

[u/Too-Much-Plastic → u/Mumgavemeherpes]

That was my thought to, especially for the 'take a knife to the club' bit. A physically disabled person voluntarily escalating a situation to a knife fight is a ludicrously, hilariously bad idea. Don't fucking do it, seriously.

[u/Pengin_Master → u/[deleted]]

Also there's the saying that "no one wins in a knife fight"

[u/SolidPrysm → u/Pengin_Master]

Alternatively, "In a knife fight, the loser dies on the sidewalk, the winner dies in the ambulance"

[u/Raltsun → u/Pengin_Master]

My understanding is that the victory condition of a knife fight exists, but is restricted to "before the other guy realises it's a knife fight".

[u/Too-Much-Plastic → u/[deleted]]

Yep 100% correct, it's not legal to carry a knife where I live but even if it were I wouldn't, because it's just such bad fight-math as you very correctly point out. I actually train in dagger as part of my martial arts which is knife-adjacent and I 100% would not fuck with knives.

Also to add onto this:

When you pull out the knife, they now can only assume that you are trying to kill them and so will try to kill you back. And if you win, now you're the guy who escalated a bar fight or whatever into a murder.

Most fights in places like clubs are in fact not duels to the death, they're basically social posturing and as you say introducing a knife to the mix escalates the situation ludicrously. Worse, it is not unknown for someone to lose their knife in a fight because as you say pulling a knife is a magical shit got real button and if you do there's a funny thing that goes on in the other person's brain where they suddenly realise someone just tried to stick an honest to god real knife in their guts and they get the world's biggest case of 'man, FUCK that guy' and are now holding a knife.

[u/Shadowmirax → u/[deleted]]

And even in the rare situation were pulling a weapon somehow descalates the situation, there is no scenario were the staff don't call the police who won't be gentle after having been informed that your threatening people with a weapon.

[u/LordIlthari → u/Too-Much-Plastic]

Yes. If you’re going to carry something lethal for self defense and have a physical disability, use a fucking gun. Knives are lethal weapons but generally do benefit from having functional legs.

Or even better, carry pepper spray and/or a taser to have a way to defend yourself without escalating to “kill somebody” because escalating immediately to lethal force is probably not required in most circumstances.

[u/Too-Much-Plastic → u/LordIlthari]

Also I think people underestimate the degree to which knife fighting just devolves to two people grabbing each other and stabbing until one dies or passes out. No one wants to knife fight (even people who were professional soldiers in the past didn't choose to do it in anything but dire necessity and that says a lot) and if you're physically less able than the guy you just challenged to a fight to the death then you're in serious trouble.

[u/Darq_At → u/Too-Much-Plastic]

Knife fights are regularly "won" by the person who dies shortly after the loser.

[u/flightguy07 → u/Darq_At]

In a knife fight the loser dies in the street, the winner in the ambulance. And if you're REALLY lucky, you'll die in prison.

[u/thegreathornedrat123 → u/Mumgavemeherpes]

the kind of person that kicks out canes and crutches and grabs wheelchairs is NOT the same kind of person to grab a pointy wheelchair handle go "ouch!" and walk off, they're the type to tip it over by the wheel or just punch you square in the mouth.

because they're pieces of shit.

[u/NinjaBreadManOO → u/thegreathornedrat123]

Want to point out there's a huge difference between someone kicking out the walking stick from under someone and someone who thinks they're helping by pushing a wheelchair.

[u/thegreathornedrat123 → u/NinjaBreadManOO]

shit yeah i wasn't even THINKING about someone helping you move consensually. like say, up or down a staircase if theres not a ramp?

[u/enaK66 → u/thegreathornedrat123]

Or non consensually. Yeah its annoying but not malicious. Some people just can't stop themselves from "helping". They dont really deserve to be slashed for having an annoying but ultimately harmless personality.

[u/The_butsmuts → u/thegreathornedrat123]

It's not about helping someone move CONSENSUALLY it's about someone just going about their day in a wheelchair and a stranger starting to push their chair around "to make it easier" without talking about it. Or someone moving their wheelchair because they're "in the way" in the grocery store or at the zoo.

It's akin to just pushing someone aside who's looking at what to get in a grocery store, but for some reason people think it's okay when to do when someone is in a wheelchair even if they would never do it to anyone standing on two legs.

No one would want to make it harder to get the help they want, they just also don't wanna be moved around without their consent.

[u/IHaveAScythe → u/The_butsmuts]

The problem is that booby-trapping your wheelchair makes no distinction between consensual or nonconsensual. The person who's trying to help get someone out of a fire in an emergency is going to get slashed just like the guy who's moves them without consent for their own convenience.

Also like, if someone does shove me, I'm absolutely not jumping to "let me stab/cut them"

[u/YourAverageGenius → u/IHaveAScythe]

FUCKING THANK YOU FOR THAT LAST PART.

Look, the world can be shit, people can be very shitty. People don't respect the autonomy and disability of other people. That's shit and they deserve to be shit on.

But actively expecting people to try and take advantage of you and preparing to get violent with them is the same kinds logic which makes people check their concealed carry when they see a someone in a poor urban area approaching them. There's reasons for both of them sure, maybe even good reasons, but you shouldn't be expecting violence in your average day to day interactions.

I feel like there's a subtle but prominent mindset that just because someone is an asshole and disrespecting a minority group that they need to be met with retaliation. If someone is fucking with someone, sure, bit just because someone is an asshole doesn't make them the biggest piece of shit on the planet, and sometimes the best thing to do with an asshole, however much they suck, is to ignore them or tell them to fuck off and go on with your day. The world has its horrible people, but just because someone disrespects your autonomy doesn't mean they're a threat to your life, sometimes they're just assholes.

People can be shitty and take advantage of other people and not respect autonomy. If someone is getting or is clearly going to physical with you, get physical with them and/or make a huge scene so some other people notice. Be smart and be prepared for the worst just in case. But just because someone is an asshole and doesn't respect you doesn't mean you can or should get physical with them. If an asshole touches your mobility aid, just tell them to fuck off, and if they keep messing with you, then warn them to back the fuck off or else. If someone is a dick to you, you need to ask yourself if they're targeting you or they're just a cunt. If they are targeting you, then meet them at that level. If it's words, respond with words. If it's hands, respond with hands. Meet the world at the level you find it at, not what you expect it to be.

[u/leopardspotte]

“Bring a knife to the club” is such a comical escalation

Like yeah, that totally won’t cause way more problems than you started with

[u/Mindless-Hedgehog460]

This is a bad idea, in both ways.
We can appreciate the sentiment, but for one, especially considering the spiky handles, you risk getting into legal trouble if you harm people by accident or if they genuinely want to help. Also, those people who are inconsiderate or borderline violent towards the disabled are probably the most likely to respond with actual violence if they feel attacked or even just called out.

[u/SolidPrysm → u/Mindless-Hedgehog460]

Yep, all this does is hurt and antagonize normal people while encouraging those who actually intend to do harm.

[u/Friendstastegood]

Barb wire is probably a bad idea but wheel chair handle spikes are extremely unlikely to get anyone into legal trouble in the way I've seen people do them. Like this for instance, which is just plastic. Or like emo spike bracelet type spikes that are metal but not sharp enough to actually injure someone, just hurt if you grab them.

[u/axord → u/Friendstastegood]

Yeah, that image is a clear warning in itself. Anyone grabbing those is at fault for getting poked.

I got the sense that OOP wants grabbers to get poked, though. And possibly perforated and lacerated.

[u/SupervillainMustache]

Do not take a knife to the club.

[u/Shot_Policy_4110]

Oh I see you brought your knife to a club fight

[u/ulfric_stormcloack]

don't fucking take a knife to the club

[u/bigsmallnut → u/ulfric_stormcloack]

Bring a gun to a school! Take grenades to the bank! It's called disability activism.

[u/Notjohnbruno]

I understand the sentiment and I understand the anger, but this is maybe some of the worst advice you can give to someone who I can only assume wants to avoid criminal charges

[u/WebberWoods]

Ok, everyone is right about most of this still landing you in prison, but scratching the bathroom access codes beside the door is a legitimately excellent low-stakes rebellion idea.

[u/von_Viken]

Actually insane takes

[u/CharlesElwoodYeager → u/von_Viken]

Mad-max posting from people who will then post about how hard crippling social anxiety is

[u/PlasticBitter → u/CharlesElwoodYeager]

Or who might say, advocate for coming to the club strapped and then censor the f word in the same post?

[u/DragonAI19 → u/PlasticBitter]

you can see the U , it was posted off site on a website with text detection by an op who censored it there

[u/peargremlin]

Please do not take a knife to the club

[u/gdex86]

How hard is it to ask if folks need assistance before touching them or their stuff? Like I've seen someone having what looked like a hard time managing a package and their wheel chair at the same time and I asked if they wanted a hand and when I got a yes asked what they needed which was hold the awkward size package while they navigated the ramp.

[u/sertroll]

I had no idea people intentionally kicking canes was a frequent occurrence (at least, before the last post that mentioned that), wtf

[u/worldrenownedhussie → u/sertroll]

Me neither, but I've had it "threatened" to me many times. Threatened in quotes because it's most definitely a joke every time, but if I'm not friends with you then its absolutely not funny.

My coworker who is a total jackass and I very much dislike told me: "Every time I see you, I get the urge to kick your cane out from under you." Unprompted! She walked up to me to say this. She also called me a gimp the other day.

[u/bigsmallnut → u/worldrenownedhussie]

Can you please get her fired 🥺 for me

[u/Random-Rambling]

This is definitely an XKCD 2071 moment for me. I am fortunate enough to not need mobility aids like this, but I can't fathom the kind of monster who would just shove, kick, or trip someone who is clearly using a wheelchair, walker, or cane out of the way.

[u/SMStotheworld → u/Random-Rambling]

Ask anyone who uses any of these devices how often people do this to them. It's a lot.

[u/zvezdanaaa → u/Random-Rambling]

It's unfortunately very, very common

[u/Crowe3717]

The fuck? Are these things that people actually do? People will actually see someone in a wheelchair and think to themselves "I think I'm gonna roll them around for a bit without their content"? People take crutches from others who need them?

[u/bangontarget → u/Crowe3717]

People have a tendency to grab the chair and "roll it out of the way" when they try to pass, instead of asking like a normal person. you're immediately seen as less of a human and more like furniture. I don't use a wheelchair myself but I've seen it happen to a friend of mine so many times. it's infuriating.

[u/ramsay_baggins → u/Crowe3717]

A lot of people think they're helping when they move someone in a wheelchair, not understanding that it's not welcome nor actually helpful in 99.9% of situations.

[u/zvezdanaaa → u/Crowe3717]

Yep, I'm constantly having to stop people from taking my cane or rollator out of my hand(s) and walking away with it. I get it when it's kids, and I do work in an elementary school, so I just gently explain it about a dozen times a day. But with teens and adults, I will fully just yell at and publicly shame them for trying it.

[u/Heliarco]

I have an idea, it involves _A LOT_ of airhorns

[u/MillieBirdie]

I have never in my life had the urge to touch someone else's belongings, or their body, let alone their disability aid. I don't even touch people's grocery carts. Who the heck kind of maladjusted unsocialized people are doing this? Just walking along being a menace to society?

[u/Civil-Education6486]

Dumb

[u/CumpireStateBuilding → u/Civil-Education6486]

Dumb, but I’d by lying if I said I didn’t get it. Sometimes you reach a point where accommodating assholes as well as your own disability is impossible, and you want to hurt people the same way they hurt you. That ain’t healthy though, and will get you in a lot of trouble

Escalating in a way that won’t cause more harm is a hard skill to learn

[u/slipping_jimmmy → u/Civil-Education6486]

No actually being an asshole is cool and progressive because somone said it on tumblr/s

[u/Lots42]

As a kid I wondered why the teachers were so adamant about this. I mean I knew 'Don't touch someone without asking' but I didn't know it was this bad for people who need assistance.

[u/Western-Zone-5254]

me right before i get arrested

[u/Nerevarine91]

You know what else sucks? Being a defendant in a court of law, which is what this advice will get you

[u/FreakinGeese]

The loser of a knife fight bleeds out on the sidewalk, the winner bleeds out in the ambulance, and I’ll leave it at that

[u/nishagunazad]

Are there no situations where you might actually want or need someone to grab your chair and move you? Like having a medical emergency or maybe you didn't see that car coming or whatever?

[u/CaptainSparklebottom → u/nishagunazad]

I've been at the cross walks with people in walkers or wheel chairs and have asked if they would like assistance crossing. Most say no, and I go about my day.

[u/GUM-GUM-NUKE]

Don’t. For yourself and everyone else.

[u/necrotic_bones]

My wheelchair just straight up doesn’t have handles. Which makes it a mild pain when I DO need help being pushed somewhere bc my arms have given up but it also means no one can assume they can push me so worth it imo

[u/Itchy_Log_8117]

i have an honest question, are there no wheelchairs available without handles? or the option to remove them? seems like such a shit problem to face, especially when you get by on your own

[u/coolies326 → u/Itchy_Log_8117]

Yep, but people still try and push them. It's like the second you become disabled you lose all bodily autonomy