Different cultures different attitudes

[jumar]

Apologies if it came across anti-cyclist. I'm not in the least bit anti-cyclist.

I am, however, anti rudeness and arrogance and people who expect you to inconvenience yourself for them when it's not difficult to reach a compromise.

I can get a bit obstreperous when faced with people like that!

No of course you didn't, but some folk can sieze the opportunity to do so.
And equally use a well worded initial post to attack certain Nationalities, who I agree are very different to themselves, and just to add I very glad they are.

 

[Minxy]

My experience was a guy who was concentrating on what he had in his hand, phone, book or whatever it was...what he wasn't aware of was his staff was protruding across the official cycleway, he was walking on the segregated pedestrian section...but his staff into the official cycleway....Awareness at fault here.

Yes and no. Whilst he should have been more aware of his surroundings it didn't give you the right to collide with said staff. You should have slowed down and passed without hitting it or shouted out politely for him to move if you couldn't pass safely. Instead of just spinning him round what if he'd fallen and been injured? You should have been aware of his situation and the potential result of your actions. He wasn't intentionally doing what he did but it appears you did.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

No of course you didn't, but some folk can sieze the opportunity to do so.
And equally use a well worded initial post to attract certain Nationalities, who I agree are much different to themselves.

In a wider sense it’s all about accepting difference and recognising there will be ignorance everywhere. Otherwise no point travelling. I usually laugh when people are ignorant much more effective than aggression.

Not sure how that helps if you are
In a wheelchair must be very annoying.

I’d also like to say I work for the NHS and can assure those who commented we do know what it is like to be in a wheelchair, use a walking, prosthetic etc. as best we can given we are able bodied. As for needing taxis or working a full week, you clearly have no idea what our jobs are like. Come and walk a week in our shoes, sorry about the pun Just smiffy

 

[carolyn]

I don’t think it’s new and don’t think it’s race dependent really. Some people are just oblivious to their surroundings. It may well have got worse since the advent of mobile phones mind, even young people can’t really chat away on those and be fully aware of their surroundings even though they think they can! I say that tongue in cheek as I have to stand over to the side of the pavement to even answer a brief text message!

One of our sons had Perthes disease (painful hip condition) when he was a boy and spent over 6 months in a wheel chair, then crutches. Fortunately he made a full recovery luckily but it was tough for him as he was sports mad and he was only 8. It was quite an eye opener at home and abroad. Doors slammed in faces by young and old. Not deliberate I’m sure. You just become invisible. I remember a Frenchwoman shouting at her fellow countryfolk in Puy de Fou for their behaviou!

People who knew us would suddenly start talking to me about Matthew as if he was deaf and thick and not there. Once we’d got over the initial shock I soon put a stop to that as you can imagine.

Even a woman at the wheelchair centre started telling me off because the wheels on Matthew’s little yellow wheelchair seized up after a holiday. “People don’t normally take disabled children to the beach” , this was in front of him! An official complaint was quickly followed by a lovely man with a lovely red wheelchair who said of course we can go to the beach. The other one hadn’t been prepped properly.

We were lucky, Matthew recovered.

Gosh I’m having a rant. Anyway. That spell certainly gave our family an insight.

People are just very self absorbed. Mobile phones I think may have made it worse. I don’t really think it’s a conscious thing usually.

 

[jumar]

Yes and no. Whilst he should have been more aware of his surroundings it didn't give you the right to collide with said staff. You should have slowed down and passed without hitting it or shouted out politely for him to move if you couldn't pass safely. Instead of just spinning him round what if he'd fallen and been injured? You should have been aware of his situation and the potential result of your actions. He wasn't intentionally doing what he did but it appears you did.

Actually I greatly exaggerated the whole story to highlight people being aware of their surroundings...I didn't spin him around 360° I didn't harm him in any way, I tried to make a joke about what could have been a serious situation had his staff gone through my wheel, I am aware of my surroundings and didn't have time to either shout, ring my bell, brake or swerve, if I could have stopped I'm sure jumartoo would have rammed me up the rear, so a broken staff was a better course of action..rather than two broken bikes and two injured riders..
Edit ..@jumartoo has just told me that his staff hit me as he turned to look at something to his right, the staff protruding from somewhere in an uncontrolled manner..Am I forgiven...

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[CaptainPaul]

I usually laugh when people are ignorant much more effective than aggression.

That's exactly what I was suggesting to Garry in my tuppence worth earlier in this thread, i learned a long time ago it's never the situation that you may find yourself in its how you respond to that situation that effects you and shapes your feelings and reactions,
so I've found turning a negative experience into a positive experience is a very powerful gift to process and its never to appease or placate the other person its to give yourself peace of mind and contentment that's the secret, and it works every single time

 

[The Wino]

I don't know what the area is like where you have been. We find in our little area where there's a smallish population and not much traffic people are generally very polite in their driving and pavement habits. When we visit larger towns and cities and it's crowded it's cut and thrust on the driving and it seems to spill over into attitudes on the pavement as well with a me first attitude. I don't think it's restricted to any particular part of the age spectrum either

 

[fishplug]

I don't seem to have the photo anymore and can't remember which beach it was (somewhere in Norfolk I'm pretty sure) but they had wheelchairs for rent with giant balloon tyres which looked like a really good idea.

Not sure if you could go in the water with them, but even if not they certainly allowed for much better mobility on the sand.

 

[L' Hobo]

I don't seem to have the photo anymore and can't remember which beach it was (somewhere in Norfolk I'm pretty sure) but they had wheelchairs for rent with giant balloon tyres which looked like a really good idea.

Not sure if you could go in the water with them, but even if not they certainly allowed for much better mobility on the sand.

I seem to remember they had something like that on Mersea Island that was featured on Countryfile I think?

 

[steve69]

What would annoy me is a perfectly able person using a 3 or four-wheeled scooter (as i guess yours is) instead of just walking. Benidorm is a classic example of this. Many shops there rent these wheelchairs out.. People too idle to walk, clutter the pavements with these vehicles.
But how can you tell just by looking at them?
Maybe these rude people have seen too many healthy-looking but lazy sods hopping out of these scooters to pop into a bar or something without any help.
Maybe you look a picture of health and they have decided you're just idle.

Just a thought. The few spoiling it for the many as it were.

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