SOCIAL MEDIA

1 June 2016

Using Disabled People For Likes

It was recently brought to my attention that there was a page on facebook using a picture of me in my wheelchair to get likes (clearly I am that damn fabulous). The caption was along the lines of "Im in a wheelchair. Can I get a share on your timeline. If you do not ashamed of me" with some random emojis thrown in. It hurt my brain to read




However, it would seem that I think way too highly of the human race. I mean, do people really think that these pages are real? Seriously I cant cope with the stupidity. How have these people survived on the internet so long? Do they send their bank details to those foreign princes who want to give them millions? Every picture was of a different girl and the spelling was hilarious. Also every other post was spam. Why are people sharing these

A lot of the comments were the usual creepy guys leaving their numbers and sexual comments because then I will definitely track them down and sleep with them.

But lets address some of the other comments

- She's faking because her legs are toned and she has no muscle wastage - First things first a lot of wheelchair users can walk a bit but it's painful and dangerous. There's a small percentage of wheelchair users that can't move their legs at all. Second of all have you ever heard of physiotherapy? You know that thing that sick people do to maintain muscle. Sorry my legs are nicer than yours.

- Fake. Her shoes have been walked in. They look dirty and worn - A* for detail. Yes my shoes are dirty. One I am terrible for using my feet as brakes if I'm trying to balance stuff on my lap. I would rather dirty my shoes up than spill my chips #Priorities. I also use my feet to keep my chair still instead of putting my brakes on because I'm lazy which drives my brother mad. Also please refer to the point above. Plus being in a wheelchair my shoes still get rained on and get dirty and I occasionally crash into walls if I'm not paying attention. They're gonna get scuffed. Annnnd they are about 5 years old.

- She's faking because her arms are too skinny - Yes my arms are pretty weedy but I'm trying to work on that. Also that photo that was stolen was taken when I had only recently got strong enough to start self propelling and I still have days where I need to be pushed by someone else sooo that would explain why I'm not the hulk. Dislocating shoulders, wrists and elbows makes building up muscle in your arms pretty difficult.

- She's faking because her legs are too tanned - Now I'm sorry but how stupid are you? Seriously disabled people still go outside. Some of us still sit in the sun and get our tan on. I had just got back from Barcelona where you guessed it, I spent the whole week outside in my wheelchair *shock horror* Who are these people that are still of the mindset that disabled people are locked away. The only thing that stops me from getting about is the lack of accessibility in the world. Also a lot of people are naturally that colour and darker. Not all disabled people are white.

- This photo is clearly taken in a hospital toilet & she's stolen a relatives wheelchair for fun - Sorry love but this photo was actually taken in a toilet (classy I know) in a sport centre in Manchester where I was supporting my brother who was playing wheelchair basketball.

- This is a fake photo. Its clearly photo-shopped. You can tell because her legs look deformed - Now if I cared what the people on the internet thought this might have upset me and my poor deformed looking legs. The picture was not photo-shopped and you were looking at my fabulous looking legs that I am very proud of.

- Annd on the other end of the spectrum God guys she's clearly disabled - look at her deformed legs - As I said, if I cared this would probably give me some insecurities about my legs. Luckily I know that my legs are hot as hell and I am damn proud of them even if they suck at actually being legs.

- She's such a pathetic attention seeker - Umm that may have been true if I had actually posted this photo myself. IT WAS POSTED WITHOUT MY CONSENT.

- You should be ashamed of yourself. My dads friends cousin is actually disabled and his life is terrible. He wouldn't be out messing about taking selfies for attention - You are not disabled. You don't know what life with a disability is like. You don't know what that person feels. Do you even really know them? That person may be very happy with their life. I know I am. Yes I struggle with depression but on the whole I'm happy and love life. Plus I love to have a laugh, take stupid photos and I am a selfie whore. I love a good selfie and if I look hot you're damn right I'm gonna post it on instagram for *gasp* attention and likes. Everyone does it. Real life disabled people still have fun and live our lifes just like you. We just have to face ableism and a lack of acceptance.

However my favourite comment out of the ones I read was in fact What brand of hand dryer is that in the background? You are my favourite person.

Luckily I am very happy with myself and have accepted that I am disabled (Not enabled like some ridiculous person commented) and I don't give two shits what strangers on the internet think. Buut if this happens to someone who is not happy with themselves and has massive insecurities about their body and their disability this could be massively damaging to their health and their self esteem.

Just think how you would feel if you read comments mocking the way you looked, calling you a fraud and a terrible human being. Just because someone doesn't fit into that narrow minded view you have of what a disabled person looks like doesn't mean they are faking. I don't want to shock you or anything but a lot of disabled people look healthy. Did you know that some of them even walk. I know it's a lot to get your head around but bear that in mind next time you judge someone on how they look.

Massive thank you to everyone who reported the page until it got taken down. Unfortunately there are loads more of exactly the same page out there

Beth...x

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