A bit of good, some bad and some stupid

I have twelve Dreamwidth invite codes! Comment if you'd like one.

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My local Borders was supposed to be the only one closed down. Now the other three within driving distance (aka less than an hour away) are all being closed.

I AM NOT HAPPY.

“Through these progressive restructures we are moving the business towards a more sustainable model,”  administrator Steve Sherman said.

And 500 people will be out of work. Wonder if he's ever read Weasel Words.

Apart from the book exchange, this leaves me with one little Dymocks and possibly one Angus & Robertson (who are screwed right along with Borders, so we'll see about that one.) And I hardly ever go to those stores anyway. Why? Because all they have are the well-publicised new releases and bestsellers, which are rarely the books I want to read. There is a QBD store about half-an-hour away ... they're small and mostly have bestsellers but they have some fairly random stuff, as well.

Congratulations, Book Depository! You're likely to get the majority of my book-buying business from now on.

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In relation to the welfare wank of last week, I bring you an encouraging letter, showing some understanding of disability. I don't have a disabled parking permit (for various reasons it's irrelevant for me) but I really appreciated the overall message here.

April 4, 2011

Nosy parkers

Ross Langford-Smith makes a common mistake concerning disabled parking permits (Letters, April 2-3). He assumes he is qualified to assess holders of the permit just by looking at them.

Looking at a person does not tell you if they have a heart condition, a brain aneurysm, diabetes and a multitude of other medical issues. Mr Langford-Smith also reveals a prejudice against young people as if they don't get sick or disabled.

There is no logic in this thinking. It leads many people to become self-appointed parking police bailing up young people with health problems. They demand to know private details of their medical condition expecting answers and explanations.

Often they can be aggressive in their demands. Yet if the same private medical details were demanded of them by complete strangers they would be horrified.

I agree that the system should be monitored but what should we do with all the people with no medical training who assail people with permits.

We need to look after disabled people, especially the young ones. They have a long life of pain and suffering ahead of them. They deserve better than constant demands to justify holding a permit by complete strangers.

Gail Suttor Hornsby

You mean you can't tell if someone's disabled just by looking at them?! *gaspshockhorror* Lies, lies, I say!

I'm sure the medical profession would be fascinated to meet these people who can diagnose disabilities of all kinds (or lack thereof) with a single glance. All those years of education, all that expensive equipment, and there are times when they still have to admit defeat ... they just needed a know-all!

There was a comment on one of the 'welfare reform' articles last week (I can't find the specific one) with a comment that made me want to facepalm repeatedly. I may not have the exact wording correct but it's pretty close:

I see young people who are on disability pensions walking around like there's nothing wrong with them!

Yeah, I leave you to contemplate the epic stupidity of that comment.

But as the above letter shows, not everyone is an idiot. Nice to know.