• Melllvar
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1884 months ago

    Of all the things you could reasonably criticize the US over, wheelchair accessibility ain’t one of them. Especially compared to Europe.

    • @query@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      108
      edit-2
      4 months ago

      I thought the idea was that Republicans are actively working on destroying what has been working fine and is benefitting lots of people, not just on preventing more progress.

      • Melllvar
        link
        fedilink
        English
        -60
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        Are you referring to something specific?

        • @Stovetop@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          854 months ago

          Abortion rights, voting rights, gay marriage, privacy, trans rights, immigration, housing, the economy, net neutrality, take your pick.

          • Melllvar
            link
            fedilink
            English
            -624 months ago

            The topic at hand is wheelchair accessibility, though.

            • jorge
              link
              fedilink
              English
              714 months ago

              Nope. The topic at hand is free ice-ceam. A topic that you, as a rational adult, can understand that is 100% literal and not at hyperbolic example to make a point about general trends and not a single specific item.

            • @Alk@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              334 months ago

              Not specifically. They just picked a random idea out of a hat. One that is currently working fine with no issue. To signify that is the type of stuff they go after.

                  • Melllvar
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    -184 months ago

                    Just in case you’re sincerely confused, no I’m not suggesting that.

            • @ricecake@sh.itjust.works
              link
              fedilink
              English
              274 months ago

              https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1C022I/

              Tldr, they’re actually trying and have been trying, to pass bills to gut the ADA because disability access is anti American.

              Also, the post is just making fun of the US consistently doing messed up stuff. When picking something for hyperbole, you usually pick something that’s extreme, not something that actually already happened.
              it’s not quite as funny to say “the news is always like: former US president argues he should legally be able to do whatever he wants without consequences and courts might let him, meanwhile Finland has nearly eradicated homelessness.” You do get that the point was to be funny?

              • Melllvar
                link
                fedilink
                English
                -18
                edit-2
                4 months ago

                That proposal died in Congress 7 years ago.

                We Americans are not the monstrous caricatures you make us out to be. We’re not evil. We’re not wicked. And the US is not some dystopian nightmare. It’s actually a pretty good place to live.

                • @blackbelt352@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  124 months ago

                  The proposal shouldn’t have existed in the first place! There wouldn’t be a need to kill the proposal if our representation was composed of empathetic decent people, instead of ghouls bought out by the wealthy few.

                  It’s pretty monstrous to even consider proposing a removal of legislation that objectively helps a lot of Americans.

                  • Melllvar
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    -144 months ago

                    Therefore, all Americans are evil. Got it.

                • @ricecake@sh.itjust.works
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  94 months ago

                  First, I live in the US, so not sure where you’re going with that.
                  Second, nice straw man. No one said Americans were evil, people said the news is often distressing and backwards.
                  Third, it doesn’t matter when it’s from when your argument was “America would never assail disability rights!”. An article about recent efforts by active politicians to rollback our biggest protections speaks to that. In any case, here’s a more recent article on the topic: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/midterm-elections-republicans-disabled-community_n_6375a759e4b0afce046aefef

                  Four, you’re entirely lacking in nuance or a sense of humor, and seen incapable of distinguishing a joke from “all Americans are evil”, which is definitely a way to live, but not a very productive one if you ask me.

                  • Melllvar
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    -74 months ago

                    Alright. If the message isn’t “hurr durr americans r dum and ebil!!!11”, then what is it?

      • @gaifux@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        -62
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        As if Democrats don’t do the exact same thing in lock step. Interesting where your focus lies however. It’s helpful though because it indicates your bias.

        • M137
          link
          fedilink
          English
          114 months ago

          The ignorance you’re showing here is absolutely astounding. Banning things and removing certain people’s rights is a defining part of US republican politics. Every damn week, there’s a new thing they’ve decided is evil and needs to be banned. That’s very much not the case with US democrat politics. Sure, there are things they too want to ban or change, but it’s based on logic and not a constant stream of new things.

          • @gaifux@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            -24 months ago

            Yes, thankfully the Democrats aren’t the party of trying to ban stuff. Imagine if they were, and came out of nowhere to like ban gas stoves, gas cars, freedom of medical choices, and gender affirming surgery for kids. If any of that was true then I’d have a pretty good point, but thankfully it isn’t. Right?

        • Cethin
          link
          fedilink
          English
          84 months ago

          It’s helpful though because it indicates your bias.

          Lol.

    • @ThunderWhiskers@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      754 months ago

      It’s purposefully hyperbolic to illustrate a point. You think that Finland is seriously making all ice cream free?

      I would not be the least bit surprised if all the Abbotts and Thomases and Trumps and Desantises (Desanti?) announced tomorrow that they would no longer be supporting the ADA’s immoral drain on commercial profits governmental budgets.

      And before someone points it out, gutting a system that he has personally benefited from to fuck over Texans is exactly the kind of thing Abbott would do.

      • CH3DD4R_G0B-L1N
        link
        fedilink
        English
        44 months ago

        And before someone points it out, gutting a system that he has personally benefited from to fuck over Texans is exactly the kind of thing Abbott would do.

        Not would, he has. After the tree crippled him, he sued for his wealth. Then he outlawed the same type of payouts for the exact type of lawsuits he benefited from. Definition of pulling the ladder up behind you.

      • Melllvar
        link
        fedilink
        English
        -144 months ago

        My point is that it’s not a good illustration.

        Just read through some of the responses I’ve gotten. Some people think it’s a good illustration because it’s very plausible. Some because it’s not at all plausible.

        I’m saying it’s not a good illustration because it’s not at all plausible.

        • @blind3rdeye@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          54 months ago

          I don’t think it makes much difference whether or not it is plausible. It’s just trying to communicate a message. I guess it has to be plausible enough that a reader can understand what it is even talking about; but not so plausible that the reader is led to believe this specific case is actually happening.

          • Melllvar
            link
            fedilink
            English
            -94 months ago

            That’s just one more interpretation to add to the ones I mentioned.

            Which is fundamentally my point. Had the OP used something that is actually happening then it would be harder to interpret the message in unintended ways. And it would be much more readily accepted by Americans like myself who do not see themselves as evil, stupid, malicious, or any of the other insults that necessarily follow from any interpretation the OP.

    • @Treczoks@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      634 months ago

      On the other hand, disallowin wheelchair ramps because there are not mentioned in the Bible would be a very American move.

    • @gmtom@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      224 months ago

      Especially compared to Europe?

      What? Europe very sound protection for the disabled. Putside of historical buildings built before disability care you won’t find better access anywhere.

      I get America is pretty good too, but your comment makes it sound like Europe is a nightmare for the disabled.

      • Camelbeard
        link
        fedilink
        English
        54 months ago

        Not sure about how good or bad it is in the US, but in the Netherlands (a place that is known for good infrastructure) it’s definitely not perfect.

        I never realised until we got a baby and I started walking with a stroler. Way too often the sidewalk is inaccessible because of cars or bicycles. Also lots of places without ramps or elevators.

        • @Tankton@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          114 months ago

          You have a sidewalk, that is obstructed sometimes. Having a sidewalk puts in like the top 10% of countries instantly lol

      • @Tvkan@feddit.de
        link
        fedilink
        English
        34 months ago

        Europe very sound protection for the disabled. Putside of historical buildings built before disability care you won’t find better access anywhere.

        But that’s the point: Most buildings were built before disability care, and haven’t been upgraded.* Think about your favorite restaurant, bar, kebab place, corner shop etc. – I don’t think any of mine are wheelchair accessible. Also good luck taking a train in Germany, where many platforms aren’t wheelchair accessible and they might or might not have a lift to get you into the train.

        The Americans with Disabilites Act (ADA) is miles ahead of any legal framework that I’m aware of in Europe. The US is a broken country in many ways, but that doesn’t mean that literally anything and everything has to be worse than in glorious Europe.

        *The former is true for the US too, but the ADA still required many of them to make reasonable accomodations.

        • @gmtom@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          24 months ago

          Think about your favorite restaurant, bar, kebab place, corner shop etc.

          All have wheelchair ramps. Even the townhall that was built in the 1700s has a wheelchair ramp, as does the church built in the 1400s.

          I only know a handful of places that are in the centre of dense cities that don’t have them.

          Then if I wanted to make comparisons to the US, yes lots of buildings are wheelchair acceptable, but they still expect you to drive between those buildings, even if you’re disabled, so sidewalks and crossing points are abysmal.

      • @viking@infosec.pub
        link
        fedilink
        English
        24 months ago

        America has way more wheelchair ramps due to the critically obese population, so the statement is still mostly true.

      • Melllvar
        link
        fedilink
        English
        -44 months ago

        I get that Europe is pretty good too, but the OP makes it sound like America is a nightmare for the disabled.

        You do see my point, you just don’t like it.

      • Melllvar
        link
        fedilink
        English
        -18
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        I get what the tweet is trying to say. What I’m saying is that wheelchair accessibility is a particularly bad example for that point.

    • @Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      94 months ago

      huh? america is absolute garbage for wheelchair access, the ADA is absolutely not sufficient

      fuckin have fun navigating the average suburb with a wheelchair, you can’t even walk to the store in most places

      • @Pratai@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        34 months ago

        you can’t even walk to the store in most places

        I’d imagine walking to the store in a wheelchair to be incredibly difficult.

        • @Drivebyhaiku@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          34 months ago

          Technically in common disability parlance the motion of movement in a wheel chair is still considered “walking” just like listening to an audiobook is considered “reading” for visually impaired people.

          Basically it accepts the whatever means you get to the end product as being a synonyms with the verbs those used by abled people.

          Learned this from my librarian buddies.

      • @Xtallll@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        14 months ago

        In most of America you can’t walk to the store even if you don’t use a wheelchair. At my old place I could see a grocery store from my house, but it was on the other side of a limited access road, I had to go 1.5miles to a pedestrian overpass to be able to get to it making it a 6 mile walk to get 100 yards.

      • Melllvar
        link
        fedilink
        English
        14 months ago

        Google tells me that the US is ranked #5 in the world behind Japan, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands.

    • @Z3k3@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      74 months ago

      To be fair a good chunk of the buildings in Europe are older than america.

      New builds tend to take differently able people in mind these days

      • Melllvar
        link
        fedilink
        English
        -74 months ago

        Europe didn’t have a law about it until 2016.

        • @Sprucie@feddit.uk
          link
          fedilink
          English
          164 months ago

          Europe doesn’t set all the rules at the EU level, this type of thing was probably law in many EU countries before it was law at the EU level.

          • @Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            11
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            Mellvar is completely wrong, the law was drafted in 2000, and became compulsory in 2009 because there were a couple of countries that hadn’t complied

            Not sure what agenda they’re pushing, or if they’re confused with the new law that says that all web based sites now have to be inclusive

            • @Z3k3@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              34 months ago

              How so if anything it counters it. Europe had made changes to the law to ensure help.

              While not being g in America there’s a huge selection bias from the media no doubt tha sure as shit ain’t happening

                • @Z3k3@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  64 months ago

                  That’s fair but it’s also not the point of the post which is the us rolling back the laws that help people. Your just keeping an ultra narrow focus because you think it’s helping hide that fact

                  • Melllvar
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    -124 months ago

                    My point is that it’s a bad example.

                    Your just keeping an ultra narrow focus because you think it’s helping hide that fact

                    No I’m not.

                  • Melllvar
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    14 months ago

                    While the wikipedia page you cite does have a section heading called “1945-1992”, that’s only because it uses WW2 and the EU treaty as endpoints. Not because laws were being passed in 1945. Moreover, the cited page doesn’t list country-level laws in 1945-1992, it lists international treaties; and the earliest listed treaty is from 1953.