Just the Most Disgusting Thing I've Read Today...

Zappit

Staff member
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/disney_world_srich_kid_outrage_zTBA0xrvZRkIVc1zItXGDP

Apparently, wealthy Manhattan families are now using a tour service for Disney World. Not bad by itself. Nothing to make the blood boil.

The tour service provides a handicapped individual to pose as a family member allowing the already privileged folks (though morally bankrupt) to skip to the head of the line at the attractions. The cost of this service, which is only available through referral, runs over $1,000 a day.

Let that one sink in. These people, in order to avoid standing in line with everyone else, pay tremendous sums of money to fake a handicapped relative and scoot to the front. It just boggles the mind how terrible people really are. As someone with a handicapped brother, it literally boils my blood to read about this. I just...I just don't even know what to say, other than I really hope this is some sort of hoax, but it probably isn't...
 

figmentPez

Staff member
I was pretty pissed at this, too. When my sister was in remission from her cancer, she made a trip to WDW with my parents and one of my other sisters. She couldn't have enjoyed that trip nearly as much without special treatment, and it makes me sick to think that perfectly healthy people are taking advantage of the policy.
 
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/disney_world_srich_kid_outrage_zTBA0xrvZRkIVc1zItXGDP

Apparently, wealthy Manhattan families are now using a tour service for Disney World. Not bad by itself. Nothing to make the blood boil.

The tour service provides a handicapped individual to pose as a family member allowing the already privileged folks (though morally bankrupt) to skip to the head of the line at the attractions. The cost of this service, which is only available through referral, runs over $1,000 a day.

Let that one sink in. These people, in order to avoid standing in line with everyone else, pay tremendous sums of money to fake a handicapped relative and scoot to the front. It just boggles the mind how terrible people really are. As someone with a handicapped brother, it literally boils my blood to read about this. I just...I just don't even know what to say, other than I really hope this is some sort of hoax, but it probably isn't...
Well, look at the flip side. A disabled person gets to go to Disneyland for free and get paid for it.
 
This is horrendous, but the only thing I can think of is whether someone'll cut off their own leg just so they can get paid to go to Disneyland.
 

Zappit

Staff member
Really, there are other ways to do it. You wanna get in that way, hand a guy ten bucks and a baseball bat. You'll be adequately crippled in five minutes.
 
Since Disney already allows a "fast pass" that costs about $300 per hour, then the issue boils down not to whether they are wealthy or not (since Disney obviously has plans for them) but whether it's ok for a handicapped person to act as a tour guide, knowing that their clients will have preferred access due to their disability.

If I took my family and a handicapped friend of mine we'd get preferred treatment. Does this also make your blood boil?

So then is the only problem that the rich aren't using the fast pass system, but using a cheaper method which happens to involve a disabled tour guide?
 
If I took my family and a handicapped friend of mine we'd get preferred treatment. Does this also make your blood boil?
That depends. Did you take your friend for the sole purpose of preferred treatment (which my phone auto corrected into perverted) if so then yes that's lazy and exploitative if that wasn't your sole/main purpose then have a blast and what not
 
That depends. Did you take your friend for the sole purpose of preferred treatment (which my phone auto corrected into perverted) if so then yes that's lazy and exploitative if that wasn't your sole/main purpose then have a blast and what not
So it's important to understand the reason in order to pass judgement? The act in and of itself is not wrong, but the state of mind of the person committing the act determines whether it's ok or wrong? In which case, the handicapped person who is renting out their services is as much at fault (and therefore "disgusting") as the family paying for their services, if not more disgusting.
 
So it's important to understand the reason in order to pass judgement? The act in and of itself is not wrong, but the state of mind of the person committing the act determines whether it's ok or wrong? In which case, the handicapped person who is renting out their services is as much at fault (and therefore "disgusting") as the family paying for their services, if not more disgusting.
If the whole point of the" service" that is being offered is so that you can skip in line then yes, if they are running a legitimate business and are simply being exploited by the rich then no they aren't just as bad.
 
Of course it's sleezy and wrong, but I'm having a hard time putting the wrongness into words, so yes, I'm playing devils advocate in order to force others to identify exactly why it's wrong. Hopefully in not too many words.

The best I've been able to come up with is:

It's wrong that people of privilege are using a rule that's meant to aid those at a severe disadvantage for personal gain. They already have so much that it's exceptionally selfish to get more by using people who have a disability for their personal gain.

But I can poke a number of holes through that statement, and further it's not so simple that explaining it to a child is easy.
 
stienman - I think you're focusing on the wrong part. It doesn't matter that they're people of privledge. ANYONE using a disabled person for their own personal gain is disgusting. It's like when someone has a sick relative they collect money for but give them little to none of it, spending most of it on themselves.
 
Death penalty and guns = the devil
Rich people exploiting a handicapped person = meh?
I'm confused
It's not "meh", I can only laugh at how absurdly mustache-twirling evil this is. "Eat the rich" also isn't meh.

Although I will say that yes, if we're ranking "offenses", people getting fucking killed and their lives ending is higher on my care power rankings than rich people exploiting the handicapped.
 
stienman - I think you're focusing on the wrong part. It doesn't matter that they're people of privledge. ANYONE using a disabled person for their own personal gain is disgusting. It's like when someone has a sick relative they collect money for but give them little to none of it, spending most of it on themselves.
But you're describing a situation where the disabled person has no control over the abuse.

In this case, the disabled person has recognized that they have a unique trait which they may or may not use for their personal gain. They are choosing to rent their services.

So then - who does this hurt? Isn't this more akin to prostitution than to skimming disability checks? Who are we to say what services a disabled person can offer to others?

What if the "disabled" person is faking it, and they aren't actually disabled? Who is being abused? The theme park, sure. Patrons who have to wait in line 3 minutes longer than if they hadn't used the disabled access, sure. But that isn't so "bad" as abusing a disabled person directly - is it still as disgusting?
 
Also, as much as it pains me to say it, the "misuse" of literally for emphasis is almost as old as "literally".
I love this quote from that article.

"To get on a soapbox a moment, I find the overuse of hyperbole to be one of the most annoying stylistic shortcomings of contemporary writing, especially in Internet communication. This is a personal peeve about writing, so I don’t expect everyone to fall in line behind me on it, but it explains my personal dislike of non-literal literally."
 

Dave

Staff member
I personally don't think handicapped people should get special treatment. They are people like us and should have to wait in line like everyone else.
 
Now I'm not the sharpest knife in the crayon box sometimes, but...isn't this essentially fraud? Could someone not sue them for fraudulence?
 
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