Reddit Users Cheer on Man with Disability Who Kicked Out His Friend's Boyfriend for Prejudice
About fifteen percent (15%) of the world's population has a disability, according to the World Health Organization.
Based on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, persons with disabilities include those who suffer from long-term physical, intellectual, mental, or sensory impairments which may hinder them from fully and effectively participating in society on an equal basis with others upon interaction with different barriers.
Life is indeed more difficult for persons with disabilities, who are more likely to suffer violence, including domestic and sexual abuse, discrimination, exploitation by members of their family, and exclusion from access to humanitarian assistance, livelihoods, health care, education, and other services.
In this post by a young man with a disability, as published on Reddit's r/AmItheA--hole forum, he has been happy living with his two roommates who were funny and terrific people. And they have more friends too, like they're one big family.
But on New Year's Eve, this Original Poster had to finally kick his friend's boyfriend out of their apartment for causing him to spend this important holiday all alone.
With the username u/Throwawayconfess17, OP revealed: "Alright, so maybe I am overreacting, but honestly, I’ve kind of reached a breaking point. I (M21) am disabled, a full-time wheelchair user, and live in a fairly small college town with a couple of friends. My roommates and I are part of a larger friend group of 8 people, and I’d say we’re all pretty close. I really love my roommates - they’re great but sometimes a little thick. There’s one person in the large friend group, let’s call him Chris, who is dating a guy, let’s call him James. I really don’t like James for many reasons, mostly petty ones to be honest. But another fact, James is vegetarian. That’s not a problem in itself, but herein comes the issue."
According to OP, they were all planning to dine out on New Year's Eve. But there were only three main restaurants in their small town: a steakhouse, a Thai place, and a sort of hippie plant-based diner. Of course, since he's a vegetarian, James quickly suggestsed the plant-based diner. OP disagreed since the place is completely inaccessible; he proposed to order takeout from James's choice of restaurant and take it to the apartment. However, they have recently adopted a cat, and one of their friends has a cat allergy, and so it was not a viable option.
OP then suggested the Thai place, but Chris and James opposed since they celebrated their anniversary there recently. And so OP was opting for the steakhouse, which was another no-no for James, who doesn't eat meat.
In the end, they did voting, and James's choice won, which meant OP could not join them since it was not a PWD-friendly place. It was frustrating for him even though his roommates told him that they would bring food for him when they returned.
OP continued to write, "So New Year’s Eve comes, and they get back from dinner, and James and Chris also stop by. At this point, it’s pretty late, and I’m a couple of drinks in, and I flat out tell James that I think it’s shitty that he suggested and then subsequently campaigned for a place that he knows that I can’t go to. He said that it was fair because I suggested the steakhouse, knowing he’s a vegetarian. I told him that it was different because he could have at the very least physically been present. He insisted that it was the same, and I asked him to leave the apartment because I was tired of dealing with his bullshit."
And so he left, but OP's roommates thought that kicking out James was an overreaction on OP's part.
True?
Reddit users disagreed. The group could have gone to the steakhouse, which may also have offered vegetarian options. Also, being with your friends even if you can't eat what they eat is different from being left alone.
The reality is that James lacks understanding and compassion. He may be the boyfriend of OP's friend, but OP is not under obligation to be friends with someone who doesn't think of him as another human being.
For more than 20 years now, I’ve been devoting my heart, energy, and time to fulfilling my dream, which – many people may agree – is not among the easiest aspirations in life. Part of my happiness is having been able to lend a hand to many individuals, companies, and even governments as an investigative journalist, creative writer, TV director, and radio broadcaster.
At home, I spend my free time learning how to cook various cuisines. Tiramisu, chocolate mousse, and banoffee pie are my favorite desserts. Playing with our dogs, Mushu and Jerusalem, is also a special part of my day. And, of course, I read a lot – almost anything under the sun. But what really makes me feel alive is meeting people from various walks of life and writing about their stories, which echo with the tears and triumph of an unyielding spirit, humanity, and wisdom.