Number of "disabled" or "special needs" posts on the housing forums
Posted by rayken

Deleting. This isn't the place for this discussion I guess.

Posted by bushmaster

Removed my comment since the OP removed their's.

Posted by rayken

Posted by suburbaknght

Not all disabilities are total.  One does not need to be completely paralyzed to qualify for legal disability status.  For example, most states consider someone qualified for disability plates if they:


  • Don’t have full use of one or both arms.
  • Can’t walk a set number of feet without stopping to rest. Some states set this number as low as 50; others, as high as 200.
  • Can’t walk without using a cane, crutch, brace, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or the assistance of another person.
  • Have a Class III or Class IV cardiac condition, as set by the American Heart Association.
  • Must have portable oxygen to walk.
  • Have a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses.
  • Have a visual acuity of 20/200 but with a limited field of vision in which the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle of 20 degrees or less.

Now not all those necessitate the need for a downtown room or preclude staying a remote room, but at the same time I'm fortunate enough not to suffer from any of those conditions so I'm not going to pretend to understand all the challenges involved with them.  I trust someone with a disability to have a better since of his or her needs and abilities rather than my own wisdom to dictate such things to someone else.
 

Posted by watchdog

There are also people with no visible disability that deal with chronic pain.  On "good" days it's manageable for them and you'd never know they were suffering. On bad days they can't even get out of bed. 

No one's required to give their extra room to anyone who states the reason why they want a downtown room. If you think that any mention of this is some Queen for a Day attempt to con people, you're free to pass them up. If enough people feel the way that you do, then they might be hurting their chances of getting a room by mentioning their reasons why. 

Posted by tdb

I just looked on the rooms wanted subforum and noticed a couple on the first page.  That doesn't seem like a lot. 

And how do you know these folks are "manipulative"?  How sure are you that their disabilites aren't real? Do you have any evidence to back up your accusation?

There are a lot of gamers with disabilities.  Real disabilities, that greatly affect their lives.  Many of them are gamers in part because it's something they are actually able to participate in, and also in part because the gamer community is generally quite accepting and inclusive.  It shouldn't be any surprise that they might become passionate enough about gaming to want to attend Gen Con. And they are welcome here, as they should be.  Topics like this send altogether the wrong message.

You don't have to give them your room.  But you really should take a moment to ask yourself what you would do in their place.

Posted by divachelle

The OP's assertions make me very sad...and somewhat angry. Wooosah.  

Fact: Nobody's disability or lack of it is subject to your approval or endorsement even IF you have a room to trade. Should someone choose to put their situation out there in the hopes that it might be considered a worthy cause by some kind soul needing to dump a room, that's their choice.

Fact: Having physical, emotional, mental and/or other disabilities does increase the difficulties in navigating the con. Being able to have a room close by to rest, recharge or just a shorter distance to travel back and forth to and from the con is essential to many of these individuals. 

That said, rooms dump all the time, especially late in the game, so to speak. There's no need to be mean spirited. I'm sure you'll need someone to give you the benefit of the doubt someday. Perhaps you could extend others the same courtesy. 

Posted by rayken

Posted by divachelle

Ok, so that's patently ridiculous. Again, you persist in trying to gauge what's right for others. If you don't have a room to dump, why do you care?

How disabled is disabled enough to meet your exacting standards? smh

God forbid you ever find yourself in a situation where you deal with a disability. I can assure you that it's not at all fun. 

Posted by rayken

Posted by kjelstad

I don't recall that many requests.   Only one skimming over the threads.  I do recall reading one that mentioned cancer and epilepsy in the thread but not in the topic.  

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