BanicRhys:
As I see it, catering to the special needs of handicapped people (the parking spaces) is not discrimination.

Giving a handicapped person an advantage in any real competition (job interviews, contests, sports etc) is discrimination.

This. You hit the nail on the head, given someone an unfair advantage based on their race, age, sex or handicap is unfair.

No. It isn't giving them an unfair advantage, it's letting them live their lives.

Choosing to hire a minority for a job specifically because they are a minority though? That's different.

they are handi handicapped, they need the extra help alot of the time

krazykidd:

Another example. If i looked at a random person , and laughed at them because i thought they looked funny , it would be okay ( okay in the sense that although it would be mean , people wouldn't throw a FIT over it ) . But if it was to laugh at a random person that had a mental handicap , well then i would be looked down upon by everyone and be a heartless bastard.

What do you escapists think?

Can you not tell the difference between "Ha ha, you have stupid hair" and "Ha ha, your legs don't work."

There is a difference between treating people equally and treating them identically. treating people identically is not generally compatible with equality anyway. Handicapped people are at a disadvantage to begin with, so by doing something to make there life easier actually serves to bring them closer to equality. It is not the same as positive discrimination, frowning upon people mocking a serious disorder is not equivalent to employing someone to make up the numbers of a minority that work somewhere.

People shouldn't be treated identically. If we want to treat everyone identically, then previous experience shouldn't matter when applying for a job. The fact is that some things give people a disadvantage or advantage, and things are done as a result of this. Things are done to help those less fortunate, and if anyone wants to complain about that then I will lose quite a bit of respect for them.

Discrimination is normal. You select by certain criteria and treat said people differently. No one is going to have a problem with you being nicer to your friends than to a complete stranger, its still discrimination.

None of the discrimination you mention is really very unreasonable though handicapped people usually do get slight advantages in the general scheme of social discrimination. People tend to be nicer to them and are more likely to help them out than anyone else in need of help but I think it goes to a general ingrained discrimination not just based on handicap. People who are more attractive generally are treated better. People who are considered less capable usually receive more help. And people who are considered less of a "threat" are more likely to be engaged and assisted.

Handicapped people are generally considered less capable and so people often try to help them out. There are even plenty of handicapped people who find it annoying and will refuse help sometimes rather bluntly. Handicapped people are also less likely to be considered a threat. The combination of these two things has led many con artists and criminals to use wheel chairs and crutches and the like.

In contrast the other week a friend of mine who is a big guy, ex military, relatively young, with a shaved head (somewhat imposing and definitely "capable" looking) had his car overheat. He got out of his car and looked under the hood. One of the hoses burst and sprayed him. He had first and second degree burns on his arm, it was blistering and painful as all get out. He was capering about the side of the road screaming in pain. He wound up on his knees, doubled over, dry heaving, tears streaming down his face, and trying vainly to wave some down to help him. Not a single person stopped and as far as he knows no one even called the police or anything. He had to get his own shit together, cut and reconnect the hose, fill the car up with some radiator fluid he had in the trunk, and then drive to a gas station to try to get help. And there the guy behind the counter would not even allow him to use the sink to put cool water on his severely burned and blistered arm.

krazykidd:
Snip

I have nothing to add to the thread that hasn't been typed out already, but I feel obligated to compliment your avatar. That game...So many memories. Thanks for that nostalgia kick. ^_^

Ever notice how handi-capped parking spaces are nearer to the store? It's because handi-capped people usually have trouble with getting around - well, more trouble than folks who aren't handi-capped. A person on crutches or in a wheelchair has more difficulty in traversing the car park, and thus, it would be kind to let them park nearer to the store. I know if I was handi-capped, I'd want a parking spot near the store.

The rights of handi-capped people protect everyone, because you yourself maybe handi-capped one day. You never know - you're just one slip-in-the-shower away from potentially being paralysed. Why.... you could fall down the stairs and snap your spine.... on any day of the year. Think about it - just like that, at any time, YOU could become disabled or handi-capped. I know I keep that frightening thought in mind. So I am all for making disabled people's lives more comfortable because:

1) They didn't ask to be disabled.
2) They need the help - I know a lot of "differently abled" advocate groups are saying that they don't want to be "patronized", but if you have a medical condition which makes it very difficult to walk around, frankly, you DO need the extra help. We're not looking down on you - we just want to make things easier for you.
3) You or I might end up disabled one day. Hell, as you age you are going to lose mobility and functions. In all likelihood, provided you live long enough, it'll be you using that handi-capped spot as you'll probably lose the ability to walk and need a motorized scooter to get around.

krazykidd:
snip

Handy capped parking is reasonable, if you have one leg and the prosthetic rubs your stump it is reasonable to give them people parking closer to the store. It's not giving them an advantage over able bodied people, it's just being considerate.

If a person has cancer you are scum if you say something like "well at least I don't have cancer" but it's fine to call them stupid for doing something stupid.

There is giving people consideration and help and there is giving them an advantage, they are totally different.

You do sound like a shallow person though, you see a person on TV and just blert out "shes ugly" ... I bet your an Adonis then and women fall madly in love with you at the slightest of glances.

No, because it makes sense. You give them handicapped parking so they're closer to the shop, if they're in a wheelchair it's inconvenient to push yourself along a car park.
If someone is mentally retarded, you have to treat them a lot differently than someone who isn't.
With benefits, it makes sense giving more money to a handicapped person or their carers, they have to buy special cars or install something in their bathroom to make life easier for the wheelchair bound person.

The only thing that confuses me is why people with something such as Autism (which isn't physically damaging) get more money than people without. I may sound ignorant here, but I don't see why they need it. I don't see why my autistic housemate needs nearly £1k a month in benefits, he doesn't leave the house and only spends his money on video games and he doesn't have any medication.

handicapped is actually quite an offensive term
refers to a time when disabled people who couldnt work had to go around with their cap in their hand begging for money

They get treated better because there lives are worse. It's an act to attempt to balance it out. Technically it is discrimination but how is something like a parking space going to offend you really? So what, you have to walk farther but in return, someone who can't walk has less hassle. Is it really that much of a bother to walk a bit farther, especially at the convenience for those who couldn't even walk if they wanted to?

Basically, yes it's discrimination but it's actually helps people, unlike other forms of discrimination like racism. Trying to throw the two together is a dick move.

It kind of a yes and no. By the term itself it is but handicapped people deserve the extra treatment if they want it (e.g. Locke from LOST hated being treated as a handicapped).
Sure we give them the extra treatment but it is to make it fair on both side.

krazykidd:
Before i begin , i will state that i know the politically correct thing to say is no.

That being said, isn't treating someone with a physical and/or mental hadicap better than "normal" ( i know i might get some shit for saying normal, sorry for the lack of another word in advance ) people discrimination ? Isn't discrimination by definition treating a group of people differently because of "x" reasons?

In the most literal definition, yes. In all social context, no.

krazykidd:
I'll give you an example. Handicap parking. Handicap parking is a parking spot that can only be used by people with a handicap. Thus discriminating towards people who DO NOT have a handicap , because we cannot park there.

It's not additional parking that's being walled off from normal people. It's additional spaces designated for handicapped folks. Because, you know, they have handicaps that could well make movement a difficult task, especially if it's across a parking lot.

There are safety issues, too. A dude in a wheelchair is below the line of sight for most drivers, so what happens if a car decides to back out of a space when a wheelchair-bound person is right behind them?

krazykidd:
Another example. If i looked at a random person , and laughed at them because i thought they looked funny , it would be okay ( okay in the sense that although it would be mean , people wouldn't throw a FIT over it ) .

They'd probably think you were an asshole, actually, because you're openly mocking someone you don't know for their physical appearance.

krazykidd:
But if it was to laugh at a random person that had a mental handicap , well then i would be looked down upon by everyone and be a heartless bastard. Meaning i could laugh at a "normal" ( sorry again for this term no mean to offend ) person , but not a handicapped person. Thus putting the handicapped person on a sort a social pedestal, in other words, they are higher up on the social ladder ( almost like better people that shouldn't be messed with )

Uh-huh. Here's the thing: that logic doesn't place people on a higher 'social pedestal.' Let me apply that same logic to other situations.

"It's so unfair that if you have sex with lots of women, you're a stud, but if you have sex with lots of children, you're a pedophile."

"I hate how I can't organize a mob and hang a man without being called a racist just because the man was black."

See where this is going? The target of your action matters just as much as the action itself. That's why a sniper that kills an insurgent in Baghdad is a soldier, and a sniper that kills a civilian in the American midwest is a mad gunman.

krazykidd:
This , in my opinion is discrimination , we treat one group of people ( the handicaps ) better than the rest of Us. Handicaps are like in a "no touch" zone, while everyone else is fair game.

I've already shot more holes in your argument than Swiss cheese, but w/e. I'll see where you're going with this.

krazykidd:
I'll tell you what lead me to this thought. My girlfriend is watching tv in the living room . I enter the living room , look at the tv, and look at the girl on the show. I tell my girlfriend that the girl is ugly, to which she replies, "she has cancer"( i did not know this prior to her telling me this ). I said so what? Her having cancer does not make her any prettier , i don't discriminate. Cancer or not she's ugly. Does her having cancer make her prettier ? To which my girlfriend replies " well no i guess not, but she has cancer so it's not right to say she's ugly ".

That's completely different. If you were actually citing a relevant situation in line with your previous logic, your girlfriend would be upset that you were specifically mocking someone for having cancer.

krazykidd:
I will end this post stating that , i am pro-equality for everybody , including people with handicaps, but to achieve equality wouldn't we then need to treat everyone as equals, and not treat one group differently for whatever reason ?

Your idea of equality is hilarious. I've already said why.

Mr Ink 5000:
handicapped is actually quite an offensive term
refers to a time when disabled people who couldnt work had to go around with their cap in their hand begging for money

'Getting gypped' is a reference to Gypsies, and 'barbarian' was an ethnic slur the Greeks used to universally describe foreigners as stupid and incoherent.

The point? Deal with it. Its meaning is completely different from what it used to be. Get offended over it all you like. It'll just make people see you for the unpleasable stickler that you are.

EeveeElectro:
No, because it makes sense. You give them handicapped parking so they're closer to the shop, if they're in a wheelchair it's inconvenient to push yourself along a car park.
If someone is mentally retarded, you have to treat them a lot differently than someone who isn't.
With benefits, it makes sense giving more money to a handicapped person or their carers, they have to buy special cars or install something in their bathroom to make life easier for the wheelchair bound person.

The only thing that confuses me is why people with something such as Autism (which isn't physically damaging) get more money than people without. I may sound ignorant here, but I don't see why they need it. I don't see why my autistic housemate needs nearly £1k a month in benefits, he doesn't leave the house and only spends his money on video games and he doesn't have any medication.

there are some forms of autism I think that pretty much make you unable to function in the real world/without some help, obviously there are varying degrees of it, in the case of your roomate i dont know his situation, he obviously doesnt need that much if he can work

Yes and no.

Technically, yes. One group gets different treatment than the rest of the society. It falls under the broad definition of discrimination. But then again, when you are nicer to your friends than to people you never met, that's also technically discrimination.

Handicapped parking exists so people with crutches and wheelchairs wouldn't have to park half a mile away or drag themselves from the far end of the parking lot. We get up for the elderly and the infirm in trams and busses because they have more trouble standing up than we do.

It's not discrimination, it's courtesy and compassion, both on an individual level and on the level of society.