A Limping Woman

I was waiting for the bus the other day when I saw this woman limping towards the bus stop. She appeared to be bow-legged and I remember her wearing Crocs. I figured that it would be rude if I continued to look at her, so I minded my own business. My bus pulled into the stop, and people started moving towards the door. The woman was amongst the many people approaching the bus.

The doors opened, people shuffled in. Because the woman had difficulty taking normal steps, she ended up stepping onto the road, then taking up all the width of the door to pull herself up onto the bus. She probably does it everytime she gets on the bus, but she still looks unsteady while doing so. The man standing beside me reached forward, intending to help her up by placing his hand under her armpit and lifting her into the bus. However, once his hand brushed against her arm, she turned around and gave a lopsided scowl. Perhaps it wasn't a scowl. Perhaps she really has difficulty controlling her facial expressions, ending up with an expression that looks less than friendly. Perhaps she really meant to thank the gentleman.

Whatever the case was, the man recoiled and proceeded to board the bus, leaving some room behind her. He turned to his companion and joked, "Heh. Better not help out after how she looked at me. Later kena charged for sexual harrassment. Molest!"

It was good that the man didn't take offence to the scowl and could even joke about his predicament. But the episode got me thinking. Why did she scowl? Was she trying to tell the others that she was self-sufficient?

Whose fault is it really? Was it the man's fault that he poked his nose? Was it the woman's fault for being snobbish, thinking that she doesn't require the help? Or is it society's fault?

I do not think that the man's intentions were wrong. In fact, what he did would make all our Moral Education teachers happy. However, as what I've learnt, there is a chance that the intent and impact differ. He had good intentions, just that he might have delivered his act differently by first asking if the woman needed his help.

Was it the woman's fault? I mean, she's slightly disabled, and along comes this man who spontaneously helps her. Shouldn't she be more thankful?

Maybe it's society's fault then. Maybe the woman has gotten used to getting strange looks from the people on the street. Maybe she's had enough of people thinking that a disabled person is weird. She wants to prove that she can be independent. She can get up the bus on her own. Anyone who even attempts to help her with that task is only making fun of her disability. Perhaps we just aren't helping out the disabled enough; that any help from us deserves a confused look from them.

Or maybe I just think too much. -Jimmy