To be clear: this is not a jab at weight, what I’m baffled by is why tf would anyone in a wheelchair use a walking stick like that?

To be clear: I know why the dude has the cane, what im asking about/pointing out is the absurdity of the way he uses the cane in this specific clip, not speculation on the way he uses it in his general life. Just for those in the comments who mistakenly think I’m asking why the dude had the stick in the first place, when I’m asking about the way in which he uses it in this clip. Thank you.

  • daannii@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    Push door-open buttons. And holding it on his lap would just have it run into people on the sides.

  • Doom@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    My guess is that is an electric chair and the controller for it is under his right hand but he’s ambulatory so he needs the cane. Likely it’s not comfortable to hold it over his lap or up off the floor. Being disabled leads to using work arounds that don’t always make sense to able bodied folks. Holding a cane still might hurt more then keeping it in motion. Holding it over his lap might interfere with his hand. He could have balance issues and the cane helps him keep orientated. He could just be stimming. Does the why really matter?

  • AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    Alright, I get the question. Assuming he has it to help him get up sometimes, look at where he’s at, some kind of art auction or something right? Maybe he’s been getting up and down a lot, looking at things closer. So he doesnt want to put it back somewhere everytime so he’s just keeping it out next to him. And the most natural motion for a cane is to just pick it up and put it down in front of you. Or maybe he’s just being a little silly for the camera lol :P

  • stopforgettingit@lemmy.world
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    16 hours ago

    Not everyone who is in a wheelchair is completely unable to use their legs. Many wheelchair users can stand or walk, but not for long periods or long distances or without assistance.

    He might be able to stand with assistance and is carrying the cane himself for when he wants to stand.

    • Apytele@sh.itjust.works
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      12 hours ago

      And actually if they can’t transfer themselves (either stand and pivot to a bed / toilet / shower / regular chair or at least use a slideboard) they’re often not a great fit for a wheelchair since they’d need an aide / lift and would really struggle to live independently. And a slideboard is a pretty advanced wheelchair skill and requires a patient that’s super with it cognitively, and has at least decent upper body strength and coordination. Your average 65 year old with a touch of dementia and less strength / reflexes is not gonna be up to that and they’re your primary user group for mobility devices in general. This guy in particular though just isn’t gonna have the upper body strength to transfer his weight that way and is very unlikely to find a slideboard or lift that can handle him.

    • Cyril Strobe@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      16 hours ago

      Again, I understand that, I’m not asking about that. I’m asking: why when sat in a wheelchair does he need to use it? Not when he’s standing, when he’s sitting

      • stopforgettingit@lemmy.world
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        16 hours ago

        Where do you suggest he carry his cane while he is in the wheel chair?

        Side to side so it takes out the kneecaps of everyone around him?

        Front to back so he can gut punch the ones in front or behind?

        Or maybe out to the side? Where it won’t hit anyone?

        Lets go further, if he holds it to the side, should he just hover it stiffly in the air while moving?

        Maybe the answer is this is the easiest way to hold the cane while moving without taking anyone out or forcing someone else to carry his stuff.

        • Blibly@lemmy.world
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          16 hours ago

          Cool wheelchair guys get a holster for their canes.

          This guy ain’t a cool wheelchair guy 🤷‍♀️

        • Cyril Strobe@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          16 hours ago

          He could rest it on his lap maybe? Like slightly over his shoulder so it’s not in anyone’s way and he doesn’t have to use it. He could still knock someone the way he is holding it in the GIF. I think any way he has it, there’s some risk of knocking into something.

  • gnufuu@lemmy.ca
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    12 hours ago

    ITT: OP learns that people with disability can do goofy stuff just for fun

  • L0rdMathias@sh.itjust.works
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    15 hours ago

    His peripheral likely doesn’t include below him and he probably can’t easily lean to see what’s nearby. Building off that, if he struggles to lean forward then he probably needs the extended reach the stick gives to help with things like pointing at stuff on a shelf. He also might need it to help transfer from the wheelchair to another nearby chair i.e toilet, but his condition/pride doesn’t need another person to help.

    • Cyril Strobe@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      15 hours ago

      Yeah, I get that and I do agree… but what I was getting at was, why use it as if he’s walking when he’s sat in a motorised wheelchair is what I’m asking.

      • AnarchistArtificer@lemmy.world
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        14 hours ago

        Maybe there’s just nowhere easy to stow his walking stick, or he’s anticipating using it some time soon.

        I’m an ambulatory wheelchair user, which means that sometimes I use a wheelchair, sometimes a wheeled walker thing, and sometimes a walking stick. My wheelchair didn’t have a convenient place to stow my walking stick until I made a dedicated holster thing for it. There is a pocket at the back of my wheelchair, and various places I could stuff my stick temporarily, but it would inevitably end up falling out, falling over, or getting stuck in the spokes of the wheels.

        The particular walking stick this guy is using doesn’t look like it folds up like some do, so the storage problem seems especially relevant. Basic sticks like that one do allow you to set it to minimum height, collapsing it down a bit, but that’s a faff to get it set to the right height again for when you need it.

        Maybe this guy is approaching a security checkpoint or something, where he’ll be expected to stand up to go through a scanner (airports and the line are capable of handling people who can’t stand up from their wheelchair, of course, but things often go faster and easier if you can bear to stand up for a few moments, in my experience). Or maybe he’s heading to the bathroom — whilst an accessible bathroom would typically have grab rails and the like, the stick might help him to push himself into a suitable position to be able to grab the rails and transfer onto the toilet.

        What’s more, anyone who uses a wheelchair who has some level of walking ability is generally advised to do stand and walk as much as they’re able to, to reduce the risk of muscle atrophy, blood clots, pressure sores etc… Even without something that necessarily requires him to stand, he may be trying to make it easier.

        Finally, I’d just like to add that I think that in scenarios like this, the best response is to just shrug and go “well, I don’t understand why he’d do that, but I guess there must be a reason”; Although in this post, you have been as respectful and non-judgemental as you plausibly can be, I think questions like this are coming from a place that is a bit judgemental.

        Part of my motivation for this last bit is my own experience with a similar kind of curiosity, and I’m someone who is disabled myself, and immersed enough in disability activism that I know tons of disabled people, who all manage their disabilities in such varied ways that I keep finding new instances of how a person manages their condition that surprises or confuses me. A lot of things don’t make sense to me, but without having direct lived experience of that person’s particular circumstances, it’s not for me to say what makes sense or not (and disabled people spend so much time having to justify themselves and their needs that they shouldn’t have to fit into neat little boxes, even if it’s just in someone’s head).

        This is a long way of saying that ultimately, despite my speculation, I don’t know why he’s using the walking stick like that, and even if I could ask, it wouldn’t be appropriate to. I really don’t want to come across like I’m telling you off here, especially as it does seem like we’re on the same page re: not being assholes to disabled people. I just wanted to try to add some nuance to how we think and speak about disability

        • Cyril Strobe@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          13 hours ago

          Why are you going on about disabled people? The joke is the use of the walking stick whilst the guy is riding around in a motorised wheelchair. I’m not mocking disability, just pointing out that I find his use of the stick simultaneously with the electric wheelchair unusual and sort of silly. I didn’t even mention disability— heck, I don’t even know if he is disabled. Plenty of non-disabled people use those equipments too, you know. Why the hell are you going on about disability for?

          Not having a go, but this is a prime example of getting the post horrifically wrong.

      • zarathustrad@lemmy.world
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        13 hours ago

        Others have answered better and it’s a joke , but as a general reminder (to put it in plain language and succinctly):

        Not all disabled are always the same amount of disabled at all times.

        (It gets old having to explain why a person is in a wheelchair one day, is walking with a cain one day, is bed ridden some other day. Life is complicated. Probably a good rule of thumb is to just let it go, unless you know them well enough to actually have a real conversation about it, and not just make passing comments that make them feel bad.)

        • Cyril Strobe@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          12 hours ago

          First of all, it’s *cane not cain (pretty sure cain is a name)

          Second of all, and I feel like im repeating myself here: I’m not asking why he has both, I’m asking why he’s using both simultaneously. I get that people who have wheelchairs can also use canes too under certain circumstances, I just find it funny the way he uses the cane in this scenario as if he is walking when he isn’t.

          Nothing to do with any other time in his life. I don’t even know the bloke, how could I critique those other aspects of his life/other uses of his equipment?