A public letter to somebody unnamed:

[conuly]

If you are between me and the bathroom, or me and the door, and you're not going anywhere but I need to get through the space you're in, YES you CAN go somewhere. You can take two steps backward so I can get by without having to squeeze. This is an ongoing issue. If I'm the one moving, and you're standing still chatting, and there is NO other path for me to get to my destination that doesn't involve going up and down an extra flight of stairs, then it makes no sense for you to tell ME to move out of YOUR way. TAKE TWO STEPS BACK.

If your back is towards the kitchen and you are facing the stairs, taking two steps back will NOT cause you to plummet down the stairs, because you will be moving in the opposite direction.

Just because you feel six inches of space is enough for me to squeeze past you does not mean that I feel it is enough - and my asking you to move back out of the doorway does not mean I want a six foot buffer zone. It means I want enough space to get to the bathroom, or the microwave, or the stove, or the stairs, without risking bumping you or knocking into the furniture.

Comments

[used_songs]

I'm with you. I hate it when people do that. Also, if you squeeze past they get mad because you didn't "just ask" and if you ask they get mad about that.

[mama_kestrel]

Have you been talking to my mother? :P

[lilysea]

Oh ye fishes and little gods - this is a MASSIVE hassle I have as a wheelchair user - I ask people to move out of my way, and they ARGUE with me that "you've got tonnes of room"

"Look lady/gentleman/nonbinary honorific of your choice, do you want me to run over your foot, or not?

I have 10 years experience using a power wheelchair - how many years do YOU have?"

See also: people who try to squeeze past between my wheelchair armrest and the wall and get pissy when I say "Please wait, there's not enough room, let me move out of your way first!"

I had to physically block one lady from squeezing past me by holding my golf umbrella out in front of me horizontally - she was about to squeeze past in a too-small space between my powerchair and the wall and knock over dozens of wine glasses that were on shelves lining the restaurant wall! This is by no means the only example, just the most memorable one.

[silveradept]

At that particular point, it seems like the best idea to squeeze between them in such a way that they are moved or severely inconvenienced because they wouldn't move the two steps they needed to.

[yuuo]

^^^That.