Discriminatory 2012 Paralympics Rules: Offensive And Inhuman For Wheelchair-Bounds

Huge gaming and sports events have always been a reason for families sitting together and watching these mega events on their television sets. For some families, especially that of the participating athletes, there is always a chance of enjoying the events on the ground. And it is no wonder as these people, make the events huge! Without them, our most acknowledged mega sport events cannot be successful… The cheering, the crowd, the fan following, become one of the reasons of the adrenaline rush of athletes!

But, the London 2012 Paralympics Organizers might have taken some of its genuine audience for granted! According to their new rules, Wheelchair-bound parents cannot be seated with young children and only one adult can join them in wheelchair area at Paralympics venues.

_{Image From: Wikipedia}

This is extremely heartbreaking for people, who want to live their extra-ordinary lives, ordinarily… enjoying like everyone else! But these discriminatory seating rules are stopping them too!

A storm erupted over tickets for the London 2012 Paralympics after some disabled parents were told they cannot sit with their families while watching the games. Wheelchair-bound mothers and fathers were stunned and devastated to find out that they cannot be seated with their young children because of these new rules.

Families are totally disappointed as they want to share this special occasion together. How can you imagine going to a stadium with your family and leaving your wheelchair-bound mother or father to a separate section? And it’s not only about how we feel about leaving our parents and children to a separate section! It’s about how they are actually going to feel about it, being on a wheelchair is not a restriction to have fun!

_{Image From: Wikipedia}

This was sure not expected from the Paralympics organizers as the retaliation to it is severe, people have been commenting much about it on twitter and the reaction is fierce!

Disabled mother-of-two Beth Davis-Hofbauer said she felt 'non-human' when she was told her family could not sit with her at the events which start on August 29. The 32-year-old said: 'They wouldn't even allow me to pay full adult price for the children to sit on my lap. They said my kids, would have to sit somewhere else - which of course they could absolutely not.’ 'I felt non-human. It's because I'm in a wheel-chair. I cannot believe that at this event, which could inspire a new generation of athletes, has a discriminatory ticket policy.’

The Games' organizers denied they had a policy that wheelchair users could only be accompanied by one other person when attending events.

_{Image From: london2012.com}

A LOCOG spokesman said: 'We designed our venues such that accessible seating will be located around the new venues at different price points so that wheelchair users can sit with their friends and families rather than in one single designated area, and we included a companion seat in the cost of a ticket for a wheelchair space.’

Well, good if the organizers realize how terrible it is to separate families on an event that is cherished by all and has a huge following! These discriminatory rules cannot be applied to Paralympics; families make sure that they enjoy it together. It is an event that inspires people; its spirit must remain inspirational too!