# Ha ha! Look at the Amputee! Ha ha! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 18, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461 "2004-08-18T21:39:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/1 "2004-08-18T21:39:31Z")
I’m boiling with rage. I can’t _believe_ what happened to my boss today. She is a wonderful lady-- a joy to work with, really. Actually, I think of her almost as another mom. But that doesn’t matter. Even if she was a bitch, she wouldn’t have deserved what happened to her this afternoon. She’s had health problems over the last year, and had to have her index finger amputated a month ago because of a progressive disease. She’s back at work, even though she’s not fully recovered from it. We work in a museum, and today, we had a large group of senior citizens coming in from out of town to go on a tour. “Amy” (as I’ll call her) was ringing up their admission fees at the register. Two old men approached. Looking at her hand, he snickered and said, very loudly, so others could appreciate his wit, “What happened to your finger? Did you chop it off while skinning a chicken?” Stunned, Amy replied, “Well, no, sir. I have a disease and I had to have it removed.” The man exploded into laughter, as if she’d told a great joke. He nudged his friend standing beside him, who also started laughing, _and pointing._ The rest of the group watched impassively. I’ll give Amy credit for her strength. She finished the tour (though the assholes were making snide comments throughout) and waited until they had left the building before breaking down into tears. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed, as she was telling me the story. “I’m just not used to it yet. I’m still so self-concious about my finger, and for him to say that . . .” I was so angry, I wished they hadn’t left yet so I could give them hell. “They ought to be glad I didn’t hear that,” I seethed. “Why didn’t you tell them to leave?” “I was just so stunned,” she wept. “I couldn’t _believe_ it!” The cruelty of mankind never ceases to amaze me. He’s an elderly man, who doesn’t have the excuse of youth or ignorance the way a child does. (And if I ever saw my child say something like that, I would kill them!) As I told Amy, I’m angry enough to almost wish the same thing that happened to her on him, but I don’t, because no one deserves to go through that. Bastard. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/2 "2004-08-18T21:45:41Z")
She showed a lot of class. When I’m closer to the end I’ll give a lot less of a shit, and take care of these things different from now. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/3 "2004-08-18T21:46:57Z")
Holy smokes, what a callous bastard. At first I though well, maybe there was some sort of miscommunication or something but when you think about it the guy had to be a real prick to call attention to it in the first place. I’m so sorry to hear she had to go through that. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/4 "2004-08-18T21:50:12Z")
Damn! I’m stunned just reading that. I mean … how could anyone … I mean … damn! ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/5 "2004-08-18T21:51:51Z")
That guy obviously lacks empathy. Perhaps someone needs to cut his index finger off so he can fully appreciate her situation? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/6 "2004-08-18T22:00:56Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > The man exploded into laughter, as if she’d told a great joke. He nudged his friend standing beside him, who also started laughing, and pointing. The rest of the group watched impassively. They deserve a finger pointed back, preferably a middle one. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/7 "2004-08-18T22:13:17Z")
Is there a possibility the man was an Alzheimer’s sufferer? I ask because my grandmother went through a period in her Alheimer’s decline where she lost edting control of what she was saying – things came out that, had she been in her right mind, she would have _died_ before saying. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/8 "2004-08-18T22:15:10Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > The cruelty of mankind never ceases to amaze me. My best friend’s 3-year-old nephew was killed in a tragic car accident last week. In spite of the fact that everyone in the car was properly buckled into seatbelts and appropriate safety seats, the child, as well as his mother, who was driving, were thrown from the car as it flew out of control and overturned due to a blowout (a 4-year-old and a 17-year-old brother remained fastened in and were uninjured). The 3-year-old died at the hospital from head injuries. Friends and family came from all over to attend the child’s funeral. An uncle who attended, rather than offering condolences, said to the grieving mother, “Thanks a lot for ruining my vacation!” :eek: Some people are just sick, twisted fucks. If og forbid there’s ever a next time, tell your boss to poke the schmuck in the eye with her other good index finger and proclaim, “Well, at least this one still works!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/9 "2004-08-18T22:30:04Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Is there a possibility the man was an Alzheimer’s sufferer? I dunno. I rang up a purchase he made (before I knew about his nastiness) and he asked me for directions, seeming perfectly coherent. And they kept making comments throughout the tour, which indicates to me that they’re cogniscent enough to follow a train of thought. (Albeit a nasty one.) I doubt if _both_ guys had Alzheimer’s, but if they did, it would have been nice if one of the members of their group would have whispered to Amy that he couldn’t help what he was saying. No, I think the guy was just Grade A Prime Asshole. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/10 "2004-08-18T23:13:23Z")
Good Lord, what an asshole. There are no words. I don’t know which is worse – that sort of asshole, or the sort of elderly male asshole who once came over to me when I was sitting with some friends between college classes and told me how impressed he was to see me here, how brave I must be. :rolleyes: You see, he was a doctor, so he KNEW how hard it was. Or something like that (I have a rare orthopedic condition, the main manifestation of which is bad scoliosis as well as being really really damn short. Neither of which have the slightest impact on my fucking academic ability.) I had to explain to my friends exactly why, after he finally walked off, I almost started crying. Undoubtedly he thought he was being nice, and my friends latched onto that, but missed the totally patronization. To their credit, once I explained why I was so upset, they understood. I’m afraid your friend is going to have to put up with people like this, at least on rare occasions. And I can’t imagine how hard it must be to learn to deal with it as an adult; I’ve always been different. She can do it, though, it sounds like she handled the situation well – though she probably should have thrown the assholes out nonetheless. Fuck them all. She’s doing her job. I was going to school. Leave us the fuck alone, assholes! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/11 "2004-08-18T23:22:21Z")
That’s just…wow. Was the man losing his hair? I’d have made a comment like that if he was. That’s just so amazing. (I’d be willing to give odds that this jackass is one of those who always complains about how “kids today don’t have manners”) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/12 "2004-08-18T23:28:34Z")
If he’s elderly, he’ll be greeting the Devil is a Pit hotter than this one, real soon. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/13 "2004-08-19T00:45:30Z")
One day his penis is going to snap off and he’ll have to get a prosthetic one. Because he’s a jerk off. And then an old lady will laugh at him when he pulls down his boxers. ---
**Author:** ![SnakeSpirit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snakespirit/32/7271_2.png) [@SnakeSpirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeSpirit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/14 "2004-08-19T00:54:27Z")
[Ethnologist hat on] Where did this happen? And, is there any information on where the “visitors” were from? Sad to say, but not all cultures (or even subcultures) share the same values. [Ethnologist hat off] The guy was a _jerk_! ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/15 "2004-08-19T00:57:21Z")
Maybe it’s not Alzheimers, but senile dementia in both of them? Also, some medications can cause personality changes, as well as things like strokes. It was very mean spirited of them, but possibly it wasn’t something they’d have done when they were younger, and “more themselves”? It doesn’t excuse the behavior, just explains it. I think those two need “handlers” to act as a buffer between them and others to prevent such things in the future. ☹ I hope your boss recovers her morale after that. That is a crappy thing to go through. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/16 "2004-08-19T01:17:48Z")
Unbelievable. Regardless of whether those guys had medical conditions or whatnot, your boss showed a lotta poise and a whole lotta class. I don’t know how old she is, but will you ask her if she’ll marry me? ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/17 "2004-08-19T01:39:27Z")
Honest to God that sounds like my FIL. He’ll affect foreign accents at chinese or mexican restaurants, and tell ethnic jokes to the server. I’ve heard him make fun of folks who look talk walk or act “funny”. Racist jokes?, well lets just say he doesn’t repeat those in front of me anymore. Sadly he really thinks he’s being humorous. I remember one time at a very nice favorite Chinese restaurant of his, the hostess came up and rubbed his ample belly and said “happy buddha” and then she cackled and laughed and laughed. My FIL laughed too, I thought she was making fun him ( like he deserved) but he thought he was getting special attention. My mom once asked me (after a rare visit with him) if he had suffered a stroke and brain damage because of his caustic put downs and handicap humour -I got thinking about his heart attack several years ago and maybe there is a reason, but my BIL’s (his sons)seem to be following in his footsteps too… ---
**Author:** ![Gest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Gest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gest)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/18 "2004-08-19T01:56:45Z")
> [@Snakespirit](#): > > [Ethnologist hat on] > Where did this happen? > And, is there any information on where the “visitors” were from? > > Sad to say, but not all cultures (or even subcultures) share the same values. > [Ethnologist hat off] Which cultures would find this acceptable? Which ones are you personally familiar with? ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/19 "2004-08-19T02:28:56Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > Maybe it’s not Alzheimers, but senile dementia in both of them? Also, some medications can cause personality changes, as well as things like strokes. It was very mean spirited of them, but possibly it wasn’t something they’d have done when they were younger, and “more themselves”? I really think it’s nice that people are trying to find organic reasons for this guy’s behavior. I wish I were less cynical, because I’m just thinking that when assholes grow up, you get elderly assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461/20 "2004-08-19T02:42:44Z")
**lisacurl** , you nailed it. Old people aren’t inherently nice…or naive…or stupid. Guy was a prick and is **more** accountable for his actions based on age. Not less. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ha-ha-look-at-the-amputee-ha-ha/260461.md?page=2)