Some guy in a shop said I was "challenged", I don't "look" mentally handicapped, should I challenge?

[Mr Allen]

Topic.

Long and short of it, I bought Tekken 7 on Xbox One this afternoon from a local Shop called ALS Media in the Hillsborough area of Sheffield, England, paid £40 for the game boxed with instructions, brought it Home, installed it on my Xbox One console, and after about 7 attempts the game wouldn't load.

I checked the disc, and it was VERY badly scratched so no wonder it didn't work, anyway I contacted the Store via their Facebook page, and according to them the disc was fine when I took it out of the Shop, and it's my handling that's caused it to not work! Thing is I've been handling game discs for years so I know they're sensitive to finger marks etc.

He then said, and I quote, that I was "challenged" and advised my carer to go into the Shop on my behalf with the game! He posted this on Messenger and I was literally fuming and was like, WTF?!

IMO this bloke has committed a "Hate crime" against me and by rights should be strung up, should I be taking this further legally?

Contrary to popular belief, people with Autism or Asperger's are NOT retarded or otherwise mentally incompetent.

 

[AGXStarseed]

Topic.

Long and short of it, I bought Tekken 7 on Xbox One this afternoon from a local Shop called ALS Media in the Hillsborough area of Sheffield, England, paid £40 for the game boxed with instructions, brought it Home, installed it on my Xbox One console, and after about 7 attempts the game wouldn't load.

I checked the disc, and it was VERY badly scratched so no wonder it didn't work, anyway I contacted the Store via their Facebook page, and according to them the disc was fine when I took it out of the Shop, and it's my handling that's caused it to not work! Thing is I've been handling game discs for years so I know they're sensitive to finger marks etc.

He then said, and I quote, that I was "challenged" and advised my carer to go into the Shop on my behalf with the game! He posted this on Messenger and I was literally fuming and was like, WTF?!

IMO this bloke has committed a "Hate crime" against me and by rights should be strung up, should I be taking this further legally?

Contrary to popular belief, people with Autism or Asperger's are NOT retarded or otherwise mentally incompetent.

This website may help you out with reporting it and getting it sorted:
Disability hate crime
How to report a hate incident or hate crime

Having someone refer to you as 'challenged' for you using your common sense and trying to pass the blame onto you when you point out that they've sold you a faulty product is downright rude and discriminatory.

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

Whay you find with game,dvd,cd sellers is that they repackage used product , resell it and sell it as new.
Trading standards is a better bet, but theyll likely ignore you.

Your course of action will probably be stressful.
As long as you have the right approach to it : ie
Nothing will happen but there will be a report of it.
Next time, if its someone else they will reference your report and be more likely to take action.

Mostly your word against theirs but as i said above, you have a reason but go in without expectations, for the above reason or a better one.

(Ive done the trading standards thing before. Each area is different,also a pain)

 

[Judge]

From your picture, I believe that some people assume your ocular condition (whatever it may be) is associated with some mental disorder. It's a common mistake and prejudice born out of generalizations and ignorance, especially with conditions like strabismus or amblyopia.

People observe your wandering/lazy right eye and some just assume you're developmentally disabled. I doubt such assumptions have anything to with your having Aspergers Syndrome, unless you have other physical mannerisms that may compound such prejudices. I suppose even someone with a false eye may encounter such prejudice. Makes me wonder if actors like Leo McKern or Richard Griffiths had to deal with this.

Beginning in my early school years I had to wear corrective lenses for a condition known as "lazy eye". Miraculously according to ophthalmologists, my case was one in a thousand where the lenses eventually corrected my eye without any surgery when I was around eight years old. And yes, on occasion I was teased about my one eye occasionally looking crooked/cock-eyed, whatever. Every time I went to the eye doctor my mother had to bring my medical file, which was nearly two inches thick!

Unfortunately it appears you were simply ripped off. Probably with no real recourse with it coming down to his word versus yours. Whether their erroneous assumption about you personally works in your favor in whatever version of small claims court there is in Britain I can't say. But I suspect it doesn't rise to the level of a hate crime.

Caveat Emptor.

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-think-people-with-strabismus-are-retarded
Ocular disorder in children with mental retardation
Strabismus - Wikipedia

 

[nowwhat]

Topic.

Long and short of it, I bought Tekken 7 on Xbox One this afternoon from a local Shop called ALS Media in the Hillsborough area of Sheffield, England, paid £40 for the game boxed with instructions, brought it Home, installed it on my Xbox One console, and after about 7 attempts the game wouldn't load.

I checked the disc, and it was VERY badly scratched so no wonder it didn't work, anyway I contacted the Store via their Facebook page, and according to them the disc was fine when I took it out of the Shop, and it's my handling that's caused it to not work! Thing is I've been handling game discs for years so I know they're sensitive to finger marks etc.

He then said, and I quote, that I was "challenged" and advised my carer to go into the Shop on my behalf with the game! He posted this on Messenger and I was literally fuming and was like, WTF?!

IMO this bloke has committed a "Hate crime" against me and by rights should be strung up, should I be taking this further legally?

Contrary to popular belief, people with Autism or Asperger's are NOT retarded or otherwise mentally incompetent.

Seriously, Rich. Grow a thicker skin. People will be people, which means, sometimes they will be ignorant, cruel and stupid. You can't have the constable down to sort things every time someone decides they don't like the look of you and fires a broadside. Laws and their enforcement notwithstanding, there will always be people who take a dislike to you, and they will find ways of letting you know. Quit running to Mommy every time someone bruises your feelings. The energy you spend trying to censor peoples' (admittedly) moronic expressions would be better used furthering your own goals, or on people who are more enlightened and on your side. I'm an aspie who has been in the workforce for decades. I have heard every cowardly, igorant comment and insult you could conceieve of. I have heard them whispered, shouted in my face, muttered behind my back and written where I can see them. F*ck them, I say. If you don't rise to the bait, they will quit fishing. Calling this little utterance a "hate crime" is histrionic, in my opinion. When's the last time a group of people were looking for you to kick your a$$? When's the last time your car was vandalized? Settle down, mate.

 

[Momo]

Yep, take it further, this shop-dude is such a prick!

 

[pax]

You bought this item in person, at a bricks and mortar shop. Why the hell would you contact them on Facebook?? Good things don't happen on facebook. It's not a professional website, or helpdesk, or complaints hotline. It's bloody facebook. I don't know if you messaged them or posted it on their wall. The latter is going to be viewed as very unprofessional, as every man and his dog can see it, and is not going to get the best response. Why didn't you walk into the shop and speak to the manager?

You do however, have a record of this guy's response, if you wish to take it further.

 

[Buzzerfly]

Well...this fine fellow "works" at a bootleg game shop, probably watches a lot of COPS-esque tv, eats microwaved dollar pizzas everyday because he can't tell what food tastes like, and likely finds it amusing to force his dog to lick peanut butter off his wiener. I ask you then: who's challenged?

Probably a waste of time on the legal action, but agree with Fridgemagnetman if you wanna give it a go!

 

[WildCat]

There are dozens of these "hate crimes" going on every day. Sorry to say, but legal action isn't going to get you anywhere. Find another place to do business or wait for a change of staff?

Try to brush it off, calm down and call it a day. People are going to be ignorant, nothing you can say or do to change that either.

 

[Alaska]

Well...this fine fellow "works" at a bootleg game shop, probably watches a lot of COPS-esque tv, eats microwaved dollar pizzas everyday because he can't tell what food tastes like, and likely finds it amusing to force his dog to lick peanut butter off his wiener. I ask you then: who's challenged?

Probably a waste of time on the legal action, but agree with Fridgemagnetman if you wanna give it a go!

Happy Birthday!

 

[Mr Allen]

From your picture, I believe that some people assume your ocular condition (whatever it may be) is associated with some mental disorder. It's a common mistake and prejudice born out of generalizations and ignorance, especially with conditions like strabismus or amblyopia.

People observe your wandering/lazy right eye and some just assume you're developmentally disabled. I doubt such assumptions have anything to with your having Aspergers Syndrome, unless you have other physical mannerisms that may compound such prejudices. I suppose even someone with a false eye may encounter such prejudice. Makes me wonder if actors like Leo McKern or Richard Griffiths had to deal with this.

Beginning in my early school years I had to wear corrective lenses for a condition known as "lazy eye". Miraculously according to ophthalmologists, my case was one in a thousand where the lenses eventually corrected my eye without any surgery when I was around eight years old. And yes, on occasion I was teased about my one eye occasionally looking crooked/cock-eyed, whatever. Every time I went to the eye doctor my mother had to bring my medical file, which was nearly two inches thick!

Unfortunately it appears you were simply ripped off. Probably with no real recourse with it coming down to his word versus yours. Whether their erroneous assumption about you personally works in your favor in whatever version of small claims court there is in Britain I can't say. But I suspect it doesn't rise to the level of a hate crime.

Caveat Emptor.

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-think-people-with-strabismus-are-retarded
Ocular disorder in children with mental retardation
Strabismus - Wikipedia

I have hereditary cataracts, my late Granddad had them, and now Mum had them, now me.

And like I said, contrary to the belief spouted by clueless idiots such as the bloke in the shop, Asperger's people are NOT retarded or otherwise mentally incompetent.

Anyway I've asked Dad to go to the shop and try and get a refund on the game, as IMO the game is faulty, as it was scratched quite bad before I laid a finger on it.

 

[Suzanne]

I get you Rick, that would wind me up to. However, it is always good to look BEFORE you leave the establishment.

Unfortunately you will not get a redress on this, because of the type of shop you went into and the fact, that someone has judged you by your avatar ( is that the photo that you generally use)? Anyone looking a little unusal will sadly, always get comments the way you did.

Again, there is absolutely no proof that you did not mishandle it; since there are no photos of the before.

People judge visually.

 

[Suzanne]

From your picture, I believe that some people assume your ocular condition (whatever it may be) is associated with some mental disorder. It's a common mistake and prejudice born out of generalizations and ignorance, especially with conditions like strabismus or amblyopia.

People observe your wandering/lazy right eye and some just assume you're developmentally disabled. I doubt such assumptions have anything to with your having Aspergers Syndrome, unless you have other physical mannerisms that may compound such prejudices. I suppose even someone with a false eye may encounter such prejudice. Makes me wonder if actors like Leo McKern or Richard Griffiths had to deal with this.

Beginning in my early school years I had to wear corrective lenses for a condition known as "lazy eye". Miraculously according to ophthalmologists, my case was one in a thousand where the lenses eventually corrected my eye without any surgery when I was around eight years old. And yes, on occasion I was teased about my one eye occasionally looking crooked/cock-eyed, whatever. Every time I went to the eye doctor my mother had to bring my medical file, which was nearly two inches thick!

Unfortunately it appears you were simply ripped off. Probably with no real recourse with it coming down to his word versus yours. Whether their erroneous assumption about you personally works in your favor in whatever version of small claims court there is in Britain I can't say. But I suspect it doesn't rise to the level of a hate crime.

Caveat Emptor.

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-think-people-with-strabismus-are-retarded
Ocular disorder in children with mental retardation
Strabismus - Wikipedia

I too have a "lazy eye", but thankfully it only happens when I look in a certain way or when I am tired and blessedly, my husband, who has seen it ( me unaware), just said he ignores it. I guess it is easy to ignore, due to none perminence.

 

[Suzanne]

Seriously, Rich. Grow a thicker skin. People will be people, which means, sometimes they will be ignorant, cruel and stupid. You can't have the constable down to sort things every time someone decides they don't like the look of you and fires a broadside. Laws and their enforcement notwithstanding, there will always be people who take a dislike to you, and they will find ways of letting you know. Quit running to Mommy every time someone bruises your feelings. The energy you spend trying to censor peoples' (admittedly) moronic expressions would be better used furthering your own goals, or on people who are more enlightened and on your side. I'm an aspie who has been in the workforce for decades. I have heard every cowardly, igorant comment and insult you could conceieve of. I have heard them whispered, shouted in my face, muttered behind my back and written where I can see them. F*ck them, I say. If you don't rise to the bait, they will quit fishing. Calling this little utterance a "hate crime" is histrionic, in my opinion. When's the last time a group of people were looking for you to kick your a$$? When's the last time your car was vandalized? Settle down, mate.

I honestly do not think this is going to help our fellow aspie too well. It is easy to say: grow a thick skin, but quite the opposite to actually do so! It is like: stop stimming; you are embarrassing etc etc.

 

[Judge]

People judge visually.

Precisely. They likely read his face, see his eyes and judge accordingly. Which wouldn't likely involve any thought of Aspergers Syndrome. Unfortunately it seems relatively common for some to assume it implies some kind of mental retardation when it's not at all the case.

 

[Judge]

Anyway I've asked Dad to go to the shop and try and get a refund on the game, as IMO the game is faulty, as it was scratched quite bad before I laid a finger on it.

From what I see, it sounds like "caveat emptor" may no longer apply in British law pertaining to mere consumer goods, which might give Rich leverage in getting his money back within the next two weeks minimum if this information is accurate.

"In the UK, consumer law has moved away from the caveat emptor model, with laws passed that have enhanced consumer rights and allow greater leeway to return goods that do not meet legal standards of acceptance. Consumer purchases are regulated by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, whilst business-to-business purchases are regulated by the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

In the UK, consumers have the right to a full refund for faulty goods. However, traditionally, many retailers allow customers to return goods within a specified period (typically two weeks to two months) for a full refund or an exchange, even if there is no fault with the product. Exceptions may apply for goods sold as damaged or to clear.

Goods bought through "distance selling," for example online or by phone, also have a statutory "cooling off" period of fourteen calendar days during which the purchase contract can be cancelled and treated as if not done.

Although no longer applied in consumer law, the principle of caveat emptor is generally held to apply to transactions between businesses unless it can be shown that the seller had a clear information advantage over the buyer that could not have been removed by carrying out reasonable due diligence."

Might be amusing if Rich himself goes back and quotes this to the store clerk under the circumstances.

Caveat emptor - Wikipedia

Locally here in Nevada it's customary to post to customers about proprietors officially inspecting all used disks for resale. So such a scenario might happen, but isn't intended as such.

 

[nowwhat]

I honestly do not think this is going to help our fellow aspie too well. It is easy to say: grow a thick skin, but quite the opposite to actually do so! It is like: stop stimming; you are embarrassing etc etc.

I told him nothing of the sort. My advice was to adopt realistic expectations of people's behavior. This clerk might merely have been sincere, if rude. Seems unlikely, but I've learned that it's hard to overestimate human stupidity. He might have been deliberately insulting. Impossible for any of us to say, given we've only had on brief account of the interaction. His first course should have been to have a face to face and let it be obvious that he was not as assumed or insinuated. Depending on the clerk's behavior, from there to a supervisor, etc. etc. To label what transpired a "hate crime" is unwarranted, IMO.

 

[Mr Allen]

I told him nothing of the sort. My advice was to adopt realistic expectations of people's behavior. This clerk might merely have been sincere, if rude. Seems unlikely, but I've learned that it's hard to overestimate human stupidity. He might have been deliberately insulting. Impossible for any of us to say, given we've only had on brief account of the interaction. His first course should have been to have a face to face and let it be obvious that he was not as assumed or insinuated. Depending on the clerk's behavior, from there to a supervisor, etc. etc. To label what transpired a "hate crime" is unwarranted, IMO.

This happened in the UK, UK Stores do not have "Clerks" like in America.

The Store is just staffed by a guy who is clearly an uneducated moron.

 

[Thursday]

I'm not sure if it applies, but when I have a complaint about a particular person in a shop (blatantly rude, dsrespectful) or someone mishandled an order I made, I either talk to the manager in person or give the head office a call. No need for legal action outright unless its a recurring thing.

If you intend for the staff member to be retrained or, at least, take your complaint seriously, it may be best not to appear angry when talking to the manager. Keep calm and objective. I've found that managers would just apologize on behalf of the staff and then handle the situation internally.

 

[nowwhat]

This happened in the UK, UK Stores do not have "Clerks" like in America.

The Store is just staffed by a guy who is clearly an uneducated moron.

My choice of the work "clerk", is hardly the kernel of what I was trying to convey. As someone who endures much worse at work, on a daily basis, and has for decades, yet still manages to work productively with the people with whom I am paid to accomplish things, I sincerely hope you can take more from my offerings than a transatlantic sematic miscommunication. You may find my posts challenging, but hopefully not hostile. Hostility was not my intent.

Someone whom I once loved and trusted as a child, told me, "90% of life is mental toughness. This person tried twice to murder me, years later. Even complete and total arseholes can nonetheless be dead right about important things. This prat was right.

Life and its inhabitants will never stop taking cowardly cheap shots at you. Never. Are you going to pursue the impotent victims' remedies every time someone's speech is rude, unkind or downright cruel? It will boot you nothing and waste your time and energies. And there will be more jerks than all the legal mechaninations of all the Earth's societies can squash.