The other day I read the story of a man on Boston’s south shore who loves his Dunkin Donuts coffee. I immediately bonded with him, since I also love the Dunkin java. In fact I know exactly where this guy’s Dunkie’s of choice is located. I always thought it was kinda funny that this one is a little drive thru hut and across the street is a full size sit down version. They are both successful and everytime I’ve ever been by, they both seem to be pretty busy.

The fellow in question uses a wheelchair to get around and so I was sure that as I read this piece it would talk about some difficulty getting in and out of the sit down Dunkin Donuts. Maybe the bathroom was not handicap friendly or maybe the tables were too clolse together. No, this guy was on a tear because the drive thru DD would not serve him. He claimed it was discrimination and he saw some sort of anti-disabled agenda at work.

As I read the story my blood pressure kept rising. I was as angry as the poor coffee deprived guy. I wasn’t angry with the donut folks, I was livid with the whiner.

My daughter has a number of disabilities both mental and physical. We start our day by taking her “sleeping” braces off her legs and putting on her daytime braces. She uses a wheelchair, as well. I served on the State Council on Developmental Disabilities and I am a vocal and passionate advocate for the disabled. But for G-d’s sake you don’t have a constitutional right to be served at the donut hut’s car drive up window when you are not driving a car. Traffic is busy in that parking lot and it is dangerous to be in the middle of it, in the drive thru, in anything but a car or truck. It is not discrimination it is common sense.

Look, I’ll gladly buy this guy a cup of joe sometime, his choice of Dunkin Donut flavors (my peronal choice is the cinnamon hazelnut) and I’ll pitch in for a cruller or two, but he has to acknowledge that this is not a legit issue to raise hell about. I will gladly help him fight to insure that the disabled are able to easily access hospitals and schools and the like, but he has a duty to mitigate in this matter by visiting the wheelchair friendly location just a few feet away. Until he does that, he is a publicity seeking guy and not a champion for the disabled.

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