When I refused to leave, she reached for her phone and ended up calling 911 claiming I am a danger to society. Let's dive right into the story. And the first one is titled angry entitled Karen bans me from public pool, but I am a disabled Marine veteran in a wheelchair.
So, I'm a disabled veteran. I served in the Marine Corps for several years before an injury during deployment left me with permanent damage to my lower spine. I use a wheelchair almost full-time now. It took me a long time to get used to my new life and honestly, swimming has been one of the few physical activities that actually helps with my pain and keeps my muscles from stiffening up. My doctor recommended it and my physical therapist recommended it too and honestly, it has become one of the few things that makes me feel kind of normal again.
There's a public pool near my house that I've been going to for a couple of years now. It is run by the city open to any resident who pays the small entry fee or has a season pass like I do and I go there several times a week usually during the slower hours in the late morning when it's not too crowded. The lifeguards know me and the front desk staff knows me as well and up until this incident, I never had a single problem there.
The pool has one of those accessible ramps that lets me wheel myself right down into the shallow end without even needing anyone to lift me. It is not fancy, but it works and it's honestly one of the reasons I picked this particular pool over others in the area. Some pools still don't have proper accessibility features, so when I found one that did, I stuck with it.
On the day this all went down, I got there around mid-morning like I usually do. I checked in at the front desk, showed my pass and wheeled myself towards the ramp like always and that is when I noticed a woman sitting in one of the lounge chairs closest to the ramp entrance, watching me with this look on her face like she had never seen someone in a wheelchair before. I did not think much of it at first. People stare sometimes. It is just part of life now, and I've gotten used to ignoring it.
I got myself into the water and started doing my usual laps and stretches. And about 10 minutes in, I noticed the same woman had gotten up from her chair and was now standing at the edge of the pool near the ramp, arms crossed, watching me like I was doing something wrong. I tried to ignore her and kept doing my exercises, but she was not having it.
"Excuse me," she said loud enough that a few others from us turned to look. "You cannot be in there."
I stopped and looked at her, confused. "Sorry, what?"
"This is a private pool," she said. "I own this facility, and you cannot just come in here without permission."
Now, I knew for a fact this was a public pool, and I've been paying for a season pass for like 2 years already. There were signs everywhere with the city's parks and recreation logo on them. I politely told her that she was mistaken and said, "This is a public pool, ma'am. I have a season pass, and I've been coming here for years."
She shook her head like I was the one who was confused. "No, you don't understand. I have an arrangement with the city. This pool is under my management, and I decide who gets to use it. And I don't think it's appropriate for you to be here."
I asked her what exactly she meant by appropriate because at this point I had a feeling I knew where this was going, but I wanted her to say it out loud in front of everyone.
She straightened up and said, "I'm a pacifist. I've been told that you're a marine or served in the military or some crap. I don't believe in violence or war, and people who were part of that system make me uncomfortable. I don't think someone with your background should be allowed in a space where families are trying to relax."
I laughed at her because it was such an absurd thing to hear out loud. "So, you're telling me I cannot swim in a public pool because I used to be in the military?"
"I'm telling you that your presence here is disruptive," she said. "You're taking up space by the ramp, and you're moving slow, and frankly, people like you need to tend to bring a certain energy that is not peaceful."
And by the way, guys, it seems like Karen is describing herself here. By the way, if you enjoyed these crazy Karen stories, please don't forget to like the video, and maybe even post a comment and hype the video if you want to support me. Thank you so much for supporting Real Voice Readers. It is very much appreciated.
Anyway, though, by this point, a small crowd of people had noticed what was happening here. A couple of parents with their kids in the shallow end had stopped to listen, and an older man who was doing water aerobics near the lap lanes had turned around, too. I could feel eyes on us, and honestly, I didn't even care. I was not going to let this woman bully me into leaving a place I had every right to be.
"I'm not going anywhere," I told her. "I got a season pass, I follow the rules, and I'm not causing any problems. You don't own this pool, and even if you did, you cannot just deny access to a disabled veteran because of your personal opinions about the military."
That is when she pulled out her phone and said, "Fine, I will just call the police then and have them escort you out. You're a danger to society. I'm banning you from this establishment."
I told her to go ahead because I knew I had not done anything wrong here. I was not breaking any rules, I was not causing a disturbance until she started one, and I had every legal right to be there.
While she was on the phone, a woman near the shallow end walked over to me and asked quietly, "Is she serious right now? She doesn't own this pool. My kids have been coming here since it opened. It is run by the city."
I told her, "That is exactly what I'd been trying to explain."
She looked over at the entitled woman who was pacing near the edge of the pool with her phone against her ear, talking loudly about how there was a dangerous individual refusing to leave the premises. A dangerous individual because I asked to use a public pool in my wheelchair?
Well, then, sometime later, two police officers showed up, and by that point, word had spread a little through the pool area, and there were probably like a dozen or so people who had stopped their swimming to watch what was going on here. The woman practically ran over to the officers before they even got through the gate.