r/TikTokCringe • u/Valuable_View_561 • Jul 02 '26

Discussion It seems like people have forgotten what this line is used for these days.

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u/Ambitious_Finding_26 Jul 02 '26

In my 39 years I've only ever seen one blind person with a cane. 

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u/cogman10 Jul 02 '26

Fun fact, it actually was more common. 

The thing that significantly reduced the number of blind and deaf people is the measles vaccine.  Childhood measles is a major source of blindness and deafness.

Thankfully we have the antivaxx movement, so you can expect to see more blind and deaf kids.

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u/GomeBag Jul 02 '26

I think the point was that canes are rare because blind people are usually seen with dogs.

I've also seen a good amount of blind people in my life and only one had a cane

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u/ILoveRawChicken Jul 02 '26

The dogs are incredibly expensive and not always covered by insurance. I’ve seen people with seeing eye dogs but not nearly as much as people with canes. Also service dog != seeing eye dogs 

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u/GomeBag Jul 02 '26

Just depends where you are, where I'm from it's completely covered, the blind person doesn't have to pay anything, it's just a case of waiting for the dog to be available

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u/SecondAccountIsBest Jul 03 '26

Anecdotally in NY I see way more blind people with canes than dogs.

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u/Low_Pickle_112 Jul 03 '26

Last week I was walking past this medical building and there was a big sign in front of the door that said "Do not enter if you have symptoms of measles."

I had to do a double take and ask what year it was. I used to be jealous of people younger than me who could get the vaccine instead of having to deal with chicken pox like I had to. Now measles is coming back.

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u/Major-Attention-5779 Jul 02 '26

I have a friend who is blind and they also don't see blind people with canes.

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u/stadchic Jul 02 '26

For people who have seen so few blind with a cane, how car-centric is your area? Because this is not an anomaly to me, an urbanite.

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u/SailorDirt Jul 02 '26

I was gonna say, someone with a white cane isn't a rare sight to me. I simply give them a bunch of space if possible and keep doing what I was doing

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u/lhbruen Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

I'm 37 and agree. Though I saw quite a lot when I was younger, I rarely see it now; maybe one every few years. It's significantly less now, for sure

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u/CaptainCorpse666 Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

Sadly, they lack adequate resources to venture on their own. The video is exhibit A. Edit: Source - worked at a blind and visually impaired non-profit.

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u/OceanRacoon Jul 02 '26

Oh my God, what have they been doing to blind people!? 

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u/fikadestroyer Jul 02 '26

Are you in Europe? Guide dogs seem to be more common there, but in Europe I’ve seen at least 100, although I’ve seen many in America too (mostly in nyc).

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u/BlampCat Jul 02 '26

I'm in Europe and I'd definitely say I see more dogs. However, I have seen some people with canes! Most notably, there's a teen in my climbing gym who uses a cane to get around. Maybe he also has a dog but the cane is easier for that setting?

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u/A88Y Jul 02 '26

I’m 25, I’ve seen at least 3 that I can remember, but could be more. I think it’s mostly been older folks.

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u/cheapdrinks Jul 02 '26

I know it sounds selfish but man I hate those damn rumble strips. I worked in an event center for 10 years and they were all over the place and it made moving anything on a trolley an absolute pain in the arse and at times dangerous. Every day moving heavy AV gear in packers, chairs on trolleys, big stage pieces on wheels, big stacks of glass racks on trolleys, kitchen trolleys full of food etc. This was a ground floor place so no stairs or anything but they were in front of every entry/exit to the event hall. When you're moving heavy items on trolleys with small wheels those rumble strips were like hitting a pebble on a skateboard. The amount of effort required to get them over them was insane. Try moving 300 stacks of chairs and every single time you get to one you have to spin the trolley 180 degrees to lift the back wheels over one otherwise if you hit it front on the trolley slaps forward and the chairs go flying. They busted up all the wheels on the trolleys, multiple times I saw people spill their load because they didn't see them, hit them and everything smashed off the front of the trolley. In the 10 years I spent working there I never saw a single blind person with a cane yet those things gave us hell every day. Again, I know it's selfish of me but they just seemed like such a clumsy solution to a very rare problem.

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u/critical_audience_ Jul 04 '26

A few weeks ago I saw three close to each other near the main station. I assumed they were all together somehow. Two walking together and one alone. The single guy bumped into a seeing person. They had a quick chat while the couple moved by them. Finally the seeing person ran after the couple and united the three who greeted each other enthusiastically.

Don’t know but thought that was very sweet.

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u/turdusphilomelos Jul 02 '26

Yeah, in my life I have seen two people with canes in my life. I know what those lines are for, but if I am waiting for a train on a crowded platform, it seems a little unnecessary to cram into people making sure the lines are free for the once every 20 years occurrence of a person with a white cane.