You sound like you get a nice group of people where you live Batsgirl! My mother is white, female and has a walking stick - yet still frequently gets barged into and knocked around. I've lost count of the number of times people have let a door go in her face, or knocked her handbag off her shoulder. It makes me angry, especially when she's leaning on the stick on one side and me on the other. She does keep suggesting that maybe she needs blue flashing lights and sirens, but I'm sure Tom would say that these get ignored frequently anyway. She has now found that the occasional *accidental* clout to the back of an ankle or achilles tendon with the stick tends to work. Completely accidental you understand......dreadfully sorry.....