I wrote this post a long time ago and didn't have the courage to publish it. Today is a good day for that, as surely any other would have been. Here we go: In one issue of online magazine Parkinson's Life it was reported that the crew of a Ryanair flight in the UK refused to let a passenger with Parkinson's on board because they thought he was drunk.

This case caused a huge outrage on British social media and I wonder how the public in Germany would have reacted to such a case. In the worst case, it would probably not have been made public and the person concerned would have had to deal with the problem on their own (in the best case there would have been a small newspaper report about it). It is not uncommon for Parkinson's to be confused with alcoholism. At first glance, the symptoms are very similar (except for the missing flag). Then there is whispering, or looks are thrown, but nobody thinks of addressing the person: "What's the matter with you? Do you have Parkinson's?"