A Special Kind of Jerk
Yeah, you know who you are. You're the person that's NOT disabled, parking in a handicapped parking zone. Oh, you have the documentation hanging off your rear view mirror, but it's NOT for you. It's for a family member of yours that's disabled.
And here you are, today, without that family member, parking in the handicapped parking zone. You know what you're doing, but you do it anyway... partly because you feel your entitled to do it, or because you think you can get away with it. You probably get away with it a lot, but guess what, that doesn't make it right.
Just so you know, people notice. We see you hop out of your car and stroll into the store without any sign that your disabled or handicapped in any way. You've beaten the system, and besides, the world owes you. And what do we think of you? We think you're a piece of manure who is taking advantage of the system.
In other cases, you just think you're better. You think you're like the queen and everyone else needs to bow to you. Other people do it so why not? You're probably even upset that free valet service isn't provided!
Shame on you.
How about the ones that have the placard but drive giant full-size pickups? That even the average person would have trouble climbing in and out of?
ReplyDeleteOr the ones that have a permit only because they're gigantic, disgusting fat bodies?
What drives me nuts is that the same people that do this are the same ones that stroll into the store and raise a huge stink if the front end staff don't worship the ground they walk on and the pharmacy doesn't immediately waive all their copays because "I aint got no copay." All while buying hundreds of dollars worth of garbage from the front end.
My mom has a one (for her real heart condition she chose not to treat). I pick her up to shop and every time we pull into the parking lot, she mutters "we should have brought my pass."
ReplyDelete"Mom, do you want me to drop you off at the door?"
"No, I can walk."
So, I will pick the closest spot I can, feeling guilty and then she will tell me I passed up spots that I could have pulled through and been easier to get in-and-out of...
When we leave, it is the reverse. "Mom, do you want me to get the car?" "No, I'm fine...(walk, walk, walk)...Why'd you park so far away?"
MBee
Just because someone has a handicap placard BUT doesn't limp, hobble, or drives a big car doesn't mean they don't need the space. Not all disabilities are identifiable from the outside. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying.....because I do think that people who park in those spaces and don't need them are scum. We need to keep in mind that not everyone that parks in those spots look the part.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is meant for people who are NOT disabled yet use the handicapped parking spaces (See first paragraph).
ReplyDeleteThat always bugs me about the idea of 'using' Mom's pass. (if she remembered it)
ReplyDeleteIf she is doing so poorly she needs the spot, can't I drop-off/pick-up and leave the spot for someone who needs it? And, if someone is using crutches for a temporary reason, why can't they use the spot???
MBee
Yes, but in your first paragraph you said they had the documentation but it wasn't for them. How do you know it's not for them?
ReplyDeleteI saw a couple of young women park their muscle car in a handicapped spot just last week. The looked to be in terrific shape, the bounced out of the car, ran to the ice cream store, got a couple of cones, then ran back to the car, took selfies, giggled a bunch, then got into the car and drove off. The hand a handicapped tag hanging from their mirror. They didn't look or act like they needed one, but - you never know. I believe it didn't belong to either of them, based on my observations alone, but I could be wrong.
In the meantime, I have a friend his who disabled. He cannot walk without the aid or crutches, never has been able to. He's also a lazy butt and, for some reason, just never gets around to getting his parking permit. When I drive him somewhere I refuse to park in a handicapped stop. Yes, he's eligible to use it, but I told him if he wouldn't get the permit I wasn't willing to park in a handicapped spot even when he's with me because I don't want a ticket.
If you know the person who uses the spot and someone else's placard, can you snag that guy's plate number and then call to complain? You'd have to catch him as soon as he walks in because the cops have to actually watch him do this (or film it for them to see, I guess). If they can't accept a video to act on it, they can at least warn him. "If you do this again we can look into getting this placard removed permanently, which leaves your mother in a bad situation."
ReplyDeleteCrazy RXMan Said: This blog post is meant for people who are NOT disabled yet use the handicapped parking spaces (See first paragraph).
ReplyDeleteYep, you did indeed qualify your comments in the first paragraph. But then you said: "We see you hop out of your car and stroll into the store without any sign that your disabled or handicapped in any way."
So again, please do not encourage people to judge based on appearance alone. My husband appears middle-aged, healthy and fit (well, mostly fit except for that small spare tire - lol). However, his appearance is not the whole story - far from it. Not all disabilities are visible to the average shoppper.
You're fond of telling us you see patients not customers so please put on your medical professional hat and don't encourage others to judge things they know nothing about.
I've been following Crazy rxman for a long time and I don't see how he's encouraging anyone to bother people who are parked in the zones but don't appear to have a disability. I think he says that he's talking about people with a family member who is using the placard when they aren't disabled. It even says that in the first and 2nd paragraphs.
ReplyDeleteThere are people who take advantage of this. There was even a thing on one of the news shows about it. There was even something about it in my neighborhood last year. Let me look. Yeah, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAi4fWYm7M0
So nobody wants to judge someone wrongly of course, but I think you're judging the rxman when he is clearly stating his point that this isn't about disabled people.
$h!t, I just park on the sidewalk.
ReplyDeleteI guess my definition of someone that needs a handicap parking permit is different than most.
ReplyDeleteWhat confuses me is that the convenience of getting the closest parking spot is kind of irrelevant once you stroll into your average commercial establishment, right?
Say your disability isn't clearly obvious (e.g. ALS pt permanently wheelchair bound vs. anxiety)? Say you're able to get around perfectly fine. What difference does it make having to take an extra 30 or 40 steps when you're going to wander around your neighborhood megamart and end up taking hundreds of steps? Why not leave the space open for the poor soul that actually needs it?
I don't know, my opinion is that the criteria for issuing the permits are too broad and that enforcement is lacking. Betcha after a few tickets that junior will stop using his grandma's permit while driving his mom's car.
Anon: 4/14 @ 8:03 am
DeleteI'm not sure ppl mean anxiety vs. wheelchair bound! I'm talking a cancer patient in active treatment may not look handicap but still requires the spot!
I agree that ppl who abuse the placard are scum! But I also think we can't play judge & jury because we just don't know!
Ugh, forget it.
ReplyDeleteThe sense of entitlement from people that have disabilities but no significant physical limitations is just too deeply entrenched.
Does it makes you 'feel better emotionally' by parking a few feet closer than everyone else? Please, go right ahead. If it results in less whining about how unfair the world is, so be it. You are all precious, unique snowflakes that can do no wrong. Your feelings are the most important thing in the entire world and your individual happiness is all that matters.
So why stop at a parking spot? Let's create a special section of the store, right by the doors where only those with permits can shop. How about a checkout line only for people with placards? Heck, let's have counselors, therapy pets and a dozen employees on standby to make sure those with any sort of DMV-approved disability have an outstanding retail experience.
Good grief people.
You know what's sad? The one person that I know that actually needs a parking spot with space around it (wheelchair van with a ramp) almost never parks in a handicap spot. He says 9 times out of 10 they're full and he just ends up parking in an empty part of the parking lot so that he has enough room to safely get in and out of his vehicle.
"Say your disability isn't clearly obvious (e.g. ALS pt permanently wheelchair bound vs. anxiety)? Say you're able to get around perfectly fine. What difference does it make having to take an extra 30 or 40 steps when you're going to wander around your neighborhood megamart and end up taking hundreds of steps? "
ReplyDeleteIn this case, if you're able to get around perfectly fine, you wouldn't qualify for a tag.
I think what you were getting at though, is if you can walk into the store and walk around the store, you should be able to walk out and walk another 50 steps to a nearby but not accessible spot. The thing is, by the time you're done with shopping you might be at the end of your rope and those extra 50 steps can mean the difference between you getting your groceries into your car or leaving without them. Or you could be fine walking into the store, but what condition you have might hit 10 steps away from your car and you struggle to make it those 10 steps. If the car were further, you'd be screwed. Only the person, the person's doctor and the people at the DMV who approve the tag have any idea of how difficult it can be for them at any given time. You (generic you) don't have the right to decide that person isn't disabled enough to use the tag.