Able-Bodied Who Park In Disabled Spaces

nuffingman

Our local supermarket in the UK used to have so many disabled places that the car park would be full, I'd drive round for ages looking for a space and there'd be about 15 empty disabled places. And all the other supermarkets were the same. So guess what, I'd park in one of those.

I didn't feel the least bit guilty because I knew 2 people with disabled stickers that shouldn't have had them. Needless to say I'd have felt very guilty if I came out the shop and found a genuinely disabled person unable to park. It never happened though.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

know1 wrote:

But....has anyone noticed how the number of people considered "handicapped" seems to grow and grow every year? Pretty soon those of us without the tags won't have anywhere left to park.

not where I live. My Mom had polio when she was four. Her left leg is essentially dead. she wears a brace on it just so she can walk/stand. And it's getting harder for her to get that disabled parking permit. They almost denied it to her a few years back when she had to go through the renewal process. she fought it and won, thankfully. people don't realize either, it's not just the initial disability. at a certain point in her life, her disabled leg stopped growing, so she had to get an operation on her good leg to stop it from growing, but her disabled leg is still shorter by an inch or two. this limp over 45 years has caused significant damage to her foot, her knees, her hips. multiple surgeries to fix all of that. she's got quite a bit of metal in her right now.

and really, 2 spaces out of each line of 100 at walmart. won't have anywhere left to park? dude, there aren't more people being "awarded" these placards, more people are just not being ashamed of being disabled anymore and are finally using the systems that are in place to help them. for the longest time my Mom refused to park in a handicap spot. but as she gets older it's no longer a choice.

she can't even leave the house if it's too icy out. just the 20 foot walk from the door to their car is too risky. even with my dad helping her.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

nuffingman wrote:

Our local supermarket in the UK used to have so many disabled places that the car park would be full, I'd drive round for ages looking for a space and there'd be about 15 empty disabled places. And all the other supermarkets were the same. So guess what, I'd park in one of those.

I didn't feel the least bit guilty because I knew 2 people with disabled stickers that shouldn't have had them. Needless to say I'd have felt very guilty if I came out the shop and found a genuinely disabled person unable to park. It never happened though.

so becuase the two people you knew that had them that supposedly didn't deserve them meant that someone else who did deserve the space you took deserved to be punished for it? how logical. :evil:

hedonist

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

dude, there aren't more people being "awarded" these placards, more people are just not being ashamed of being disabled anymore and are finally using the systems that are in place to help them. for the longest time my Mom refused to park in a handicap spot. but as she gets older it's no longer a choice.

Here here (or is it hear hear?).

Either way.

My cousin had polio at a young age as well...he's done the same as most able-bodied folks, but now that he's in his late 50s, he has no option but to go that route.

Enkidu

Steve Lopez did a fabulous series of columns about this in the LA Times recently. Turns out tons of people were parking at downtown meters (parking downtown is awful) using handicapped placards. Cause you can park for free at a meter all day.

Here's one of the columns - they decided to go after the people.

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/15 ... g-20120213

chadwick

there is a senior gentleman that uses the gym i use. he is able, quite capable. he is in his 60s. he uses the handicap locker room at the foot of the stairwell he is to lazy to walk up. at a gym he elects to not extend himself any further than necessary. this guy irritates the hell out of me and i'll tell you why.

when i come into the gym i have to wait if he is in changing room
he knows i am waiting because i knocked on the door to find out if someone is using it
when he knows i or anyone is waiting on him, he runs the hot air blowing hand dryer that's mounted on the wall
next to the door

i can hear him....

he will run that air dryer 6 or 8 times
this takes 8 -10 mins

this man is rude on purpose to be a bastard

mysticweed

my husband has a rear view mirror hang on
he always tells me to use it when i'm by myself like when it's raining or something but i refuse
i don't even like using it when he's with me and i can let him out and park somewhere else

PJ_Soul

Well, anyone who abuses stuff for the handicapped is a jerk (although I do use wheelchair bathroom stalls if the others are full. I don't see anything wrong with this, as I see no reason why handicapped people shouldn't have to wait a minute for the bathroom like everyone else). But remember to be fair-minded too folks! Because sometimes your outrage could be misdirected. I have a friend whose son is very severely autistic. So she uses the handicapped change stalls at the pool with him, because if they use the normal ones (which do still have enough room for them) he totally freaks out because of the small space. But she has actually been aggressively confronted by SEVERAL people who think she is misusing the stall (you would not be able to know there was anything diffent with their son on first glance). And even after she tells them that he is autistic, half of them maintain their outrage, still not understanding why that particular disability would require a bigger stall. A couple of these people continue to accuse her of misusing the facilities every time they see them... she is ready to get management to confront the people, though because she's one of those people who dislikes confrontation (something I don't understand, but hey , she has been made to feel very nervous and uncomfortable, to the point where she considered changing their swim time to avoid these jerks. So yeah... just remember not to jump to conclusions ; you may not know the whole story.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

PJ_Soul3388 wrote:

Well, anyone who abuses stuff for the handicapped is a jerk (although I do use wheelchair bathroom stalls if the others are full. I don't see anything wrong with this, as I see no reason why handicapped people shouldn't have to wait a minute for the bathroom like everyone else). But remember to be fair-minded too folks! Because sometimes your outrage could be misdirected. I have a friend whose son is very severely autistic. So she uses the handicapped change stalls at the pool with him, because if they use the normal ones (which do still have enough room for them) he totally freaks out because of the small space. But she has actually been aggressively confronted by SEVERAL people who think she is misusing the stall (you would not be able to know there was anything diffent with their son on first glance). And even after she tells them that he is autistic, half of them maintain their outrage, still not understanding why that particular disability would require a bigger stall. A couple of these people continue to accuse her of misusing the facilities every time they see them... she is ready to get management to confront the people, though because she's one of those people who dislikes confrontation (something I don't understand, but hey , she has been made to feel very nervous and uncomfortable, to the point where she considered changing their swim time to avoid these jerks. So yeah... just remember not to jump to conclusions ; you may not know the whole story.

excellent point. a lot of people, I guess including me, just kind of assume that if I can't see the malady, then it doesn't exist, when that clearly isn't the case.

thank you (and a few others) for pointing that out.

Cosmo

This is a personal pet peeve with me. I have a friend who lost his left leg half way up the femur when a drunk driver crossed over 3 lanes and hit him on his motorcycle. I also work with military reservists and active duty Air Force and Marine personel. I think of my friend and those who came back from Iraq and Afghanistan on a wheelchair or on crutches when I see some fucking asshole, pouring his/her lazy fucking ass in a Handicapped spot.
Being a self-centered lazy fuck is not a handicap.

redrock

PJ_Soul3388 wrote:

Well, anyone who abuses stuff for the handicapped is a jerk (although I do use wheelchair bathroom stalls if the others are full. I don't see anything wrong with this, as I see no reason why handicapped people shouldn't have to wait a minute for the bathroom like everyone else).

Because they may have 'other' issues related to their disability? Because there is usually only one (or two if lucky) disabled stall whilst there are numerous 'abled' ones in public toilets and they have no choice?

PJ_Soul

redrock wrote:

PJ_Soul3388 wrote:

Well, anyone who abuses stuff for the handicapped is a jerk (although I do use wheelchair bathroom stalls if the others are full. I don't see anything wrong with this, as I see no reason why handicapped people shouldn't have to wait a minute for the bathroom like everyone else).

Because they may have 'other' issues related to their disability? Because there is usually only one (or two if lucky) disabled stall whilst there are numerous 'abled' ones in public toilets and they have no choice?

I'm talking only when all the others are full. So I have no choice either. I think that's no biggie. It the only stall free is a wheelchair accessible, I'm taking it. And I think that's fine, because in many places, the only washroom available at all is one that needs to be shared by everyone including the disabled.

redrock

I don't agree with that PJ_soul but each their own. A disabled person may not be able to 'hold on' as well as others but more to the point, for me it's a question of principle. Where do you draw the line? Whether it's toilets, parking spaces or other designed for disabled, that's how it should be. Not a 'pick and choose'. If all the parking spaces were full in a parking lot but the disabled one, would you use it because you 'have no choice' (theoretical question - no need to answer!) Some things may not be a 'biggie' for one but could be for the other..... Just saying.

PJ_Soul

redrock wrote:

I don't agree with that PJ_soul but each their own. A disabled person may not be able to 'hold on' as well as others but more to the point, for me it's a question of principle. Where do you draw the line? Whether it's toilets, parking spaces or other designed for disabled, that's how it should be. Not a 'pick and choose'. If all the parking spaces were full in a parking lot but the disabled one, would you use it because you 'have no choice' (theoretical question - no need to answer!) Some things may not be a 'biggie' for one but could be for the other..... Just saying.

*Shrug* Yeah, well, I've asked a couple of disabled people about it, as well as that friend with the disabled son, and they agree it's fine (especially considering often the "wheelchair bathroom" is the only one in an establishment, as is the case with most coffee shops and smaller dining places), so I'll go with it and feel okay.
It's different with the parking spaces, because you don't only have to wait literally 1 minute for a parking space, and have no way of knowing when it will be available again.

chadwick

again today
two seperate assholes who can use a different changing area
are using one (there are 2 changing rooms side by side and they are suited for disabled folks)

i can climb the stairs. hurts bad. i can climb down the stairs slowly. hurts bad. i am in pain 24x7.
each step while walking the park is pain and agony. when i get home and sit down
my knees are freakin out
fucking unreal

these assholes don't have my pain
i can guarantee it

one of the folks that came walking out of the disabled changing room is a woman is walks around town
she comes into the gym and locks herself in the changing room i need to use and she does a number 2 in there so when she leaves i can open the door and walk into a foggy haze of her foul ass


she has does this to me twice so far and i am getting pissing

the other room is being used by jerk off gray sweat suit guy whom makes everyone in his personal life believe he is a good guy whom works out hard everyday. you sir are a false bastard who should be walking his lazy ass up the stairs. you sir are a joke and a unmotivated cock.

i have more motivation in my pinky toe than all these fuckers put together

RW81233

i agree that people who do this suck...i had knee surgery for a torn ACL almost two years ago and had a 3 month temp tag. as i got better and closer to the end date i was able to walk with a slight limp, but it didn't stop someone from yelling at me until i explained to her my situation. in the early aftermath of my surgery when i really, really needed it i became attuned to those assholes that took the spot and her yelling at me, while frustrating, made sense.