Handicapped Or Not

[Jason Tandro]

Oh boy, just got snapped at woman. She's handicapped and complained to me that somebody without a placard or sticker had parked in a handicap space.

I did some research and found that the person is in fact somebody I helped move into their room because they have difficulty moving on their own.

I explained to the woman with my sincerest apologies that while this person did not have a placard, she was legitimately handicapped.

She then snaps at me, prepared to educate me and said: "Well I have to tell you that unless they have that placard they're not legitimately handicapped."

I, as usual, bit back the refrain that had come to my mind before it went to my mouth. "Says you."

She then explained that "they might have trouble moving but they're not legitimately handicapped."

I explain. "Well I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do."

A lie. There was nothing I felt like doing.

"Well we're sorry too," she snaps and hangs up.

We probably won't see that customer again. BFD. I'm not gonna force a person who can barely walk move so that another person who can barely walk can be slightly more convenienced.

Word of advice. If you want something done in a hotel, don't piss off the clerks.

---

So anyways, this brings up a question. Do you think a person should pay for that placard to be considered "legitimately handicapped" or do you think it should be based on the merits of the handicap.

I think the placard is bullcrap. People can ride vehicles that have paid for the placard and then park them anywhere with a handicap space even if the vehicle's occupant is perfectly healthy.

And there was a time not too long ago when some crazy hippy state (I want to say California) wanted to declare psychological ailments reasons for the placard.

First off I think if you can operate a motor vehicle than you're not handicapped. But if a common passenger can't walk that's a good reason to let them use the space, placard or no.

[tay120n64]

I agree, but I wouldn't say the placard is stupid.

[inferiare]

I'll play a bit of devil's advocate here: before my late grandmother was confined to a wheelchair, she was able to operate a motor vehicle, but it was the trouble getting in/out/moving that made her handicapped up until she was confined to her wheelchair (as far as I remember; it's been nearly 20 years but I do know she had her ailments before she got stuck in the wheelchair).

Obviously she wasn't able to operate a car or any other form of vehicular transportation once she got into the wheelchair, but the placard that she had was still valid: she was not able to move on her own unless aided by her chair with wheels.

Long story short: the argument "First off I think if you can operate a motor vehicle than you're not handicapped." shouldn't be there. If the person you helped was driving the car, wouldn't that mean they weren't handicapped either? There is a law in place that those who do have the placard/license plate with the wheelchair dealie are supposed to be parking there and those who have no way of saying that "yes I can legally park here" can get in a lot of trouble. If the person you helped was riding with someone else (someone else was driving), by law they have to move their car.

I will say that the woman you spoke to who snapped at you really had no right to snap at you though; if she was handicapped herself, she should understand that "hey they might not have had the chance to move the car just yet and if it's hard for one person to move, give them a little time" instead. Instead she decided to be a douchemunch and complain over her ~*elite status*~. You'd think she'd be the most understanding.

Fun fact: my best friend's husband has no arms, and drives with his feet. He has a placard because he is definitely handicapped.

[EverPhoenix]

Fun fact: my best friend's husband has no arms, and drives with his feet. He has a placard because he is definitely handicapped.

...the sheer mechanics of that are mind-boggling

but on-topic, i think that whoever parks in a disabled spot should be physically handicapped in a significant way. i really couldnt care less whether they have the permit or not... if they are legitimately handicapped, they should be allowed to park there.

by legitimately handicapped, i dont mean anything to do with being legally accepted as handicapped - i mean an actual physical inhibition which prevents you from being properly mobile. a broken leg, hip, or anything that makes walking painful is definitely a physical handicap. some people just get that permit on handicaps which have little to do with how far they have to walk.

[Jason Tandro]

Fun fact: my best friend's husband has no arms, and drives with his feet. He has a placard because he is definitely handicapped.

I think EP didn't say it right.

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!

[inferiare]

Fun fact: my best friend's husband has no arms, and drives with his feet. He has a placard because he is definitely handicapped.

I think EP didn't say it right.

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!

Easy: he has his seat back enough to where he can maneuver his foot around to move the wheel. Been in the car where he's driving, it's not any different than if he had arms.

[SoulBlazerFan]

My father is suffering from cancer right now. You may not even think about it, but he's got a handicap sticker now too- mind you, he can get very sick, and taking far walks causes him to lose breath quickly (It's lung cancer). So according to some of you, he is less deserving of a spot than others?

[psychokind]

wait. you have to pay for a placard to be a legit handicapped?

[Freedan]

I can somewhat understand their motivation to issue placards to those with psychological disorders. Someone may be messed up, but they can still be a passenger being taken somewhere. If so, the shorter travel time may be better for them as well.

It's kind of a tricky question, because deciding whether or not someone counts as handicapped requires you to draw a line somewhere. How handicapped does someone have to be to count as 'legitimately handicapped'? And if you do that, people will ask "but what about this person, who's very close to that?".

It's an umbrella term that covers so much, and you end up making one exception after another until the original line you drew is completely gone. I often see spaces either next to, or in front of, the handicapped spaces; they're reserved for expectant mothers.

I don't know if there is a good solution. Issuing placards only to people with certain conditions requires you to say "you're not handicapped enough" to people. You can't create a tier system of parking spaces, because you'll have to separate people's conditions by order of severity (their condition may be marginal on paper, but severely inhibit them). And there will always be people who use other people's placards.

My only suggestion is more handicapped spaces. I've been to many parking lots where the row of spaces in front of a store is designated "reserved for customers of _____", while the first two or three spaces in each row in the general parking area is handicapped parking.

Get rid of the reserved customer parking, and make those spaces all handicapped parking. They're right in front of the store, they're closer than the original handicapped spaces.

[Jason Tandro]

My father is suffering from cancer right now. You may not even think about it, but he's got a handicap sticker now too- mind you, he can get very sick, and taking far walks causes him to lose breath quickly (It's lung cancer). So according to some of you, he is less deserving of a spot than others?

Well obviously there are exceptions to the rule. If the person walks to far and gets deathly ill then obviously that's a good reason to use a handicapped space.

There are a lot of injuries that merit a handicap placard that I think don't deserve it.

And then there are injuries that SHOULD merit a handicap placard and don't. My mother has crippling arthritis in her knees. She has to walk with a cane. The commonwealth won't give her a handicap placard.

@psychokind: It depends on the state and the degree of the handicap.