It’s holiday season time, so everyone with disabilities can once again expect a new wave of abuse over parking spaces. The hustle and crush of getting everything done, instead of producing good will, generates intense competition over every possible resource, including accessible parking spots.
To folks who really need them, the theft of handicapped slots ranks high on the list of life’s irritations. In May 2010 the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation conducted a survey, to discover what were the top ten things that annoy people who use wheelchairs.
Topping the list was, “Able-bodied people parking in accessible parking spaces.” And not by a small margin, either: 37% reported this, as compared to only 12% for the number two; that’s more than three times as many. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner: something that really pisses off a lot of the different kinds of folks in wheelchairs.
Despite this, I’ve discovered that the holiday season is when disabled parking spaces are most likely to be taken by able bodied citizens, all in a dreadful hurry, and hence possessing a powerful sense of entitlement. So much for good will towards humankind. The presents are due, I need wrapping paper, and you’ll understand if I take your slot and run into the store. You can find another place to let out that ramp.
This year it also comes on the heels of a growing wave of folks impersonating disability to gain an advantage in so many activities.
There are a number of ingenious, and heinous, varieties of this fraud. The New York Times reported on the growing practice of improperly requesting a wheelchair in order to skirt lines at airport security checkpoints. People see a wheelchair passenger breeze through, so they request one too, often quite brazenly. One wheelchair pusher for Delta Air Lines explained, “When they see that the line is so long, they just ask for a wheelchair,” whether they need one or not. Another described how, once past the final check, their charge would just stand up, “They say, ‘Ma’am, I feel better — I can go by myself.’ ” The abuse is so rife on some flights, that professionals refer to them as “miracle flights”, with as many as a dozen wheelchair passengers getting on. “We’d say there was a miracle because they all needed a wheelchair getting on, but not getting off,” explained Kelly Skyles, national safety and security coordinator for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents American Airlines attendants.
The list goes on. A friend of mine and wheelchair user explained, “The handicapped parking spaces have provided a great convenience to people that use a grocery cart to haul their load to their cars. Just put the cart on those wonderful blue stripes. There had to be a reason for the stripes, after all how many people with wheelchairs do you see using them?”
So I came up with an alternative, something that spreads a message long after the holiday crush is over. A friend of mine owns a chain of airsoft stores, and after remodeling, the employees had some fun and redid the disabled parking logo in one slot. I had it made up as stickers, one of which is on my rear windshield, then added a caption. (see attachment)
It’s the holiday season. Time to light the tree, drink some eggnog. And above, all do whatever you can to get to the front of every line. Ho ho ho, everyone.
