This image repeats itself ad nauseum in any parking lot with an handicapped spot: Car pulls in, handicapped tag goes up on rearview mirror, able-bodied person emerges. I have even seen this cretins trot into the building from the lot.
This afternoon, while returning from lunch hour at the gym, it happened again. A seemingly healthy woman from our building walks to the giant SUV clogging a blue space.
Near as I can tell, her closest ailment to a handicapped is chain-smoking.
Unless you have lost a limb, use of a limb, or have some debilitating condition, it stands to reason you should have to park with the rest of us. Now, I know people get them for temporarily ailments and turn them into permanent perks. I know people can get them for heart conditions. Fine. But abuse is everywhere.
For one, the morbidly obese should never qualify. Looking like you should have Princess Leia in slave-girl attire chained to you should not equal a first-class spot. Perhaps we would have fewer 400 pounds of goo blocking the aisles if they had to walk more than 10 feet from car to entrance. If they actually got around and walked, there might be less blubber to go around, not to mention diabetes, hypertension, and all those lovely chronic conditions crippling our healthcare system.
A prof in college once told they story of a maimed vet who got ticketed for not having a handicap sticker. When he went to protest the ticket, the one-legged man was told they would waive it if he provided a doctor's note.
I guess I should know better. Lack of common sense doesn't travel in two directions; it's 12-lane highway. And just as people will do anything for that handicapped tag, they'll dress a mannequin to skirt the high-occupancy vehicle restrictions.
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