A real-life handicap-parking story

[BigT]

@FloatyGimpy

But your presentation and attitude are just so objectionable that you actually make people disagree with things they’d normally agree with.

Funny how that attitude is used all the time by other posters. Funny how only the “invalid” gets jumped on for a bad attitude when discussing shit that pisses him off.

Yeah, I’m going there. I kept my mouth shut in the previous thread, but I can do it no longer. There really seems to be this attitude of “How dare the disabled have a problem with what we provide out of the bottom of our hearts.” An attitude you don’t use for, say, someone who expects to tell you not to declaw your cat.

It is really messed up when you see giving allowances to the handicapped as a privilege you give out, rather than as your basic requirement for living in a society where “all men are created equal.” It’s not about entitlement. It’s about lack of discrimination. Black people aren’t entitled when they want to have access to a business. But if a guy in a wheelchair wants it, he deserves it.

And, yes, I used the word “invalid,” which is not in any way neutral. It’s connotation is that the person is invalid–that they are not a legitimate person because of their disability. There’s a reason why the word is no longer professionally used. The fact that people feel okay using it indicates again the underlying hostility so many of you have towards the handicapped.

I applaud those of you who are smart enough to rise above it. But this shit should not be happening on what is supposed to be an enlightened message board.

But as for people like Steophan–you have demonstrated by your bigotry that you have absolutely no worth as a human being. If this is a just world, eventually your bigotry will catch up with you, and something really shitty will happen to you. And when it does, I will not only laugh, but throw a party.

And the awesome thing is, you can’t get mad, since, according to you, you have to evaluate whether what you said caused people to say it. We can treat you like shit, and, due to your own philosophy you conveniently pulled out for the handicapped guy, you can do nothing about it. Oh the shadenfreud.

Fortunately for you, that’s the worst I can say to you in the Pit, as there are certain lines we are not supposed to cross.

You are a bigot–your worth to humanity is less than the roaches I kill daily.

[Sierra_Indigo]

Oh bullshit you sanctimonious waste of oxygen. There are plenty of people who have been told that they have good points, but their method of presentation is obnoxious and forces people to rethink agreeing with them. The most famous example on the boards would have to be Diogenes and Der Trihs. Both have had posters levelling that same accusation of “You make good points but god I don’t want to be seen agreeing with you because you’re an absolute dickbag” at them in the past. And unless one or both of them has some significant disability that they’ve been concealing from the board at large, there goes your snipe about “Funny how only the “invalid” gets jumped on for a bad attitude…”.

This has got nothing to to with Jamie being disabled, and everything to do with his being an entitled, arrogant asshole who refuses to actually discuss issues that he purports to want to discuss and just wants to shout down everyone and everything that doesn’t dare agree 100% with what he’s claiming is The Truth and The Way The World Should Work.

But don’t let that stop you trying to be the moral fucking police of the board. You keep on championing those underdogs there skippy, regardless of whether they’re actually underdogs or not. Don’t let something pesky like facts get in the way of your crusade of moral righteousness.

Oh and by the way, it’s schadenfreude.

[Freudian_Slit]

I’m pretty sure that the only person who started using the word “invalid,” was jamie to state that he didn’t want to be treated like one. Since when is “invalid” a slur, anyway?

[Ambivalid]

@Freudian_Slit

I’m pretty sure that the only person who started using the word “invalid,” was jamie to state that he didn’t want to be treated like one. Since when is “invalid” a slur, anyway?

Absolutely not. I did NOT bring that word into the thread. I believe it was a poster named Absolute (and if im wrong, a thousand apologies to Absolute) who referred to me as such. The definition includes words such as “feeble, weak, etc.” (I have an earlier post with more) which, especially in the context it was being used, implies a level of prejudice.

[Ambivalid]

Correction: I did use the word first, you are right. But the poster mentioned referred to me as such.

[Guinastasia]

If we’re so evil, why do you even bother hanging around here, BigT? “Waaaaah, you’re soooo MEAN!!!”

Get this through your head: This isn’t Care-A-Lot.

[Yeticus_Rex]

Jamie, what’s wrong with doing your pull ups this way?

[Meyer6]

Christ, BigT, is there anyone on earth that you don’t consider to be a bigot? That’s just your favourite insult, isn’t it?

I’m going to let you in on a little secret - bigotry is intolerance towards someone because of their race, sex, sexuality, disability, etc. Intolerance towards someone because prior engagement with that specific person has convinced you that they are a complete assmunch with a room temperature IQ is absolutely not bigotry. There’s a difference. Learn it. Live it. Love it. Then get back to us and bring a real point to the discussion.

[running_coach]

@Yeticus_Rex

Jamie, what’s wrong with doing your pull ups this way?

For maximum development, bodybuilders go for total range of motion. Look at the video, you can see the arms are still somewhat flexed when the wheels touch down.

[Frank]

@BigT

And, yes, I used the word “invalid,” which is not in any way neutral. It’s connotation is that the person is invalid–that they are not a legitimate person because of their disability. There’s a reason why the word is no longer professionally used. The fact that people feel okay using it indicates again the underlying hostility so many of you have towards the handicapped.

The word “invalid” used in a medical sense has absolutely nothing to do with the use of the word “invalid” in the sense of not valid. They’re not even pronounced the same. It is perfectly apparent from his posts that jamiemcgarry, while handicapped, is not an invalid. Did you just learn your English yesterday?

[Freudian_Slit]

@jamiemcgarry

Absolutely not. I did NOT bring that word into the thread. I believe it was a poster named Absolute (and if im wrong, a thousand apologies to Absolute) who referred to me as such. The definition includes words such as “feeble, weak, etc.” (I have an earlier post with more) which, especially in the context it was being used, implies a level of prejudice.

In the other thread, you brought it up first (as you admit to in your next post), and then Johnny L.A. said that you were an invalid, to which you flipped out because invalids are weak and sickly and you aren’t.

But the whole invalid meaning not valid thing is really silly…

[Sierra_Indigo]

@Frank

The word “invalid” used in a medical sense has absolutely nothing to do with the use of the word “invalid” in the sense of not valid. They’re not even pronounced the same. It is perfectly apparent from his posts that jamiemcgarry, while handicapped, is not an invalid. Did you just learn your English yesterday?

God, I missed that buried in the rest of the blinding stupidity of that post.

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

@jamiemcgarry

No, I agree 100%. I am simply saying this in response to those who think I’m reacting to my own “vibe” i’ve gotten from the incident or my own gut instinct alone.

The thing is, all you’ve done is substitute your physiatrist’s vibe for your own. That’s still a poorly-thought-out way to conduct your affairs, IMO. If it’s important enough to use the limited resources the DOJ has to investigate ADA violations, it’s important enough for you to do some research first.

The DOJ, I’ll hazard a guess, has a backlog of complaints about ADA violations. The time they spend dealing with your complaint (which looks to be nonsense, from other folks’ information about ADA) is going to delay their investigation of legitimate complaints from other people. Hopefully they’ll see quickly that it’s invalid, so you’ll only delay justice for other folks a little bit.

[Guinastasia]

The word invalid is not insulting. Your complaint is invalid.

[Monty]

I wonder what the upshot would’ve been if another handicapped person were trying to leave the parking lot but was unable to do so because the OP was blocking their way while he was blocking the other motorist in.

[Bryan_Ekers]

@Monty

I wonder what the upshot would’ve been if another handicapped person were trying to leave the parking lot but was unable to do so because the OP was blocking their way while he was blocking the other motorist in.

CHAOS! INSANITY!
I assume.

[Damuri_Ajashi]

@Bryan_Ekers

It remains unclear what the gym is supposed to do about able-bodied drivers taking handicap spots. The law requires they have these spots, but is the gym obliged to call police? Refuse service? Impose fines? Revoke memberships as it may apply?

I’m not sure how that matters. The gym revoked Jamie’s membership for being involved in a parking lot dispute. It seems to me that even in the light least favorable to Jamie, he was not acting any worse than the asshole who parked in the handicap spot and then got all huffy about it.

It may have been several things. I recall a few threads here from people who work in retail who’ve come to realize that a very small number of their customers create a majority of their headaches, and that simply refusing service to these particular customers more than makes up for the lost business. In this case, the OP potentially created an altercation in the parking lot (and I don’t buy that such an altercation was impossible) which is something any customer, handicapped or not, could do, and the gym manager may have decided that the OP’s continued business is not worth risking another occurrence.

Frankly, if I was that gym manager, I can see myself deciding the same way. The OP may indeed be morally in the right on the parking issue but the moment he decided to block in another car, he ran a risk that could have involved my establishment in a messy police manner, and that’s a headache I don’t need. If the OP was some famous paralympian, maybe I’d reconsider, but now he’s got his name and the name of my gym in the newspapers, and he’s hinting at some kind of discrimination-based legal action… in all honesty, I would probably decide that best thing for my gym is for him to not be a member any more. If I start getting lawyer letters and such, I can picture offering to refund his membership fee (assuming my own lawyer agrees that this is a good idea), but barring some court telling me that I have to readmit him, he stays out.

Your name is in the newspaper because you booted him out of your club for standing up to a demonstrable asshole and you get quoted as making excuses for that demonstrable asshole (well, there were other handicap spots open).

The article doesn’t mention any details about the asshole who parked in a handcicapped spot and then started yelling at a disabled guy who confronted him about it.

If you are looking for an excuse to get rid of Jamie, this is one of the stupider opportunities you can take. It makes you look like a disciminatory asshole.

[brewha]

So serious question - though it’s not exactly about parking.

Jamie, what’s wrong with using a traditional lat pulldown machine? And I am asking purely to fight my own ignorance and am not implying that you should be able to use it. Just wondering why you can’t. Or, if you’ve tried for that matter.

I used to be a gym rat. I lifted weights 4-5 days/week. Every lat machine I’ve used has a lap bar to hold you down. Now, I would assume you’d need help getting the bar in your hands once you have the lap bar secured - but since you need help with the pullups, that should be an issue.

I guess what my question boils down to is - Do you need to use your legs to stay under the lap bar on a lat machine? I don’t think so, but I may just do it without thinking.

[Bryan_Ekers]

@Damuri_Ajashi

Your name is in the newspaper because you booted him out of your club for standing up to a demonstrable asshole and you get quoted as making excuses for that demonstrable asshole (well, there were other handicap spots open).

The article doesn’t mention any details about the asshole who parked in a handcicapped spot and then started yelling at a disabled guy who confronted him about it.

If you are looking for an excuse to get rid of Jamie, this is one of the stupider opportunities you can take. It makes you look like a disciminatory asshole.

Well, the damage has been done, but I can see the gym manager deciding that McGarry’s membership will not be restored and the gym will have no further contact with him and this’ll blow over in time.

And while I couldn’t help that some people thought this was discrimination, I note that even in this thread the feeling isn’t unanimous - a number of posters feel McGarry was in the wrong for blocking in another driver, and it’s on that issue and not his disability that would have led me to cancelling his membership.

[spifflog]

@Bryan_Ekers

Well, the damage has been done, but I can see the gym manager deciding that McGarry’s membership will not be restored and the gym will have no further contact with him and this’ll blow over in time.

And while I couldn’t help that some people thought this was discrimination, I note that even in this thread the feeling isn’t unanimous - a number of posters feel McGarry was in the wrong for blocking in another driver, and it’s on that issue and not his disability that would have led me to cancelling his membership.

I concur that the gym felt the best way to deal with this was to let McGarry go.

From where I sit, I think McGarry is a problem guy. We have a term for this in the Navy. We’d call him “a problem is search of an issue.” From this and the airline thread, it seems like he’s going to find a reason to pitch a bitch about something. The gym may well have had to deal other issues, and felt they had had enough. Just conjecture on my part. But it’s reasonable to assume, based on what we’ve seen here, that the parking issue made it clear to them that he just wasn’t worth the $150 a month.