A real-life handicap-parking story

The BBQ Pit
301

Why don’t you smack your head a few more times? It might help.

Ok, Mr. Handi-capable Dickhead. Let me explain how I conjured this up in my head. Whether it happened or not, well, I’ll take your word for it. But the article you linked to clearly implies that you confronted the guy.

So, you DID confront the guy, face-to-face… it just wasn’t AFTER you pulled your car behind his and blocked him in. It was before. And you didn’t wait for him. You argued with him, he left to do his business, while you went to notify security.

This part of the article tells us that you again were in the presence of the illegal HC parking guy, only this time with Security present playing arbiter. You didn’t get your way, so you left in “frustration”. But in this particular instance, you had two face-to-face confrontations with the guy.

Of course, you aren’t about to change your ways… so we learn

So you confronted the guy or not? If not, the article misrepresents your actions, even though you did park behind him and call security. perhaps you didn’t confront him.

I don’t know. And now, I don’t care. Even though I feel for the handicapped and never park in the spaces myself, you are being a complete asshole in my opinion if there were 5 empty HP spots when you decided to make your point. Do you have a point? Sure. Is it worth getting into a twist about, maybe getting your car rammed if the guy returns before security arrives, or worse? Not to me. But if it is to you, keep fighting the fight.

Just know this… you are playing with fire, and I’m guessing if someone wanted to take it out on you or your car, and there were 5 empty spots, there would be little sympathy for your position. An asshole is an asshole, regardless of whether they are handicapped or not. In this particular situation, you win the asshole contest.

People that park in the HP spots know they are taking a risk. If someone turns them in with a picture, there isn’t much that can be done. It’s anonymous. If a cop tickets you outright, again, not much to be done. But if there are a string of 6 spaces open, someone pulls into one to drop of a payment or something and is in and out in 5 minutes, you’ve potentially created a negative situation that is a lot more explosive than the guy parking in a handicapped spot. I think that’s what the police, security and the gym spokesperson were all trying to tell you.

Please explain.

302

This should be a zombie thread but I JUST CANT resist responding and correcting all the errors that flourish throughout this post. First of all, there NEVER was any face-to-face interaction whatsoever with the illegal parker. We were both inside our vehicles during our exchange and he never left his vehicle as he was there waiting for his girlfriend (an employee of HHFC) to get off work. I didn’t simply see him pull in and come up to him and say “you can’t park there”. No, far from that. I encounter illegal parking every single day of my life, multiple times a day. So any dialogue I do engage in with someone parking illegally is always begun politely and courteously. One never knows, it may indeed be a legitimate parker who hasn’t produced their placard yet-or it may be someone who inadvertantly pulled into the spot without realizing (not too likely but possible). So I asked the guy if he knew where he was parked. That is how the conversation began. The description of the actual incident by the Journal author was the one aspect of the article I found somewhat inaccurate. I’ve mentioned this in posts here, I’m just not sure where and I don’t want to search and try to find them. And the “confrontation” you are talking about, the second one where we both argue that we were right; that was the girlfriend of the illegal parker. She had been informed of the happenings outside and made her way out sooner. The illegal parker never left his vehicle. As far as the Planet Fitness incident, I parked behind an empty vehicle. I parked there because this illegally parked car was taking up the last handicap-accessible parking space and I had nowhere else to park. I called the police and parked behind her so that she didn’t escape accountability for her actions. The disparity between the two situations was indeed like night and day because the staff and management at Planet Fitness didn’t demonize me for my actions in the parking lot and kick me out. No, they offered their support in any way possible. The police officer who came to Planet Fitness to issue this car a ticket (which was occupied by the driver by the time the cops got there, who would have come to find no car if I hadn’t parked behind it) was totally understanding and even gave me his personal card to call for the quickest response in future incidents.

303

I just did a quick and dirty search of the first six pages of this thread (what can I say, I’m bored) and the above post is the first time the word “girlfriend” appeared, and apparently she played some significant role in the story that we’re just hearing about now. Fact is, McGarry, you have no credibility in complaining that posters are making errors in trying to figure out what happened when your storytelling abilities quite obviously suck.
Let me guess, the guy wasn’t actually driving a car but a motorcycle, which you meant to say earlier but kinda forgot. And his motorcycle could hover! And there was blackjack! And hookers!

304

It was the first time any specific mention was made of this “second incident” which wasn’t even an incident-which is why I never even bothered to bring it up and correct the little omission in the article. I never said anything counter to what I’ve said here. True, this is the first time “girlfriend” has been brought up, because this is the first time that little, almost irrelevant part of the story has been brought up. I’ve missed you too bud.

305

Hogwash. You’re using the latter-invoked girlfriend to try to rationalize why a confrontation wasn’t possible (because “he never left his vehicle as he was there waiting for his girlfriend”) while we (or at least I) maintain that your actions made a confrontation very possible, to the point of being sympathetic to the gym in revoking your membership to avoid future parking-lot vigilantism.

And now it seems you were annoying the boyfriend of a gym employee, which may or may not have been an additional factor in the gym manager saying “go away now, thanks.”

306

You are correct. This should be a zombie thread, because your story is weak, is missing details, and makes little sense now. You can’t accuse me of getting the facts incorrect when I read your post, the article you linked to, and quoted bits directly from those two sources. I have no gripe with you. I’m not trying to pick apart your story for kicks. But you can’t get pissed at someone for trying to understand what the hell it is you are talking about, then tell a different version of your story to “correct all the errors that flourish throughout this post."
Here’s another question for you. What is your definition of face-to-face? If you are sitting in your car or on your wheelchair, and the other person is sitting in their car, and the window is rolled down, so there is nothing between your face and his face except air and about 5 yards or so, that’s face to face in my book. Now, it seems that you think that face-to-face only refers to two people screaming at each other with their noses an inch apart.

So now your story is that the guy pulls into a handicapped spot to wait for his girlfriend, you see him and speak to him while you are sitting in your car, and then, after not getting satisfaction from the boyfriend decide to do your parking behind the guy while he’s sitting in his car? Is that what you are now saying?

I can see why the first gym ended your membership. I’m pretty sure based on your ability to tell what happened and your inability to accept that you may be wrong, this wasn’t the first incident at this gym. Whether it be over parking, or something else, I’m sure this club was very aware of you and your disability and had enough of your behavior to revoke your membership.

307

The fact that it was someone connected to gym employees makes a big difference in this story, as well as the fact that the person was still in the car waiting on someone. It definitely explains why they canceled your membership.

308

That’s because they hadn’t gotten to know you yet. While you are still a new member I can see them giving you the benefit of the doubt and trying to help you out in the interest of good customer service. After a while some customers prove themselves to be magnets for confrontation, and when their hijinks and complaints become more trouble than the cost of their business is worth, they’ll get kicked to the curb. Give it a while and it might happen again at the new place if you insist on creating problems.

It sounds to me like you weren’t ‘demonized’ for your parking lot vigilantism (although I’m sure it didn’t help matters), it was just the last straw for the gym management, who had become intimately familiar with you and decided that they had had enough.

309

So, basically you’re saying you’re entitled to take the law into your own hands, (blocking someone in), instead of pursuing it through the proper channels, (calling the police, having the gym call the police, awaiting their arrival, discussing it with them, etc.), because you’re in a chair?

But you find it condescending if someone compliments you on your abilities or offers you help you don’t need or desire?

Wow.

310

Hogwash? I dont follow. I’m rationalizing nothing. It was a young lady screaming in the ear of the security guard. That was all. I was there simply pointing out the illegally parked vehicle.

311

Why does the fact that the person was still in the car waiting on someone make a big difference in this story?

312

What info are you using to justify that opinion?

313

Your self referencing yourself elsewhere as an ‘abrasive asshole’, also, your behaviour since you’ve joined this board. You’re revealing yourself to be a magnet for conflict. And no matter how many times it’s pointed out to you, you’re never going to take it on board.

Do you seriously think that being in a chair entitles you to detain someone for a parking violation?
Do you seriously think we’re all going to get on board with this behaviour? I don’t seriously think you ever did, you just like drama and conflict it seems.

314

I’m onboard with it. I agree that it was impulsive and possibly foolhardy, but I can certainly see getting pissed off one too many times about people taking advantage of the handicap spaces. This instance was somewhat over the top, but the other instance where it was the last space was completely justified. I can see where after the 500th time, you just go a little nuts. If that’s what it takes to get the point across, so be it. It’s not just a parking violation. If someone else less in-your-face had done it, like a little old grandma, it would generate a lot more sympathy.

Wait, was the guy actually getting out of his car or just waiting for the girlfriend? I can’t even tell anymore what transpired. If he was waiting in the car, no problem. If he got out, he should get busted.

315

Because if he was still in the car, he could move if needed. Or at least could if you hadn’t blocked him in. You interfered with the usage of handicapped parking more than he did.

316

I hope you recognize this as the justification that every person, who takes the law into their own hands, uses. It sounds like an abusive husband excusing his behaviour, ‘she was pushing all my buttons, I went a little nuts, that’s what it takes to get through to her!’

No one is immune from frustration or occasional bad behaviour, but that doesn’t excuse it. If you take it upon yourself, rather than call police, you shouldn’t be surprised when others don’t support your behaviour, or that there are consequences for your actions.

Are you suggesting that you’d be okay with it, when Joe Citizen detains you for a traffic violation? Can we block your car in for not using the turn signal? Run you into the ditch for speeding or texting? There is a good reason why society doesn’t want people taking upon themselves to act as policing authorities.

317

Wait a sec, in previous posts, you said you left your car (blocking in the other guy’s car, which doesn’t strike me as something one does “simply” to point something out) to get the security guard, but didn’t specify that you actually found him, nor that he played any role in the incident, and now he was there, getting yelled at by the girlfriend who also is just now appearing in the narrative.

It’s possible that if we kept getting additional drips and drabs of detail from you, you might eventually become the hero of this story, but I’m not sure how so I guess I’ll just give up and leave the thread.

Welcome to the SDMB. I suggest you not start any more “anecdote” threads until you figure out how to tell a complete story the first time.

318

Not everyone nitpicks every little trivial detail I have written and makes it into a “gotcha!” moment. I apologize sir.

319

Yea…the problem with teaching other people ‘lessons’ is that they may decide to teach a lesson to you.

I had a couple instances of that when I was much younger. Not proud of it. I do remember it taking them by surprise though.

320

The ‘gotcha’ accusatory defense. Sarah Palin, move over!

Really? Someone points out, your own words, to you and it’s a ‘gotcha’?