Where did you get the impression that I would ever be so naive? Huh? Not from anything I’ve posted, so where? Immunity from consequences…I dont get it:confused:
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Move on, and do the right thing next time you encounter this situation.
The guy could of been a real prick and harmed you in many ways just for blocking him in. Keep fighting the good fight though.
They cancelled your gym membership, I speculate because they don’t want to deal with parking-lot vigilantes. This strikes you, I gather, as unjust. Get over it.
Yes, you did. In my blocking someone in like that is, in fact, against the law.
Yeah, I get it - asshole able-bodieds park in handicapped spaces. My disabled spouse, father, and late mother all had to deal with that issue. Yeah, it’s frustrating to call security, or the police, and so often have the culprit pull away, but you don’t have a legal “right” to block someone in. Ever.
Saying “but he broke the law first!” doesn’t cut it. Your response to a wrong was another wrong. Now, if you want to go the civil disobedience route you can block him in and accept the consequences - fine, possible court appearance, loss of gym membership - but “civil disobedience” is not a “get out of jail free card”.
It also makes you look like a jerk.
I’ve moved this to the Pit from Great Debates.
jamiemcgarry, I gave you one warning last night, and this isn’t allowed either. It isn’t a problem in The BBQ Pit, but it wouldn’t be allowed in another forum. People are allowed to be snide here. They’re not allowed to directly insult each other.
Cancelling your membership for this incident alone does seem a bit excessive to me. That said, it makes me wonder if you’ve had any other incidents at this gym. Is there more to this story than you’re telling us?
I’m curious, but haven’t had much luck googling this morning, hasn’t there been a case where someone blocked in someone’s car and got arrested for false imprisonment?
i really can understand the OPs frustration, and don’t hold it against him that he did what he did. the other guy sounds like a real dick. i also don’t think the OP should be too surprised what happened happened when he did what he did.
I can’t blame the gym for suspending your membership. I wouldn’t want vigilantes in my parking lot, either. What you did was illegally block a vehicle. You should have been ticketed. The guy who parked was in the wrong, but in my opinion you not only ceded the moral high ground, you came across as the biggest jerk in the situation. Take the chip off your shoulder.
Let’s assume the OP lives in a community where the police do not take action based on a report and cell phone pictures, and typically do not respond to the scene before the parking spot misuser drives away.
So for all the people that are offering some variant of, “Go about your day, follow the proper protocols,” let me ask you: for how long? Is your advice that he should simply continue to do nothing, and accept the fact that handicap parking spaces are a function of the honor system with no real consequences for violators?
Forever. Vigilante justice is simply not acceptable. He could try reaching out to the ADA and pursuing political action. He could sue the police department. He could run for mayor. He could do all kinds of shit. But he can’t enforce law unless he’s wearing a badge and he can’t break the law under the “well, HE started it” defense. You of all people should know this.
Read a few of his OP’s, I’m absolutely certain that he’s had other incidents at the gym and probably everywhere else.
Jamie You’re in a rough situation with your mobility issues and I’m in complete agreement that there are a lot of assholes in the world but what you don’t seem to understand is - you are one too. You’re railing and flailing away at the world hoping that making other people behave the way you would like and forcing things to change to fit your view of how the world should be will make you happy.
Even if you weren’t attacking a brick wall with a plastic spoon it would be a losing proposition. Even if you fixed everything you are currently unhappy with you’re still going to be unhappy. The world will not arrange itself to ensure that you are never inconvenienced and it doesn’t do that for anyone else either. (Possible exception being those who can pay to have it happen. Pay a LOT)
Oh, well in that case…
So is this your shtick? Are you the SDMB’s newest one-trick pony? I think the gym summed it up pretty well when they said blocking another person’s car "made a bad situation worse.” I don’t care if he started it. You’re not the police. The fact that you did the same thing again at another gym shows that you think you’re Captain Justice and it’s your job to administer sanctions by committing yet *another *infraction in order to show people you’re not messing around. Do you harass people who litter or block fire hydrants as well?
Is this whole thing supposed to be directed at me, or just the first sentence?
Between this thread and the airplane thread, I’m picturing the OP to be a real-life version of the character played by David Cross in Scary Movie. Scary Movie 2 Wheelchair Battle - YouTube
Isn’t this normally the kind of question people ask you? 
jamiemcgarry, I can understand your frustration and why you’d resort to other methods if just reporting these people does not work. It sounds like you’ve seen that firsthand, although you didn’t say so. But the more aggressive you get with other people, the sooner you become a bully instead of an advocate. (Some people would say you’re already there.) Your confrontational approach with SDMB posters seems like a microcosm of what you’re doing in the real world. Even if this guy was being a bigger jerk than you, he definitely could have got out of his car and hit you. If you end up in a fight with him, what then? And yes, I’ve seen that bodybuilding photo.
Try something else. Make some friends on the police department and in the press. Maybe you can buy yourself a decent digital camera, take pictures of people parking in handicapped spots and email the pictures to the police. Maybe you could paint an eyeball in a wheelchair on your car and come up with a clever slogan if you are comfortable drawing that kind of attention to yourself and can afford to get your tires slashed at some point. You’d probably accomplish the same thing with less time and effort and less potential for a big problem.
NOt to speak for SFP but I’m sure that the rest of his post was directed at jamiemcgarry.
Speaking of whom, I find myself in grudging admiration of the OP. Say what you want about the rights and wrongs of vigilantism, but I think it’ll be a long time before that guy parks in another disabled bay.
The OP would be advised to avoid Wal-Marts in the New Orleans metro area. Despite the fact that there is a detail cop in front of just about every one of the stores, the handicapped parking spaces are virtually never occupied by a handicapped-tagged vehicle. Local law enforcement doesn’t even care a little bit. Which is odd, because it would be an efficient cash cow for the city – just mosey on through the Wal-Mart lots taking down license plates and leaving tickets. Maybe because it’s on private property … don’t know.
Well, this reverence for the law is touching.
But it seems to me that the general mood here is quite forgiving when, say, union protesters in Wisconsin broke the law in their protests, or indeed when Democratic legislators in Wisconsin fled the state to avoid being arrested by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
So I would submit that here, it’s not “The law should be obeyed,” but rather “Which law are we talking about?”
I’m not sure what any of that has to do with me. If you could find a cite where I supported anything like that, it would be news to me.
eta: and is your whole point that because some other people here have made comments that you disagree with, now you support people breaking the law? Seems kind of retarded.