From the unspeakable truths thread.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=132151&perpage=50&pagenumber=2
You know, that statement is so rude and ignorant, I’m not going to even bother refuting it. I just was not going to let it pass by without comment. I’m sickened by your attitude and stupidity. That is all.
I guess s/he’s never heard of wheelchairs . . .
While I think furnishesq was just trying to be clever and may not necessarily think handicapped spaces are just a big scam, I’ve heard this sentiment before. It amazes me that anyone could possibly begrudge handicapped parking spaces. To state the obvious:
Yes, you can be disabled to the point that walking across a large parking lot is a major burden but still drive. Driving doesn’t require a great deal of leg strength or endurance.
If one member of a married couple is in a wheelchair, both the proximity to the ramp and the extra room most spaces have (for loading and unloading of wheelchair and person) make an enormous difference. Parking in the main lot would, in many cases, be a significant burden.
This person seems to be operating under the assumption that handicapped plates and such are given only to those who actually drive, as opposed to a woman married to, say, a paraplegic, who drives her husband around and needs to park in a handicapped space so as to … well, duh:)
I saw that too-- I thought the doofus was trying (poorly) to be a mini-Seinfield. More like Banya really.
[Seinfield] What’s next- airline food jokes? He’s a hack! [Seinfeld].
Of course, there is a chance that he/she really is that stupid.
That just doesn’t even make any sense. How on earth does not being able to walk long distances equal not being able to drive? The physical requirements of driving are much different from those of walking. What a twit.
I’m putting my money on that.
What a fuck knob.
I just read that thread. There are some really good, truthful, and humorous posts, but HOLY SHIT! there are a couple of jackass idiots! I don’t even know where to start. So many stupid statements, so little time.
Just a few -
**furnishesq **
ladyfoxfyre
I would like to ask for cites of the following:
**jk1245 **
And a big :eyeroll: to
puddleglum
Diane,
I don’t feel like hunting up cites right now, but regarding those jk1245 quotes, the second is definitely true. The war on drugs is an abomination. It’s been argued quite a bit before, and I don’t really want to get into it again just now. Do a search on “legalization” in GD.
As to the first, well…gambling addiction is certainly a huge problem for a lot of people. Although I’m skeptical of the claim that it has cost the government money. Legalized gambling and lotteries are actually a huge source of revenues for various state governments. Which is rather shameful, in my opinion. But that’s also another thread…
As for those ladyfoxfyre quotes, yeah, I thought those were particularly assholish as well.
Um, sorry, we’re supposed to be bashing furnishesq in this thread. So er, yeah, you suck, buddy! rude gesture
and Diane, having ‘met’(through threads here) puddleglum, I can well imagine that for him, he must believe that women are more attracted to jerks than to nice guys.
from the quotes here, I’m glad I haven’t waded through that one.
Driving doesn’t require ANY leg strength or endurance. I knew one girl who had no use of her legs at all… and she was driving all over the place. All she needed was a hand-operated brake and gas mechanism affixed to her steering wheel.
My daughter has spina bifida. She can walk with crutches and braces. She did however just have an operation on one of her feet, which pretty much has prevented her from walking at all the last few months.
Regardless, a 50 yard walk for her is torturous. I don’t have handicap plates for my car as I’m not her custodial guardian, although I can use the little hangy sign thingie (not like I ever remember it). I always end up carrying her through the parking lot when we go to the movies or whatever.
She’s 10 years old. She ain’t that light.
However, for now, I’ll cut furnitureesqe (whatever) some slack. If he/she never had to deal with it, his opinion isn’t totally off the wall for the knee jerk that it was.
On the other hand, if he happens to read this thread and sticks to his guns, then I’ll decree him a human rectum.
And her name was Bob! No, wait, Phil! Hang on a second, I know this one. Damn. Could I get a hint?
True enough. That should have said “driving a standard car”. My dad, who has MS, could drive even when a 100 yard walk was a major burden. The handicapped parking allowed him to run errands he otherwise could not have run.
Eileen?
Well, as someone who has had an artificial leg (above knee) for 16 years, and who drives, I would have no problem taking off my leg and smacking the shit out of furnishesq with it.
Notwithstanding the obvious wheelchair users, for others of us, sometimes the extra walking IS a burden, you fucking moron.
No, no, no, Eileen had one leg.
Ferrous, I’ll grant you the quotes on the war on drugs, I honestly haven’t given it much thought one way or another to have an opinion. But gambling being more harmful than drug addiction AND costing the government more money?!?!?! I’ll need to see some proof from jk1245.
wring - Be glad you didn’t wade through that thread. There was a lot of shit spread out among the daisies. You would be wandering along enjoying the flowers when out of the blue, :::sppplat::: another pile of the brown goo.
Dedicated handicap parking spots are also legally required to make it possible for people (or their caregivers) to get their wheelchairs out of their car or van…extra space along the side, you know? So along with making it possible for people who can’t walk far to use the facility, it allows people to bring their loved ones who CAN’T drive to enjoy the place. It also makes it easier for those of us who wish to help the people we care about to live a full and happy life, to give them the freedom to participate in our lives without undue difficulty.
I am not going to pile on this person, because I think it is entirely possible that he/she hasn’t really thought this through. The ADA legislation isn’t perfect, but it was necessary…due to the fact that LOTS of people “haven’t thought all this through.”
Let’s all try to put ourselves in someone elses shoes for a minute before we start spouting off opinions about what the other person should and shouldn’t do, okay? After all, there was a time even in THIS country when certain groups were denied access to lots of places just because of their gender or race. We have hopefully moved beyond this nonsense, so why isn’t it the same sort of thing to make it possible for persons with disabilities to go where they will…instead of making it so difficult for them that they just stay home and dwell on what they CAN’T do instead of allowing them to be who they are?
furnishesq, I don’t think you really wish to limit anyone from enjoying whatever interests them. I hope that you will think on this and realize that you spoke in too quickly and without thinking things through adequately.
She was mexican.
Her name was Comeswaylow.
Diane, please note that the thread is in MPSIMS, not in GQ or GD.
Also please note that the OP states "What do you thinkare the “unspeakable truths”… (bolding mine).
Secondly, when I said “costs the US more…” I didn’t mean the US gov’t per se, but rather the US economy as a whole, public and private.
That said, here is a link where a U of Illinois professor makes the claim that
“In 1997 U.S. Gambling Abuse Costs ($80 Billion/Yr.) Exceeded Drug Abuse Costs ($70 Billion/Yr.) Because of Gambling Addictions Bankruptcies Crime and Corruption”
He then goes on (in exruciating detail) about how he arrived at this number. He gives the possible range of societal costs as ranging from $30 billion to $160 billion depending on how much an average pathological gambler costs, with $80 billion being the most likely figure based on US per capita income. This study is of course disputed, primarily by the US gaming industry (who put the cost of gambling at $5-6 billion here (pdf).
Anyway, maybe my “thought” is wrong, maybe it’s not. In any event the costs of gambling to society as a whole are at least similar in magnitude to illegal drug use.