# Nonsensical parking lot experience **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 18, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122 "2011-08-18T05:49:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/141 "2011-08-18T20:45:01Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What has that to do with the topic of this thread? First instance of ACTUAL nonsensical parking experience. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/142 "2011-08-18T20:48:54Z")
There are lot of things said here tongue-in-cheek and a lot of passionate responses. But after all is said and done the gist of it is, let the police do what they do and don’t go all citizens arrest. If the perp keeps not showing her placard eventually the cops will notice and put a ticket on her windshield. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/143 "2011-08-18T20:49:22Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > “Ma’am, you realize that your daughter **(i made the assumption)** is breaking the law by parking there and _not_ displaying that placard?” “But I have a permit.” :rolleyes: > > I go back inside to pay for my things and I encounter the young(ish) woman, whom\*\* I’m guessing was the older woman’s daughter and was abusing her placard (but that part is just my speculation)\*\*. \ > > **But do people _really_ not realize that if you have a permit giving you legal access to handicap parking spots, you must have that permit on display in your parked car? Or was this just one stupid, unscrupulous exception??** It’s really no different than a car with no permit at all. > [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > Do you disagree? Bolding mine. I actually do agree that the assumption you held up the line was uninformed, but given your OP I’m not sure you have any particular authority when it comes to “the audacity of idiotic assumptions,” so I thought you might want to step back from that statement. You made an awful lot of assumptions about the people in your parking-lot drama. IMHO, you handled the situation boorishly. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/144 "2011-08-18T20:49:33Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > First instance of ACTUAL nonsensical parking experience. That really depends on your POV. There might be some girl out there telling a bunch of friends about a surreal experience at the Rite-Aid with some guy that just wouldn’t stop bugging her about her placard. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/145 "2011-08-18T20:56:30Z")
Just occurred to me. Another way to handle it would have been to nicely tell the perp she is risking getting towed. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/146 "2011-08-18T21:06:55Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > Bolding mine. > > I actually do agree that the assumption you held up the line was uninformed, but given your OP I’m not sure you have any particular authority when it comes to “the audacity of idiotic assumptions,” so I thought you might want to step back from that statement. > > You made an awful lot of assumptions about the people in your parking-lot drama. IMHO, you handled the situation boorishly. The changing of quotes within quote tags is against the rules. Do not do this again. edited to add: I was mistaken in thinking that the emboldened parts were added. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/147 "2011-08-18T21:10:29Z")
Since when is it against the rules to bold quoted parts to draw attention to certain parts of the quote? I have never seen this behavior modded before. ETA: Not being snide, this is a serious question. People do this all the time. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/148 "2011-08-18T21:37:29Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > From the OP, Jamie spoke first outside, Jaime also spoke first inside. > > Jamie could have just kept his mouth shut. A confrontation inside was _not_ inevitable. There was no reason for him to say anything to her inside (or outside for that matter). If Jaime hadn’t said anything, do you really thing the other lady would have? Or do you think she would have just finished what she was doing and left. OK, you’re right that he spoke first and did not need to. So, I’ll back off from saying that it was inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/149 "2011-08-18T21:40:53Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > Your right, they don’t need to know, or care, _why_ the placard wasn’t displayed when the car was parked in handicapped only parking. They (the police) only are concerned with _ **if** _ the placard was displayed. So they (the mother and daughter parked in handicapped parking) **would** have been ticketed. I do not believe this is true. I expect the police, had they happened to have been driving by, since the passenger was in the car, would have asked her if she had a placard, and directed her to hang it up when she produced it, but wouldn’t have given a ticket since she was able to produce it right then. I’m willing to be corrected by actual (or former) police officers. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/150 "2011-08-18T21:41:41Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > FWIW, I assumed that the young woman in the OP was the one who needed the tag - when **jamie** confronted her, she lifted up her pant and pointed to her leg. Personally I assumed she was showing him her artificial limb or something. I had a student with an artificial leg from the knee down. He would park in the handicapped spot then rollerblade to class. Someday I hope the OP will get to meet him, as I’m sure hilarity will be the outcome. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Kneejerk comment apologized for in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=620871), but since it started here, I apologize here also. You are a mensch. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/151 "2011-08-18T21:43:36Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > The audacity of idiotic assumptions… You’ve shown a strong tendency of making your own assumptions about people’s behavior evidenced by your OP. I’d be careful throwing that idiotic label around, glass houses and all. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/152 "2011-08-18T22:13:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The changing of quotes within quote tags is against the rules. Do not do this again. > edited to add: I was mistaken in thinking that the emboldened parts were added. Sorry. Why I oughtta… Ah hell, even I had a hard time following what I was doing there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/153 "2011-08-18T22:16:57Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Just occurred to me. Another way to handle it would have been to nicely tell the perp she is risking getting towed. Most diplomatic and effective suggestion so far! +1. Since I live in the same county as the OP, I also want to point out that the city of Flint (specifically the notorious crime-ridden parts of it) comprises a _very, very_ small percentage of the land area. IIRC, where he lives is a pretty genteel, nice, semi-rural community east of Flint. A lot of this county is upscale and most is as safe as anywhere. Confronting someone in this county doesn’t generally mean you’re taking your life in your hands. /combatting ignorance and stereotypes. ---
**Author:** ![Grapefruit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grapefruit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/154 "2011-08-18T22:29:59Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > My items were simply moved to the side so the other customers behind me could be served while I went out to get my wallet. NO ONE was inconvenienced. So you held up the cashier, made her scan other people’s items around yours. Plus, made her wonder if you were ever really coming back for your items and when to call the stocker so she can do her job properly? Tsk. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/155 "2011-08-18T22:37:50Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Most diplomatic and effective suggestion so far! +1. > > Since I live in the same county as the OP, I also want to point out that the city of Flint (specifically the notorious crime-ridden parts of it) comprises a _very, very_ small percentage of the land area. IIRC, where he lives is a pretty genteel, nice, semi-rural community east of Flint. A lot of this county is upscale and most is as safe as anywhere. > > Confronting someone in this county doesn’t generally mean you’re taking your life in your hands. > > /combatting ignorance and stereotypes. I think most people were commenting on **jamie’s** confronting the woman again when she had initially responded in what he referred to a hostile and violent manner. Is the Flint area perceived as particularly dangerous? ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/156 "2011-08-18T22:42:34Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > I think most people were commenting on **jamie’s** confronting the woman again when she had initially responded in what he referred to a hostile and violent manner. Is the Flint area perceived as particularly dangerous? I know - but at least two commenters specifically mentioned Flint. No, it’s not dangerous if you’re a regular person doing regular-type activities. It’s almost always in the top three as far as homicides and some other crimes in the US, though. But that’s a fairly discrete part of the city and the demographics that are affected directly are fairly narrow. The county as a whole is pretty nice and has some really upscale small cities and a lot of rural/semi rural areas. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/157 "2011-08-18T22:54:46Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > The county as a whole is pretty nice and has some really upscale small cities and a lot of rural/semi rural areas. Yeah, it’s weird stuff. I got married in Davison (outside of Flint) and my husband is from Grand Blanc (again, outside of Flint.) Genesee County, on the whole, is about as white bread as it gets. But **jamie** kept saying he was in Flint. If he was truly in Flint, I wouldn’t be starting any trouble there (well, I wouldn’t be starting any trouble anywhere, but that’s just me.) ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/158 "2011-08-18T23:04:43Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Oh, well in that case, let me pull up Obama’s number out of my phone book. Improperly displayed card is nbd, but _non_-displayed… :eek: Its not **Obama’s** number you need, its **jamiemcgarrys**. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/159 "2011-08-18T23:04:46Z")
He lives in Davison, far as I know. Pretty white bread, small town America, as you say! Where Michael Moore of _Roger and Me_ fame was born and raised, actually. (Although he sometimes pretends to be from Flint.) The Hurley Health & Fitness center that the op used to belong to is in Flint, though. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122/160 "2011-08-19T00:02:04Z")
I don’t park in handicapped spaces unless I have a handicapped passenger (occasionally, as I’m a caregiver), then I have to leave a handwritten note that says “Handicapped passenger” on the dash. I once had a meter cop ask me about it, but only to clarify that I didn’t have a tag at all, just a handicapped person who needed to be near the door who, incidentally, did not have a tag at all as she didn’t have a car. The officer was fine with it. Otherwise, I leave the handicapped space to those who need it and assume the best of people who park there. I can’t imagine presuming to demand proof of need from anyone, because if anyone (aside from a police officer or property manager) demanded proof from me, I wouldn’t even engage them, because1. it is NOT their business., and 2. you don’t know who the hell you’re dealing with when you get confronted in a parking lot. You can like it or not like it, but no one has the right to demand proof except the cops. I’d also second or third the idea that Youngish Lady could have had something that justified a tag and intended you to understand when she pointed to the affected ankle. Maybe the monitor or whatever was just happenstance. Be safe out there, Jamie…some people are not just rude, but dangerous. ☹ You can be an activist without being a crusader. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nonsensical-parking-lot-experience/593122.md?page=9)