[NeighborsComplaint]

A buddy and I went for a ride in my GTO with it's newly sorted out 4 wheel disc brakes working as they should. I decided to go to the bank and get some cash. I avoid the drive-up ATM's there because the lanes are really tight and rim scrapes are a fact of life there. I pulled into a parking spot and my buddy says "Why don't you park in the handicapped so no one will park next to you? He knows I have a disability placard and walk with a cane. I told him "I left the placard in my other car and I'm not taking a chance on a $350 fine. I parked, went into the lobby to the ATM and a lady came up and said "Your friend is having an argument with someone in the parking lot and the cops were called." I just laughed and said "As long as nobody hit my car I'm fine."

I walked out to see two squads and a bunch of back and forth going on between my buddy and some lady. Turns out she pulled into the handicapped spot adjacent to the spot I was in (un-restricted) and my buddy took exception with her noticing she had no handicapped placard or plate. I looked at my buddy, laughed and said "You got Karen all riled up and she called the cops?" He just grinned and said "Yeah, how stupid can you be to park illegally and then call the cops to come and write you a $350 ticket?" Mission accomplished, my buddy and I just crossed our arms to watch things unfold.

One cop was trying to calm "Karen" down while the other came over to us and said "We're just going to give her a verbal warning. She says her husband is handicapped and has the placard in their other car. I had watched as her husband came out of the bank looking as fit as can be and walking steadily and comfortably to the car while I'm relying on my cane to keep me upright.

I told the cop, "Look I'm late to the party, but I also have a handicapped placard in my other car and I wouldn't think of taking a handicapped spot if I am not complying with the law and displaying the placard. I said "The guy looks pretty healthy to me, run his license and see if he has a valid handicapped placard like she claims. I'm damn near crippled but I still follow the law which is why I'm parked over here. Besides that, he has to display the placard to legally park in a handicapped spot."

The other cop came over after hearing my response and said "I'll write her a warning, is that ok?" to which I responded "You do whatever you want, but you might as well hand the warning to me so I can throw it out for her. If I were in her shoes, you'd be saying "I'm not buying your story, you have a nice shiny hot rod and just want to protect it by using a handicapped spot. Here's your ticket, you can pay by mail or appear in court."

I know cops are supposed to have better things to do and her husband may actually have a valid handicapped placard, but he's not in possession of it which by law is a $350 fine.

OK, I'm headed out to get a life now. lol

[TAKerry]

One of my pet peeves. I try not to judge people when I see them parking in HC spots, not knowing what they have going on. I am not handicapped but my knees are all but wore out and I have a hard time walking at times. I see a lot of people pull in, put the placard on the mirror then get out and walk across the lot better than I can. I just dont get it. I all but lost the idea of calling someone out when, one day at home depot a brand new, lifted escalade was parked in that spot. No hc tags. I thought to myself, HOW RUDE! I almost said something to the guy sitting in the driver seat. THEN, somehow he opened the back door did some finagelling around, pulled out a wheel chair and jumped into it. He had no legs and was wearing a t shirt something to the fact that he was a veteran. I felt bad for even thinking about him abusing the parking spot. It was at that point I figured not to judge without knowing the full story. BUT, yes, handicap or not, if a person can walk then leave that spot for someone that may need it worse.

[Elarson]

When my MIL was alive, she had a handicapped placard. When we would all go out to dinner, I would drop her at the door and then go take a regular parking space. It would have been perfectly legal to use the HC space with her on board, but I preferred to leave the space for somebody who might have been alone or otherwise needed it worse.

Abuse of the HC spaces is a pet peeve of mine too.

Eric

[Mr Anonymous]

My dad was a leg amputee for years and still got around ok. He used his HC placard as intended. It bothered me if some able bodied person took a spot. I took issue with one person that did it, and during the confrontation, I offered them to either move the car or be completely disabled on the spot, using my own hands. "you're not handicapped now, but you could be, VERY SOON."

[JLBIII]

I had a BK amputation 9 years ago and have a prosthetic right leg. Most people don't realize i have one. I get around pretty well and usually park some distance away from entrances so people who really need the HC spots can use them. I don't question what a person's disability may be but wonder if some people using those spots don't realize they may be needing it sometime in the future.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by Mr Anonymous

My dad was a leg amputee for years and still got around ok. He used his HC placard as intended. It bothered me if some able bodied person took a spot. I took issue with one person that did it, and during the confrontation, I offered them to either move the car or be completely disabled on the spot, using my own hands. "you're not handicapped now, but you could be, VERY SOON."

My mom was pretty much confined to a wheel chair when it came to going out in public( advanced arthritis in her knees and hips). I used to become VERY indignant at the nitwits would would park in handicapped while being able to walk as well as I could. In response to their callousness, I would park Mom’s Suburban so close to their vehicle that it was nearly impossible for them to open the driver’s door. I got a few obscene gestures and more than a few vulgarities and profanities thrown my way but they got the point: your vehicle does NOT belong in this parking spot. I had my own handicapped placard for a couple of years. I no longer use it since knee replacement surgery gave me back my ability to walk longer distances.

[NeighborsComplaint]

I have a really crippling Condition that on some days I can get around slowly without a cane but I don’t have enough strength to step up a curb. I only use the placard on the really bad days when I literally pull myself up out of the car and grab a shopping cart if available to steady my gate. I use it primarily in winter because my paralysiis and snow/Ice are a really bad combo.

[West Coast GTO]

Although I understand the point of this event, there is one thing I don't understand.
How did you know that the woman's name was Karen. Did you know her from a previous encounter?

[67drake]

Originally Posted by West Coast GTO

Although I understand the point of this event, there is one thing I don't understand.
How did you know that the woman's name was Karen. Did you know her from a previous encounter?

From the internet dictionary-
“Karen is a pejorative term used as slang for a middle-class white woman who is perceived as entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is normal. The term is often portrayed in memes depicting middle-class white women who "use their white and class privilege to demand their own way".

[KS circutguy]

Get off my lawn...

[Lemans64]

Good on your friend, Karen did not need to sit in that spot while wait for her supposedly Handicapped person, Drive over and pick him
up. My Newphew is Handicapped (Quad) from a bad fall, and his pet peeve is people that park to close to the handicapped spot. How is
he supposed to get his wheel chair in there?? On another note, my wife friend ws using a handicap placard and got called out on it
she lifted her shirt to show the guy her medication pump and the pick lines going into her chest, Guys was apologetic, LOL.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Cop could have told them to bring her Husband's placard to court and the Judge will dismiss the charges and fines upon verification via DMV at the courtroom.

But really though , that episode in itself will probably make her think twice or thrice before using HC parking again without a placard.

Wild story

[West Coast GTO]

. Here is the full quote;
"Karen is a pejorative term used as slang for a middle-class white woman who is perceived as entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is normal.[1] The term is often portrayed in memes depicting middle-class white women who "use their white and class privilege to demand their own way".[1][2] Depictions include demanding to "speak to the manager", being racist, or wearing a particular bob cut hairstyle.[3] It was popularized in the aftermath of the Central Park birdwatching incident in 2020.
A definition of pejorative:
"A pejorative word or phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something.[1] It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a term is regarded as pejorative in some social or ethnic groups but not in others or may be originally pejorative but later adopt a non-pejorative sense (or vice versa) in some or all contexts. "

So, in this instance, a Karen is a slur or derogatory term the same as negative connotations towards blacks, asians, mexicans or other " ethnic" groups.

Thank you, I am clear now as to the meaning.

Originally Posted by 67drake

From the internet dictionary-
“Karen is a pejorative term used as slang for a middle-class white woman who is perceived as entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is normal. The term is often portrayed in memes depicting middle-class white women who "use their white and class privilege to demand their own way".

[locomotivebreath]

Your friend is lucky it was just a Karen - A Kanesha would’ve attacked him .

[West Coast GTO]

I am really out of the loop. What is a Kanesha?

[Stuart]

If you want to keep this in the lobby, be civil and knock off the pejoratives.

[NeighborsComplaint]

Originally Posted by West Coast GTO

.

So, in this instance, a Karen is a slur or derogatory term the same as negative connotations towards blacks, asians, mexicans or other " ethnic" groups.

Thank you, I am clear now as to the meaning.

In this case the "Karen" was Hispanic as is my buddy. He is not afraid to express his intolerance of his fellow countrymen (and women) who don't follow the laws of this country. The guy's moral compass always points true north.

[Carl S]

My wife is almost 60 but most 30 year old women would trade bodies with her (as far as appearance goes). However, she has a neuromuscular disease and walking anything more than maybe 50' gives her extreme pain. Thus we have a permit. I'm dreading the day, but I know it will come when someone will be quick to open their mouth and question why we are using someone else's handicap permit when we park. Often I will drop her off at the door to a store, close to a scooter and then go park in regular parking but if there's nothing available I will use our permit so that she can walk back to the truck when we leave.

Because of her situation, I too have learned not to be too quick to judge. However, the day some blonde dressed to the nines roared into handicap spot with her Escalade, sprinted into the store and sprinted back out 5 minutes later almost had me calling the police. I don't wish anything bad on those people but it's hard not to want them to NEED a handicap spot temporarily and not be able to find one because people are abusing the spots.

[lust4speed]

Both my buddy and I have placards. My friend is down to 25% lung capacity and he walks just fine, but what you don't see after he walks a few hundred feet is him sitting down for 5 or 10 minutes catching his breath before moving on. We have to be careful with our observations.

My truck has handicap plates, but when I forget my placard when not in the truck then I don't park in handicap. Shame on me for being forgetful and maybe I might just remember a little better after the trips across the parking lot.

[JSchmitz]

I work with a guy that parks in the handicap spot every day. There's absolutely nothing wrong with him other than he is a lazy weasel. Pisses me off every time I see his truck parked there.