While scouring the interwebs the other day, I came across
a particularly interesting video. A non-profit organization in Russia decided
to try to alter the number of able bodied people that parked in handicap
designated parking spots. How, you ask? Cameras detecting a vehicle trying to
park in a handicap spot without the necessary decals were met with a hologram
of a real disabled person, and what’s more, they spoke to the
would-be-inconsiderate drivers.
The hologram in the video tells perpetrators to stop and
asks them what they’re doing, asking them to please find somewhere else to
park, reminding them that real people need these parking spots and are not just
signs on the ground. One of the more poignant statements the hologram makes is
“I face many challenges every day, your only challenge is to respect my
rights”. Putting aside the possibility that this could sound belittling of the
struggles everyone faces, the sentiment at its heart is accurate and challenges
an able bodied person to respect the fact that the right of a handicap parking
spot is only a small help in the challenges of the day to day for someone who
is disabled enough to need one.
My first thought was that this was an astounding and
wonderful idea, putting a face to a crime that is generally overlooked and
often wrongly deemed or thought of as “victimless”; the fact is that just
because you aren’t there to witness someone needing to park in a handicap spot
doesn’t mean there isn’t one. The fact that there is a way to distinguish
between vehicles that do and do not have a handicap decal, which lack of one is
what triggers the hologram, is amazing and should absolutely be utilized, and
not just in Moscow.
There is one issue with the holograms, one that perhaps not everyone will at first
understand or agree with; those who don’t look like the stereotypical image
most people have for “handicapped”, such
as those that have an invisible illness or those who , for all intents and
purposes, do not appear disabled, are not included in the possible hologram
projections. The reason there is a problem is that there should not be a
separation between those that “look” disabled and those that “don’t”. I absolutely understand that visually
seeing someone in a wheel chair tell you not to park in the handicap spot
because they need it gets your attention more; but the real factor is that you
can more easily assume and judge the person for whatever their limitations are if
their disability can be seen, and you can more easily categorize them and
decide how much you would be willing to assist, or not.
Don’t worry, if that’s not enough, I’ll explain why it
matters. When people are allowed to continue to only see examples of the
disabled as they picture them (most likely in a wheelchair, or with a walker,
cane, etc.), then the idea that only those that look disabled, have a disability. Sadly, there are many that live
in ignorance of the numerous illnesses that cause debilitating issues but leave
the sufferer looking relatively “normal” and fine in appearance.
More than one silent sufferer and victim of the “but you
don’t look sick” level of mentality and sensitivity has fallen in the sights of
some would-be champion of the rights of the disabled by attacking someone who
was legally, let me say that one again for you, legally, parked in a
handicap spot, but merely didn’t “appear” disabled by the crack-witted witnesses
of the supposed “infraction.”
The story that goes with this image will be included here (or below), where the mother of the receiver of this note responds with
an open letter to the note writer. Another woman in this story was
accused of being a faker by another note crusader, and there are certainly more
instances like this out there.
The issue is not that people are “trying to help” the
parking rights of the disabled, and if they believe they are, they’re doing it
all wrong. If you want to be of help, you don’t ever start with attacking someone parked in a handicap spot with
a decal or license plate showing their right; no, you start with the logical
approach, which is leaving notes for those that are parked in handicap spots without
the necessary decal or plate….I know…it’s a shocking notion isn’t it? You know
for absolute certainty that someone without a handicap decal or plate should
NOT be parked in a handicap spot, and yet it happens without most people looking
twice. And yet, there are people who feel the need to leave notes for those
that are parked in a handicap spot legally, but merely don’t appear to be
disabled in any way that these eagle-eyed detectives and self-licensed
specialists can ascertain by mere visual inspection 20 feet or more away across
the parking lot.
Honestly, I find myself using all I know about people and psychology in an attempt to answer the question of why it seems people are more likely to leave a note or react, supposedly, on behalf of those with a disability when it’s a matter of questioning the handicap of the individual. Now, I don’t doubt that there are those low enough to use a decal that doesn’t belong to them (with or without permission), but the first step shouldn’t be to approach those with the proper documentation; instead, it should be to approach those able bodied individuals that feel their personal convenience outweighs the rights and necessity of a disabled person, not to mention the law, and ask them politely to move. There is no need to be rude, no matter who you are dealing with, but the fact still remains that the vigilantes in these stories are confronting and shaming the completely wrong people.
The point is that there are tens if not hundreds of
illnesses that leave the sufferer disabled but ironically “looking” fine, to
the poorly trained eye, and when you separate disability between what can be
seen and what cannot, and only give your willingness and assistance
accordingly, you give the decision over to self-proclaimed do-gooders that
appoint themselves experts of the disabled with the right to question the
validity of someone’s disability in the name of justice for those who need that handicap parking space (which
of course excludes them and seemingly should exclude anyone they feel doesn’t
look the part of “handicapped”).
All of that being said, I’d like to return to the video
at the beginning of this post. I’m sincerely grateful to the nonprofit
organization in Russia that put all of the work and effort into setting up this
type of system to be utilized in an effort to cut down on the inconsiderate
people parking in handicap spots. It’s an amazing idea and it’s my hope that
such measures are adopted throughout the world and that they actually make a
difference in the numbers of people that don’t bat an eye about where they
park, regardless of legality or necessity. I would only hope that in the future
as such possibilities are actually explored, that it is not only those visually
identifiable as disabled that are used as possible hologram projections.
It may seem a silly thing, but when it comes to drawing
lines, there shouldn’t be one in how we look at disabilities or illnesses that
causes disabilities that can or cannot be seen…from across a parking lot or otherwise.
The only distinction that should be made concerning those that are disabled
that need to utilize handicap parking spaces are those with a decal or plate,
and those without; everyone else needs to respect that.
With that, I give you, my experience and that of others I know living with invisible
illnesses:
Links: