Rant Get rid of pregnant women handicap sign parking

To those who are annoyed at the parking for pregnant ladies: Stop worrying about where the pregnant ladies park. Why don't you get some exercise yourself and ride a bike to the store instead?

 

Haha, you're going to vote Hilary ain't you

 

Pregnant bays are things that I look at and think "yep I agree with that". Hell if it was my missus with my baby I'd feel happier knowing that when she's driving to the supermarket on her own (as I'm almost certain to be working), that she can park close to the shop. Pregnant women have to deal with carrying our babies: bladder emergencies, back pain, swollen ankles...that extra 20-50 yards or so could mean the difference between getting to a loo or peeing in the middle of a car park. Of course, the fact that that's "self inflicted" (i.e. the continuance of the human race) is obviously too bad, she should have the embarrassment of soiling herself instead! I know this is fairly extreme, but it's a reality and some of my mates wives have experienced similar.

Of course when I was brought up I was taught to give up my seat to a pregnant woman, or an elderly person who looks a little frail, or perhaps a parent who's struggling with 2 kids a pushchair and the weekly shopping. But then I think that should just be human nature. Unfortunately as this thread proves, a lot of people just don't have that kind of respect any more. I feel sorry for you.

Reserved bays are an inconvenience sometimes, but I'm healthy so I'm sure an extra 20-50 yards won't hurt me.....will it hurt you?

*shakes head at this thread*

 

Im not bothered, i dont have a car

 

As far as pregnant women being = to those with disabilities, absolutely not. Perhaps we wouldn't need any marked spaces at all if people were both tolerant and considerate. As far as selfish rants in this thread? No, not all are to that extent. I open doors for men with their arms full or who are having other problems. It's a "pay it forward" type of thing.

 

5m was an obvious exaggeration, do yourself a favour. How many children do you know who swear like this: *** ?

In answer to your original question about society getting lazier, I agree with you it is. And also a lot less tolerant and more selfish as you have made clear in your original post, if you are representative of society that is.

 

I get that occassionally from women, but generally they tend to be 50+ (i.e. they know how helpful it is). It's actually one of the few "10 commandments" that was ingrained on me as a child: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You

 

That little commandment does have a few flaws... Nasty, deranged, evil, nasty people thinking: "I want that person to make sexehtime with me!..... So I make sexehtime with them!"

 

actually, a lot. you would be amazed.
and its right to judge either myself or society based on what I have written in this one thread. really, it is.

 

I don't see any disabled people complaining here (unless some of the complaining forum members are disabled: could you guys give us a quick heads-up here?). I see young, physically fit males complain: people who don't know what it is to be disabled or pregnant. People who despite their youth and fitness appear extremely annoyed at the notion that they may have to stand on a bus, or walk fifty more yards so that a pregnant woman doesn't have to.

Why don't we ask disabled people how they feel about the issue? Perhaps they can empathise more.

Oh, go on then, we will. After all you think that you can judge pregnant women. You young physically fit male, you.

 

BTW Nexxo, I threw my hat in the "disabled" ring. Few fake joints and a degenerative disease more than qualify me. Least the people who give me my blue sticker say so...

And my vote was for make life easier. For all of you who say that "it's her choice", it's not always. How would you like to be the ass that said that and the woman replied that she was raped? Not everyone believes in aborting rape children.

Seriously folks, if you're in good health, a little respect for those who are not-it's not by choice. Being disabled is already (for me) an emasculating experience, don't add insult (and possibly injury) to our shame already.

And pregnant women do not choose to gain all that weight, get kicked in the bladder, develop hemorrhoids, sometimes permanent back pain, and all that. They choose to bring life into this world. If it came without that, I'm sure they would do it. Don't punish them for something they can't do anything about.

 

^ After all, your mum was pregnant once.

 

Well i'd def vote give pregnant ladies a break & i'd also give the people who abuse reserved parking a break (arm or leg i'm nae fussy & I have a medical need to be as close to storedoor as possible - has happened that i've had to gve up getting something as unable to get close enough

And as said everyone has a mum & she often chose that - do you wish way any help given her because she chose to be your mum? (aimed at a few anti pregnancy peeps - no one individually..

 

Whether for pregnant women or those who are disabled, having a parking space that guarantees you'll actually be able to open the car door is a major plus. This is especially true if you need to use a cane or walker. Sometimes it isn't so much a matter of a few extra feet to walk but rather bay spacing that ensures other parkers don't pin you in. What are your options if you come out of the store or office to find you're pinned in? In part, this is another result of people being inconsiderate and too lazy to make certain their vehicle is placed well within the marked lines and not too close to other vehicles.

For the record, I am officially disabled now. As KayinBlack noted, it is quite the humbling experience for anyone. Having a dedicated, marked parking space can make a big difference. At times when I was pregnant with my daughter, not having to get in and out of the car as if I were a contortionist would have been great. To be honest, the few extra feet closer didn't matter a whole lot.

And yes, it is likely this whole thing wouldn't be necessary if people were considerate of each other.

 

But having the signs does help a lot - If you get to a space and see a disabled sign, you can think "oh yeah, that's a nice thing to do" and park elsewhere (or in chrisb2e9's case, you can ignore it). If there weren't signs and spaces, I'd certainly not think of it whenever I get to a carpark.

 

In an ideal world, humanity would just be considerate and no signs would be necessary. Also, ice cream would fall instead of snow, and rivers of chocolate fudge would flow from toffee mountains. But we all know that humans are basically monkeys with ipods. Not that I have anything against monkeys.

I work in a professional office building full of engineers and other assorted "intelligent" people. Recently, the building managers had to post sings in the restrooms reminding employees to flush as a courtesy to other employees as well as the cleaning staff. Also, somebody rode his bicycle to work and chained it to the railing on the wheelchair ramp outside the building, blocking access for the disabled employees. The bike rack is only 20 feet away.

Sometimes the human race just boggles my mind. It's amazing we've managed to survive this long.

-monkey (with an ipod)

 

Says it all really...


Something I havn't noticed yet (probably just to blind to read) is that no one mentioned that fact that yes, pregnant woman do have extra weight, which can be a pain... but they also have extra size... not quite so easy to just slip out through the car door when your crammed into a tiny space.

 

First I did not want to post here but now that Nexxo asked...

My (twin) brother is disabled. He can walk, alright, so a few more steps from a "regular" parking lot are fine. Something in his cerebellum is damaged as he had a bleeding there at birth. He had good therapy so he (luckily) can move (almost) normal, but his coordination still is damaged. He doesn't perceive 3dimensional space as we do. Let me explain what this means in daily life:

Let's say he tries to cross a street. As long as there is no car he is fine. But if a car come into his direction he might think it is very close to him and he jumps out of the way, scared to death, thinking it will run him over. Or - even worse - he might think a car that's only a few feet away is still half a mile off. Now this has happened, luckily the car was not driving fast.

If there are traffic lights he is fine, he knows when he can pass a street safely. However in a parking place there usually is no traffic light. If I'd tell him "Would you mind going to the car fetching something for me please?" he'd be utterly affraid. For good reason. For him special parking spots are a blessing - simply because he can reach them safely. Still we usually don't use them, because somebody might need one more desperate - Somebody is always with him, as he cannot drive himself - for obvious reason. But it really makes me mad if the "strong, healthy male" parks there - My brother could have been saved from that little bit of fear you know?


Another thing is taking the bus with him. He cannot really stand in a driving bus - his cerebellum, that usually makes your muscles move a little bit so that you keep your balance in a bus that is slowing down, is not up to the task. He needs a place to sit, no matter how full the bus is. Now the place for disabled people is a bit bigger, hence more comfortable - again for good reason. Now you can bet there is a young around twenty year old hip-hop type of guy sitting there. My brother would never ask them to stand up - he is afraid, having bad experience.
Now when I am with him I would ask them to stand up and either choose another seat or, well stand, so that my brother can sit down. You have to know, I don't look like the geek guy you'd easily beat up yk - more like the opposite (not offensive clothing or so, just strong, broud shoulders etc). Do you think they'd stand up for him, even when I show them his pass?
My brother needs to stand and clutch a rod, shaking.

Sometimes people don't look like somebody that need these special spots or attention unless you look very close. But they still need them.

If he should fall, ever, and hurt himself I'll make this guy stand up. And then break his neck.

 

Having lived through 2 (3 if you count my own) pregnancies I'm firmly in favour of the whole pregnant woman space thing. It doesn't have to be right close to the door of the store, it just needs to be a little wider than normal, so that she can get in and out of her car comfortably. Parent and child spaces are also a great thing to have. Getting my 4 month old out of his car seat in a normal space is difficult and (occasionally) painful for both of us. The abuse of the special parking spaces is a big no-no in my book and I report any car I see abusing that facility to the store (not that they do anything, but hey...)

Oh, and chrisb2e9, the vast majority of pregnant women have something called weak bladder syndrome, so your "but a grown woman should be able to hold it for a few minutes" was just a cheap shot at something you are unwilling, or unable, to understand. It is even referenced in law (a policeman has to relinquish his helmet if a pregnant woman get's caught short and there are no public toilets around).

I may show this thread to my wife and see what she thinks of all the 'little boys' on here. Until you have experienced what it is like for a woman to have a child, shut the f**k up. It is hard (on both of us) and doesn't get much easier once the baby has arrived.

Andy

 

Agreed!

Those and similar signs are a courtesy even if their intention is to bring in additional customers. In NYC buses, there are signs on a group of seats at the front asking the rider to offer his seat to any disabled or elderly bus riders.

Do you guys, the ones who think pregnant women deserve no special attention or accomodations, also think that people who really need to sit on buses and trains should take taxis instead to be guaranteed a seat... Or maybe the perpetual balancing act is good for their them. *rolls eyes*