Disability Parking is NOT a privilege. Have you ever thought how lucky people are that they get to park so close to the entrance of buildings?
Well, you are not the only one and it gets worse…people abuse this civil right of people with disabilities every day all over the country. Disability parking is one of the most basic ways for people with disabilities to live independently.
The fact that so many people think it is just fine to abuse this right speaks to the social acceptability of discriminating against people with disabilities.
Anytime someone illegally parks in a disability parking stall, whether they are using someone else’s placard or just running in for a second, they are eroding the rights of people with disabilities.
If you think it is no big deal and just a minor inconvenience for the people who have this right, consider this question: Do people with disabilities deserve any rights at all, or should we all just be rounded up and put in an institution?
You may think that this is quite a jump from parking to institutionalization, but it was not that long ago people with disabilities were institutionalized and it has been even less time since we had civil rights afforded to us.
The majority of disability parking placards in Minnesota are issued to folks with a non-apparent disability. That is, you cannot see the disability. So please, rather than questioning who does or does not have a disability, just stop faking disability for your personal convenience.
If it wasn’t for disability parking a portion of the disability community would not be able to leave their house to buy food and participate in many other aspects of our society. It is not a convenience to have disability parking; it is a necessity and a civil right that was afforded to people with disabilities only 30 years ago.