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On the "disabled enough" topic there was a local news clip here not too long ago where an apparently able bodied man pulled into a handicapped spot. As he was getting out of his car a passer-by got totally enraged and went off on him yelling and screaming at him for taking up the handicapped space and was attempting to break the guys window just as his 19 year old vet son who was missing both legs below the knee rolled out of the building in his wheelchair. Apparently the dad was picking him up from rehab, the passer-by was so full of himself that he didn't even offer an apology and just stormed off cursing and swearing like a complete jackass. The whole altercation was caught on somebody's phone and they aired it on the news to shame the dbag. Some people are quick to temper and don't actually investigate the situation before they fly off the handle.

I remember when I was a child going shopping with my dad and watching incredulously as a woman berated him for parking in the disabled space, all the time as he was clearly getting his wheelchair out of the car. Some people have a large dose of the stupid.

That being said, it seems a strange concept to me that you should be rewarded for having served in the military by being allowed to park close to the store. Disabled vets, sure but just because you served in the forces doesn't preclude you from walking like everyone else really.

 filbert wrote:
I remember when I was a child going shopping with my dad and watching incredulously as a woman berated him for parking in the disabled space, all the time as he was clearly getting his wheelchair out of the car. Some people have a large dose of the stupid.

That being said, it seems a strange concept to me that you should be rewarded for having served in the military by being allowed to park close to the store. Disabled vets, sure but just because you served in the forces doesn't preclude you from walking like everyone else really.

I wouldn't call it a reward. And since this is a business' decision, and not some sort of law or ordinance then not really sure where the issue would be. If it was a (you know what) free zone, you would be applauding him. Why can't the owner offer these parking spots up as well?

 redleger wrote:

 filbert wrote:
I remember when I was a child going shopping with my dad and watching incredulously as a woman berated him for parking in the disabled space, all the time as he was clearly getting his wheelchair out of the car. Some people have a large dose of the stupid.

That being said, it seems a strange concept to me that you should be rewarded for having served in the military by being allowed to park close to the store. Disabled vets, sure but just because you served in the forces doesn't preclude you from walking like everyone else really.

I wouldn't call it a reward. And since this is a business' decision, and not some sort of law or ordinance then not really sure where the issue would be. If it was a (you know what) free zone, you would be applauding him. Why can't the owner offer these parking spots up as well?

I understand it is the business' decision, I just find it strange. If you are going to reward vets, why not reward nurses, teachers etc? There are plenty of deserving targets. People in the military aren't any more altruistic than anyone else; in most cases they do a job for pay same as everyone else. I mean, I didn't serve in the UK army because I thought I might get a parking space at my grocery store and the eternal affection of everyone for ever more, I joined because it was a solid job for a solid wage.

 filbert wrote:

 redleger wrote:

 filbert wrote:
I remember when I was a child going shopping with my dad and watching incredulously as a woman berated him for parking in the disabled space, all the time as he was clearly getting his wheelchair out of the car. Some people have a large dose of the stupid.

That being said, it seems a strange concept to me that you should be rewarded for having served in the military by being allowed to park close to the store. Disabled vets, sure but just because you served in the forces doesn't preclude you from walking like everyone else really.

I wouldn't call it a reward. And since this is a business' decision, and not some sort of law or ordinance then not really sure where the issue would be. If it was a (you know what) free zone, you would be applauding him. Why can't the owner offer these parking spots up as well?

I understand it is the business' decision, I just find it strange. If you are going to reward vets, why not reward nurses, teachers etc? There are plenty of deserving targets. People in the military aren't any more altruistic than anyone else; in most cases they do a job for pay same as everyone else. I mean, I didn't serve in the UK army because I thought I might get a parking space at my grocery store and the eternal affection of everyone for ever more, I joined because it was a solid job for a solid wage.

I wholly agree. If they didn't pay me, I wouldnt have been destroying my body the last 20 years. Im 37 and feel like im 60. However if a business owner wants to offer this as a thank you, then more power to him. I personally would rather have a free coffee, since I am still mostly mobile. But Im not gonna knock him for it. I say free coffee, because that is the norm in most places that corner stores offer police officers free beverages.

Yes, local LEOs, firefighters, teachers, and all forms of public service are equally awesome, and keep the country rolling. I respect them, especially the dedicated teachers. I would have no issue for a teacher parking spot. Not saying its necessary and everyone should do it, but good for him for doing something.

 filbert wrote:

 redleger wrote:

 filbert wrote:
I remember when I was a child going shopping with my dad and watching incredulously as a woman berated him for parking in the disabled space, all the time as he was clearly getting his wheelchair out of the car. Some people have a large dose of the stupid.

That being said, it seems a strange concept to me that you should be rewarded for having served in the military by being allowed to park close to the store. Disabled vets, sure but just because you served in the forces doesn't preclude you from walking like everyone else really.

I wouldn't call it a reward. And since this is a business' decision, and not some sort of law or ordinance then not really sure where the issue would be. If it was a (you know what) free zone, you would be applauding him. Why can't the owner offer these parking spots up as well?

I understand it is the business' decision, I just find it strange. If you are going to reward vets, why not reward nurses, teachers etc? There are plenty of deserving targets. People in the military aren't any more altruistic than anyone else; in most cases they do a job for pay same as everyone else. I mean, I didn't serve in the UK army because I thought I might get a parking space at my grocery store and the eternal affection of everyone for ever more, I joined because it was a solid job for a solid wage.

Maybe appealing to their clientele? I worked at Babies R' Us for a couple years and they have "Expectant Mother" parking spots.

 Matthew wrote:
But how is that note 'misogynistic'? As far as I can tell someone didn't think she was a veteran... how is that something to cry over?

Frustration and injustice are things that can make you cry.
Crying doesn't necessarily mean sadness and feeling grief.
Anger crying is a thing. God knows I'be done it on occasion.

Prestor Jon wrote:

 redleger wrote:

 angelofvengeance wrote:

 MrDwhitey wrote:
This reminds me of the same gak towards disabled people not looking "disabled enough".

To be fair, there are a lot of benefits cheats, which has tarnished the whole thing. Some people will do literally anything for a better quality of living. Same goes for the whole "stolen valour" folks.

agree, but if you follow the organization "Stolen Valor" this kind of behavior is what they warn you against. If there is a possibility (which this would probably not even make the radar) of stolen valor you get pics, talk with the person, record said person, then submit, and they have people that actually fact find, then after proof is given, out the individual. I would assume she was a veteran, and if I absolutely needed to know, I would talk to her. even across branches, many of us speak similar languages.

Yeah it's pretty poor form that the person who left the note, veteran or not, decided that it was better to be a passive agressive gakhole instead of just taking the time to talk to the person who parked there. If it's not worth your time to wait and know for sure if the person is a veteran then it's really not worth your time to write the note.

Either way, unless the store has hired you on as the Parking Police or the lack of spaces is causing a problem for veterans who need to park close to the store, it's really not worth it. Either you've called someone out for parking a little closer than you should have, or - and this is far, FAR more likely - you've just accused a veteran of not being in the military. It's such a small-scale thing, why would you run the risk of being a giant bag full of tools to someone?

There's people in the veteran's spaces at my local Harris Teeter about half the time, but it's a smaller store.

I am sure this will not at all turn out to be just like the anti-gay notes left in restaurants for servers in place of tips that turned out to have been written by the servers themselves.

Seaward wrote:
I am sure this will not at all turn out to be just like the anti-gay notes left in restaurants for servers in place of tips that turned out to have been written by the servers themselves.

Ehhh...maybe, maybe not.
There's a lot of rabid military supporters here in NC and there's been a few instances where people try to do the whole "Stolen Valor shaming" on others.

 Smacks wrote:
Dunno, that handwriting looks pretty girly, and is that eyebrow pencil? She probably wrote it herself for some extra attention on facebook. Can't see why anyone else would give a gak.

That's a pretty inappropriate statement to make with zero evidence.

Many people in the US have a very different attitude to the military to the UK. In general if someone said they were in the army in the UK the response would go from "cool" to "were you in (insert last war person can remember)" to "ok". In the US it will almost universally be "thank you for your service". For this reason I could see people doing that. The very fact that this shop offers something that you would never see in the UK tells you a lot.

That's the same reason stolen valour is a thing in the US but almost totally unseen in the UK. Other than the odd Walter Mitty wanting to join parades and a few people claiming to have been in the SAS to win a fight or pull when drunk (who next time will claim they were a cage fighter or a doctor) we just don't see it.

Having lived in the UK and US for about equal periods of time, I definitely see the difference in attitude toward (ex) military personnel.

Back in the UK it's a humble respect. People appreciate the soldiers but it's generally a quiet acknowledgement.

Here in the US it borders on worship. Constant media barrage to thank the troops and honor our military and various businesses offering a slew of benefits to veterans.

Not saying it's a bad thing at all, but the difference is night and day. I think it reflects on the cultures though. Brits tend to put their head down, blinders on and get on with things. Yanks seem to be a lot more forward, spur each other on and want to be everyone's friend

I just wish the same attitude was taken with our educators though. Everyone values the military, but the people raising and teaching the next generation are treated like gak. My wife works 60-70 hours a week (salary assumes 40), makes all her own class material, has to buy supplies out of her own pocket and still gets told by parents that she earns too much and isn't doing her job right because trailer trash kids who don't show up to class aren't getting a passing grade.

 Nostromodamus wrote:
Having lived in the UK and US for about equal periods of time, I definitely see the difference in attitude toward (ex) military personnel.

Back in the UK it's a humble respect. People appreciate the soldiers but it's generally a quiet acknowledgement.

Here in the US it borders on worship. Constant media barrage to thank the troops and honor our military and various businesses offering a slew of benefits to veterans.

Not saying it's a bad thing at all, but the difference is night and day. I think it reflects on the cultures though. Brits tend to put their head down, blinders on and get on with things. Yanks seem to be a lot more forward, spur each other on and want to be everyone's friend

I just wish the same attitude was taken with our educators though. Everyone values the military, but the people raising and teaching the next generation are treated like gak. My wife works 60-70 hours a week (salary assumes 40), makes all her own class material, has to buy supplies out of her own pocket and still gets told by parents that she earns too much and isn't doing her job right because trailer trash kids who don't show up to class aren't getting a passing grade.

I agree with what you are saying. It's mostly a generational thing I think. People under 30 in the USA have a very similar attitude to what you describe in the UK. I think it has a lot to do with how recent your country was involved in a serious war with high casualties. I bet the UK had a much different attitude towards military members in the decades following WW2. In the USA I think it's also increased by the backlash of the Vietnam war and how poorly those soldiers were treated then. I could be wrong - just a thought of mine.

In california we have family parking and expectant mother parking at some stores. But something to know is that they are not enforcable, not even by the store who made them. Only disabled ones are.
People are always asses when it comes to parking.

 Spinner wrote:

Prestor Jon wrote:

 redleger wrote:

 angelofvengeance wrote:

 MrDwhitey wrote:
This reminds me of the same gak towards disabled people not looking "disabled enough".

To be fair, there are a lot of benefits cheats, which has tarnished the whole thing. Some people will do literally anything for a better quality of living. Same goes for the whole "stolen valour" folks.

agree, but if you follow the organization "Stolen Valor" this kind of behavior is what they warn you against. If there is a possibility (which this would probably not even make the radar) of stolen valor you get pics, talk with the person, record said person, then submit, and they have people that actually fact find, then after proof is given, out the individual. I would assume she was a veteran, and if I absolutely needed to know, I would talk to her. even across branches, many of us speak similar languages.

Yeah it's pretty poor form that the person who left the note, veteran or not, decided that it was better to be a passive agressive gakhole instead of just taking the time to talk to the person who parked there. If it's not worth your time to wait and know for sure if the person is a veteran then it's really not worth your time to write the note.

Either way, unless the store has hired you on as the Parking Police or the lack of spaces is causing a problem for veterans who need to park close to the store, it's really not worth it. Either you've called someone out for parking a little closer than you should have, or - and this is far, FAR more likely - you've just accused a veteran of not being in the military. It's such a small-scale thing, why would you run the risk of being a giant bag full of tools to someone?

There's people in the veteran's spaces at my local Harris Teeter about half the time, but it's a smaller store.

I was reading about a new phenomenon called "revenge dating". What happens is you go on Grindr or something and get set up with a date with someone who seems pretty nice. You go to the meeting place. Then they either string you along for half an hour before not showing, or they even drive by and shout insults at you.

The parking complaint seems a similar thing.

It seems there are people who actually just are massive toolbags, and they will do this kind of thing for lulz.

 Kanluwen wrote:

Seaward wrote:
I am sure this will not at all turn out to be just like the anti-gay notes left in restaurants for servers in place of tips that turned out to have been written by the servers themselves.

Ehhh...maybe, maybe not.
There's a lot of rabid military supporters here in NC and there's been a few instances where people try to do the whole "Stolen Valor shaming" on others.

Just out of curiosity, what part of NC are you in? (not topic related, just wondering if there are any Dakka folks nearby)


I live near Bragg/Fayetteville. I've vet to notice 'veteran only parking' but honestly I don't look for it either. If any place I have been has it it is probably near the handicapped spaces and I tend to park a bit further out. Obviously near Bragg there are a ton of troopers, vets, and families of both and many businesses are military friendly.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
I have seen 'motorcycle only' parking, with correspondingly narrow spaces, AND some asshat in a car taking up 4 or 5 of them. That did annoy me.

 Kanluwen wrote:

Seaward wrote:
I am sure this will not at all turn out to be just like the anti-gay notes left in restaurants for servers in place of tips that turned out to have been written by the servers themselves.

Ehhh...maybe, maybe not.
There's a lot of rabid military supporters here in NC and there's been a few instances where people try to do the whole "Stolen Valor shaming" on others.

I find it quite unlikely. Truthfully stolen valor shaming is getting out of control, and this is most likely a case of both sexism, closed-mindedness and being just a huge titan sized bag of tools by someone who thought they were doing something good, even though the exact opposite is true.

Also anyone who has served, knows as a general rule, not absolute but general, most of us just wanna go on about our business. We have organizations that speak for us on the important issues, so I would be truly shocked if this was a note fabricated by the veteran in question.

My guess is that is wasnt even a veteran who wrote it at all, but a parent/sibling/friend of another veteran or some military tryhard.

 Smacks wrote:
Dunno, that handwriting looks pretty girly, and is that eyebrow pencil? She probably wrote it herself for some extra attention on facebook. Can't see why anyone else would give a gak.

That note certainly does look like it was written with some sort of make-up pencil. Not many writing implements commonly carried around by people leave those kind of markings. So, this was likely written by another woman with the possibility of being written by herself. I wouldn't jump to making that accusation without any stronger evidence but it's there.

 TheCustomLime wrote:

 Smacks wrote:
Dunno, that handwriting looks pretty girly, and is that eyebrow pencil? She probably wrote it herself for some extra attention on facebook. Can't see why anyone else would give a gak.

That note certainly does look like it was written with some sort of make-up pencil. Not many writing implements commonly carried around by people leave those kind of markings. So, this was likely written by another woman with the possibility of being written by herself. I wouldn't jump to making that accusation without any stronger evidence but it's there.

I'm ready to jump to the blame the victim for self-inflicted valor stealing while buying vegan pizza.

Edit: I take that back. She never claimed to be vegan in that article. And we all know that is impossible for a vegan to do.

Team Wienie finds the whole concept of special parking for veterinarians...offensive.

 Frazzled wrote:
Team Wienie finds the whole concept of special parking for veterinarians...offensive.

Veterinarians?

Animal Docs? What you got against them? Too many needles?

When one signs a contract, is sent overseas, and faces the inscrutable horrors of conflict it is done in the hopes of a slightly better parking space back home.

 whembly wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Team Wienie finds the whole concept of special parking for veterinarians...offensive.

Veterinarians?

Animal Docs? What you got against them? Too many needles?

Team Weenie is still upset about "The Great Snip-Snip Incident" that took his FREEEEEEEEEEEDOM!

 whembly wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Team Wienie finds the whole concept of special parking for veterinarians...offensive.

Veterinarians?

Animal Docs? What you got against them? Too many needles?

No, no, no.

Veterinarians are like vegetarians, only they eat veterans.

The Auld Grump

wow, seems like a lot of hate towards a veteran going on here. Hey its the internet,hate all you want,but even I am surprised at reading some of this, and I have seen some ignorant stuff posted in OT threads.

 Xenomancers wrote:

I agree with what you are saying. It's mostly a generational thing I think. People under 30 in the USA have a very similar attitude to what you describe in the UK. I think it has a lot to do with how recent your country was involved in a serious war with high casualties. I bet the UK had a much different attitude towards military members in the decades following WW2. In the USA I think it's also increased by the backlash of the Vietnam war and how poorly those soldiers were treated then. I could be wrong - just a thought of mine.

I'm still not really sure. I think that the bombing campaigns inflicted on Britain gave the British population a sense of being involved in the war in some fashion, even if it was only helping Mrs Trellis clean up after a bomb blew a load of number 24 into her back garden.

That removed some of the sense that it was the soldiers alone fighting for freedom, as everybody felt that they were doing their part for the war effort and many people had to do that whilst facing the possibility of death from Nazi bombs. That was something which the US civillian population generally didn't experience and so didn't develop the same mindset regarding their involvement. They were helping, yes, but they weren't ever under the same conditions (or anything close to) as the soldiers out fighting.

 Ouze wrote:
I've never seen a veteran only parking space.

I haven't either.

To be fair, this sounds like a something unique to this business.
specialty parking for one group(Disabled excepting) sounds like a horrible business practice. what if it is a busy day? you are limiting the amount of parking you have available to people that done belong to that group.

 redleger wrote:
wow, seems like a lot of hate towards a veteran going on here. Hey its the internet,hate all you want,but even I am surprised at reading some of this, and I have seen some ignorant stuff posted in OT threads.

I haven't seen any hateful sentiments expressed on this thread towards veterans. Mostly just confusion about the existence of veteran parking spaces. Care to point out any?