A Disabled Person's Fantasy Comes True In Brazil

The Daily Mail (!) summarizes the whole story in the headline:

NEVER park in a disabled bay in Brazil! Crowd cheer as inconsiderate driver returns to find his entire car has been covered with a blue badge symbol

... made of sticky notes. No apparent actual damage was done to the car, but the "stickering" obviously irritated the bejezus out of the returning driver who parked it there... no damage done, unlike the act of a healthy person's parking his or her car in a handicapped zone, which has actual consequences for the next unfortunate disabled driver who finds the space blocked (illegally, in most areas).

Maybe stickering could become a regular practice! Worldwide!

Hey people, we cripples need those spaces. Depending on our disabilities, we may not be able to park two blocks away and walk or wheel to our destination: the usurpation of a close parking space may compel us to abandon our errand altogether. (Yes, I've had to do that: every cripple has, most of us more than once.)

I can see a healthy driver's wanting a close parking space, but dammit, for us cripples, when you block our spaces, it's not a matter of mere inconvenience. The most ordinary of acts, the simplest of tasks is hard enough for us without your making it harder for no good reason. And don't give me that "I'll only be a minute" bullshit...

Stolen Prosthesis Is Antithesis Of Civilized Behavior

Sonny Forriest Jr. took the theft of his prosthetic leg by a drunk woman at a tailgate party with better grace than I would. I have to wonder: what kind of person thinks that is a joke?

All of us who wear these things realize they are a mixed blessing: on the very positive side, they allow us to walk around on two legs almost like a real person; on the not-so-positive side, they are a sweaty and occasionally slightly painful nuisance in hot weather. Mr. Forriest is not alone in removing his prosthesis when he knows he will be sitting in one place for an hour or two.

But I still can't think of what the woman, even allowing for her drunkenness, thought she was going to do with the artificial limb. They are not interchangeable: Mr. Forriest's would not fit me, nor would mine fit him. That, in turn, means there is presumably no market for a stolen one. The prosthesis cost Mr. Forriest (or his insurance company) a couple thousand dollars; the woman who stole it could get $0.00 for it... indeed, she probably couldn't give it away.

I wonder if she votes Republican...

ADDENDUM: Here is an article that contains a news video with more details about the incident. Scroll down a screen or two. The woman fled the scene of the theft, carrying the prosthesis; it turned up some time later on the platform at the end of a mass transit line. The woman has not been caught.

Mr. Forriest says that despite his exasperation with her, he does not want her to serve jail time. I agree. I think a more fitting punishment would require her to perform her regular job for 30 days... strapped in a wheelchair, not allowed to leave it even for bathroom breaks. (Yes, I've lived through that, too; there are suitable receptacles to use for potty trips, though the risk of soiling oneself is non‑negligible.)