Links of the Week

Hi there, readers! Here is a collection of interesting articles on the internet this week for the lesserly abled... Read the excerpts and follow the links to see what the buzz is all about!

First: The good... part of an article series about how we cripples really feel about shopping...

"When a person with a disability is checking out, go ahead and ask them if they want help taking their groceries to their car, just like you ask everyone else. But then please be prepared to accept their answer, no matter what it is. Some shoppers with disabilities will want help. Others will not want help.

If a shopper with a disability indicates they do not want help getting their groceries to their car, don't try to talk them into it. None of this “Are you sure?” business. If I need and want help, I will answer yes the first time."

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20100607/NEWS/100609872/

Next, the bad... A Lorain, Ohio woman is arrested for shoplifting, and is claiming that her disability will keep her out of jail. I think this sets an awful example... I know that many disabled folks, including myself, carry a backpack when we go places. It's not for stealing, it's for holding things... I plan to do a post later this week on my backpack and the kinds of things that I use it for. At any rate, I have never once been asked to leave my bag at the front of a store or searched as I was leaving, and I'd like very much to keep it that way. Mind you, I would have no problem giving the thing up to a storeowner just trying to keep things open, but the fact that I don't get looked at suspiciously just for having it on is a good thing.

"A 19-year-old Lorain woman cited for shoplifting boasted she would not go to jail because she is in a wheelchair due to being shot in the back while stealing from cars in Avon, according to a Lorain police report."

http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2010/06/08/news/mj2853072.txt

And finally, the ugly. A woman in the Boston area is in an argument over a parking ticket or being parked illegally in a handicapped spot. Now, I am a big fan of handicapped parking, but I try not to use it unless I am someplace where I can't double park (people NEVER leave enough room for my wheelchair despite a big sign on the side of my car) or can't get on the sidewalk (Are curb cutouts really that much of a difficulty to put in?) At any rate, this woman is trying to plead cripple, and I stand with the courts against her; just get your dang paperwork folks. They give handicapped placards away like Pez; if you can get one for having asthma or weak ankles, then you can surely get one if you don't get around so good.

"“It’s her option now to appeal that,” Bennett said. “But she should pay the fine. The spot was labeled. She chose to ignore it. Ignorance of the law does not give you the right to park in a handicapped spot,” he said. “If she had documentation that she was handicapped, she could have gone to Town Hall and gotten a temporary placard.”"

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1259429&format=text

There we go! Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves!