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Jacob,

You make a wonderful point about how few people you observe with the placards have a physical disability. But you might have missed some points. #1 you are only one person observing one location at a time. #2 Invisible disabilities are real, legitimate and are simply not an observer's responsibility to diagnose or to notice or to judge.

Oregon allows drivers with certain vision, heart, lung, and bowel conditions to rightfully have a placard. These are likely invisible to you, the observer who cannot feel that driver's body. Chronic pain and fatigue conditions in others are invisible to you. I could go on, but the issue is between the driver and that person's medical providers to determine if the placard is deserved and will help the person engage in society. It is not between the observer and their generalizations about what it might be believed people have, have the right to, or what they do.

Yes, some people misuse the placards, possibly on a chronic basis. But instead of making up stories, why not strike up a conversation and find out if they are abusing the public service or not? Why not leave a note on their dashboard? There are actions that can be taken if someone is truly abusing this important service. But please know that action is not imagining we know what any other person's life is like and lumping individuals together into a group we can then decide to resent.

posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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