Milpitas Sucks
Well, actually, people who live and/or work in Milpitas suck.
Why?
Here’s why:
On Tuesday, I went to lunch. It was cheap movie seat day and Spring Break, so the movie theatre next to the deli was very busy. Parking was hard, but not impossible to find. I parked 2 rows away and walked over.
I passed a minivan that was parked in a handicapped spot. No disabled plate. No placard. No sign. Three able-bodied people– two teenaged boys and a middle aged woman– got out and walked over to the movie theatre. They did not notice my evil eye.
I then saw them, as I got closer to the theatre, walking back towards the car. Ah, I thought. They have realized their error and are going to move the car. I went into the deli for lunch.
I got out an hour later and walked to my car. The fucking minivan was still there! An hour later. Clearly, they had gone back to the car to get their illicit jujubees and then had returned to the theatre. Fucktards.
But my wrath is not over with.
This morning, I went to Starbucks to get coffee. On my way in, I parked in the spot next to the handicapped spot and made sure I actually left enough room between the front of my car and the curb cut so a wheelchair could get through. The handicapped spot at this place is very poorly marked– the signs aren’t really clear and the blue paint is very faded, but it’s still a spot.
As I come out, a thirtysomething jackass in a red sports car (how cliche can you get) pulls into the handicapped spot. I, being a good Samaritan and figuring he must not have interpreted the fading blue paint correctly call out “you know that’s a handicapped spot?” I figure, after all, that only ignorance would prompt an able-bodied person to park in a spot set aside for the disabled, especially when the fines are so high ($175 the first and last time John made this mistake).
His response? “I know– I’m only going to be five seconds.”
Coincidentally, it took me as long to get my latte into my cup holder and my seatbelt on as it took him inside the gas station, so he really was only about thirty seconds. But even so.
This actually isn’t that uncommon. Milpitas is a heavily Asian community, and I’ve noticed especially in the Asian market parking lot that (1) there is never enough parking, no matter what time of day you go there (huh? the parking lot is huge!) and (2) people just do not give a damn if the spot is designated for disabled, and (3) the Milpitas police don’t give a damn, either.
I really need to get the “nobody is on fire” phone number for the Milpitas police station so I can call these fuckers in. Hey, it’s an easy $175 fine that they can levy against wrongdoers, and makes Milpitas just a little bit nicer for those who can’t get around so easy.
chaoticgoodnik wrote:
*snicker* Milpitas is SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) headquarters. So damned tempting to blame idiocy in Milpitas on that.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 1:12 am | Permalink
shaddai wrote:
Book ‘em Danno!
Seriously, break out your digital camera and your cell phone and take a picture and call the police.
I just can’t stand people who are that inconsiderate.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 1:20 am | Permalink
beckerbuns wrote:
MILPITAS POLICE DEPARTMENT
1275 North Milpitas Boulevard
Milpitas, California 95035
(408) 586-2400 — non-emergency, picked up by dispatch after hours
DO IT!!! Get those jerks in trouble.
Beckyness (who works for the City of San Jose)
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 1:25 am | Permalink
elegantelbow wrote:
Did you post something almost just like this about a year ago. I’m having the most staggering sense of deja vu.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 1:43 am | Permalink
elegantelbow wrote:
Yay!
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 1:43 am | Permalink
silsbycarr wrote:
I not only call the police in cases like this, I also carry a packet of post it notes and a pen in my car so that when people park illegally, or just like jackasses, I can leave them a note if I don’t have my cell phone with me.
My most irritating experience with this situation? I was running into Target in Gurnee to get some laundry detergent and a birthday card when I saw an unmarked Hummer2 pull into a handicapped spot, leave the engine running, and the able bodied 30 year old driver hop out to run into the store. I’m pretty sure people in Ohio heard me shouting to get the driver’s attention. He moved it.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 1:49 am | Permalink
kr8vkat wrote:
Hmpf. Cost me $300 the only time I ever made that mistake, and it was a mistake. A parking lot under construction, the sign missing, the paint nearly non-existant. I probably could have won if I’d gone to court, but I felt it was my penance for not paying enough attention!
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 2:48 am | Permalink
kr8vkat wrote:
Ooo, that Hummer2 was ripe for the stealing!!
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 2:49 am | Permalink
mortaine wrote:
John’s was a total mistake, too– the sign was hard to see, there was no paint, and he just missed it.
It’s not as bad as the woman who got a ticket for using the handicapped spot to make a three-point turn (this was at UCSC). As the parking nazi said, “well, you had to stop at least once while you were turning around in that spot.”
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 3:22 am | Permalink
ciannait wrote:
I am SO fucking with you, and you know it.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 3:23 am | Permalink
idunno3 wrote:
I was at Kaiser once, and someone did this. I went in and told a nurse, and her response?
“They’ll probably only be a minute.”
The nurse said this!!!
There is no hope for humanity.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 3:27 am | Permalink
kr8vkat wrote:
Oh, that’s just wrong! It should only count if you get out of the car…or, OK, if you are in the spot for more than a few seconds without exiting the car. Just for turning around, though?? I would have fought it. I think.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 3:30 am | Permalink
composerjk wrote:
The City of Mountain View has a volunteer Handicapped Area Parking Patrol force that works with officers to enforce and educate people about disabled parking violations.
A thirty second stop in a handicap spot is still enough to cause a person needing that space to have to find another spot. There have been multiple times that I’ve pulled into a lot to see someone park temporarily causing me to have to park elsewhere when I could have used the closer spot. They pulled in literally right as I arrived.
I’ve also had people state to me, sometimes harshly, that I was pulling into a handicap spot. Pulling out the placard after I park is my usual response. There have been more that gave me questioning looks. But, that’s their problem. I just ignore them. Of course, it’s more difficult when the handicap is not really visible. And, I generally only use the handicap spots when I’m not doing well.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 3:39 am | Permalink
celticess wrote:
Thanks for standing up to them. Most times people don’t ingore the law where I am but some jackasses do. Depending on disabilities of people in question we might have good days and it not be a big deal to park elsewhere. When I was still driving I parked elsewhere on a good day and used the spots on a bad. But it’s irritating when someones a jerk and feel they are owed spots. Some politician tried the “I was only gone like 2 min” argument but was gone alot longer. She had no disabled tag but claimed she could have one but for vanity reasons didn’t want that. Which ticked people off royally…
My current beef is still with inconsiderate people on the bus. One day I or someone else with certain semi invisible health issues is going to get badly hurt. Someone will sue. Then obviously all the press will make them pay attention.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 3:50 am | Permalink
mortaine wrote:
I’ve been with my mother when she used a handicapped spot and got chided, even after her placard was out– it pissed me off, because with all her mobility problems, to have someone call her to task on the ONE day where she could actually walk without a cane or brace….
With the minivan, I checked three times– there was NO placard there. The sports car guy– I actually put that note in my voice that wasn’t chiding, more “FYI.”
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 3:50 am | Permalink
mortaine wrote:
It was pretty dubious, even to those involved. Maybe if the parking lot wasn’t kind of cramped… I dunno. I tend to try and pretend those spots just don’t exist for me. I don’t need them, and therefore don’t use them for anything except to pull up, realize it’s a handicapped spot, swear floridly, then move on to another spot.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 3:52 am | Permalink
composerjk wrote:
I figured that you were not chiding in this case. I was just presenting my experiences.
And, I totally understand getting annoyed in that situation with your mother.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 3:55 am | Permalink
mortaine wrote:
I totally understand– I think I hate it both ways, being chided when someone I’m with legitimately has a disability, visible or otherwise, and letting someone get away with parking in a spot they have absolutely no right to be in and making it impossible for someone who legitimately needs that space to park there.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 4:20 am | Permalink
leora wrote:
I take a two-fold approach. If the person has a placard or sticker, I say nothing. If the person appears visibly disabled, I say nothing. If the person is neither of these and responds with, actually, I am disabled, I let it go. If the person were to say, “I’ll only be a minute.” or “I’m in a hurry” or any other excuse that has nothing to do with a right to park there, I’d be furious.
Please, nail ‘em if you can.
Interestingly enough… while I have my placard, I haven’t used a handicapped spot yet. Either there were plenty of near spots so I didn’t have to take the handicapped spot (in which case I’d rather leave it for someone in a wheelchair. I don’t need the extra space, just the shorter travel) or the handicapped spots are taken too. But there are a lot of disabled people where I live.
Since I can’t drive anyway, sometimes if there is no near spot, I can get dropped off and picked up to shorten the walk.
Anyhow, I’m about equally against taking a handicapped spot when you don’t need one as I am against questioning someone with a placard or sticker. It’s none of your business. And on the off chance it’s not legitimate… that’s so rare that it’s not worth harassing all of the people with invisible disabilities to call someone on it. Especially since it won’t do any good and those brazen enough to steal a placard or use one they find are going to be better able to stand up to social criticism than honest people anyway who just want to get on with their lives.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 11:10 am | Permalink
mortaine wrote:
on the off chance it’s not legitimate… that’s so rare that it’s not worth harassing all of the people with invisible disabilities to call someone on it.
In Milpitas, from what I’ve seen and what others have told me, it’s not rare. I wish it were. I wish these two instances were extremely uncommon, or that I just got there on a bad day.
Posted on 31-Mar-05 at 11:59 pm | Permalink
leora wrote:
I know of cases of people misusing handicapped markings, but I don’t trust rumors and vague - lots of people abuse it around here reports, because I also know of so very, very many people with invisible disabilities who get accused of using someone else’s placard or sticker. So, I think a lot of those ideas of abuse are caused by ignorance. My brother regularly gets harassed for using his handicapped placard, and it is completely legitimate. This is part of why many people carry a cane even if they do not really need it for physical reasons, but it tends to stop the random harassment. I certainly get treated better by people when I have my cane than when I don’t. I wish that weren’t the case, but that’s life.
Posted on 01-Apr-05 at 12:02 am | Permalink
skinglist wrote:
And on the off chance it’s not legitimate… that’s so rare that it’s not worth harassing all of the people with invisible disabilities to call someone on it.
Rare that someone misues a handicapped spot? You guys are lucky out there. In NY I’d go as far as saying they’re a joke along with the ‘parents with stroller’ parking bays–I’d be more shocked to see someone pull in with a designated tag than without.
Mom had a temp one last spring when she broke her foot and I don’t think she ever managed to get a spot near the mall or any busy places and the places where she did get one, there was plentiful parking so she didn’t need to use it.
Posted on 02-Apr-05 at 12:06 am | Permalink
leora wrote:
I didn’t say it’s rare to misuse a handicap spot - that’s depressingly common and should be punished with one day in jail, since that’s often going to be what is stolen from the disabled person (I figure if I had to overexert myself to walk longer, it’d mean I lost my next day, because I’d have to recover, those in wheelchairs would not be able to use other spots and thus would have to run their errand later in the day. Saying it costs one day of a person’s life won’t always be true, but it seems a decent approximation, and thus what I would make the penalty).
However, what I said was uncommon is misusing a placard or sticker. That is having a properly marked vehicle and having the person using it not have a right to. People do get unpleasant toward people who ~do~ have handicapped markings for using handicapped spots, because some people feel that all disabilities should be visible. And many young people with invisible disabilities get accused of using someone else’s sticker or placard. While I’m sure it sometimes happens, I think it is more important to not harass the legitimately disabled than to pick on the small minority that have proper markings improperly.
Posted on 02-Apr-05 at 10:55 am | Permalink