Don't you DARE call me Racist!

[Jester]

the woman had told him that she parked there because....

Her foot hurt.

There have been tons of times when I was sore or tired or beat up from my job or even injured, and it would have been easier to park in a handicapped spot rather than further out in a non-handicapped spot. But I didn't. Why? Partly because it wouldn't be right, as I am not handicapped, and partly because, duh, I would get a ticket for parking there.

But she's still driving. And wearing thick-heeled high-heels.

Gee, can't imagine why her foot might hurt.

I wondered if I should have backed down...

No. No, no, no, no, no, no, and no. There was no reason for you to back down. They were parked illegally in a handicapped spot with no valid excuse, and the dude was a fucking asshole to you on top of it. Fuck him, and fuck her for parking there and for hanging out with such a fucknut. I have no sympathy for either of them, and they absolutely deserved that ticket.

In other words, you did right.

I considered that the bumper sticker could have just been convenient and that he was making-up his service to intimidate me...

Doesn't matter. He may have been ex-military. He may not have. Ditto for her. Whether or not either were ever military is inconsequential, as he was still an asshole, and she was still parked illegally. Military service does not give one an excuse to treat other people badly.

His longish braided hairstyle and bearing did not strike me as military.

Military, no. Former military, certainly possible. Lots of former military grow their hair out later in life, for various reasons. I myself know several such men.

But this is, again, immaterial, as he was still an asshole, and they were still parked illegally.

End of story.

[Seshat]

I <3 this part. You win...your favorite dessert-thingy for...forever.

Thank you. I'll accept credit for the 'grading the tantrum' idea, but while I've adopted it as part of my technique, the 'failing the line reading' came from these boards, a bit under a week ago.

[thatcrazyredhead]

I'm so sorry that happened to you, LillFilly! I don't think you have anything to worry about. You were just doing your job.

"I take offense to that; why do you automatically assume I'm racist? Because I look white? Guess what, I'm not; I'm Native American, so how's that for profiling?"

I will point out, however, that not all racists are white, and not all white people are racist.

[Captain Trips]

I remember a time that my wife and I had a motorcycle ticketed. It was parked in the "blue-stripe" area of the disabled parking spot, and was not really blocking anything - and we were using the other disabled spot at the time. (My wife is a polio survivor.) I commented on the bike to her, just as a cop was passing through (a public alley ran through this parking lot.) He heard our comments, and stopped to ticket it - saying, "Yes, it IS in a disabled spot without legitimate plates/placard." The guy came running out of the store saying "My boss told me I could park here." The cop gave him a lesson on who can and can not say who can legally park in any portion of that spot.

The law is clear - if your car is parked and even just slightly touching the blue line, you can get a ticket. And it doesn't matter that it's private property - being private property doesn't make some laws disappear, just like it is illegal to shoot someone even on private property. (An extreme example to prove my point.)

[yeahwhatev]

Military could, should, and WOULD get in trouble for acting like that in front of a Civilian, let alone an authority figure. If they were active Military, all you would have to do is MENTION calling the base, the attitude would change.. FAST...

[LillFilly]

I remember a time that my wife and I had a motorcycle ticketed. It was parked in the "blue-stripe" area of the disabled parking spot, and was not really blocking anything

In some states the blue or yellow (depends) diagonal lines adjacent to the handicap spaces ARE considered by law to be part of the handicap spaces and can be ticketed. Unfortunately, in other states such as MINE, these lines are sort of optional add-ons and are NOT considered part of the space, and so you can't be ticketed for parking there. This pisses me off because I make stores page so many motorcycles to move and it's a waste of time. Sometimes, even other handicap card-bearing cars will park there; technically double-parking. I believe some places do provide motorcycle parking spaces which are lines, so I could see if an out-of-state person got confused.

Sometimes the motorcycles park on our sidewalks. Dudes, motor vehicles, of which your bike is one because of the LICENSE PLATE, belong in a parking space!

Unless a business states otherwise I suppose, but the way I see it, as a motor vehicle a bike should be held to the same standards of operation as a car, meaning parking in the appropriate space, following the rules of the road, etc., and I see too many riders figure because a bike's smaller they can do whatever. Of course, they'd be the first to complain if it got hit, scratched, etc. The most we've seen are mopeds and scooters under 50CCs locked to the bike rack; funny, but allowed since they don't have plates.

[Jester]

Sometimes the motorcycles park on our sidewalks. Dudes, motor vehicles, of which your bike is one because of the LICENSE PLATE, belong in a parking space!

The brewpub I used to work at would allow motorcycles to park on the sidewalk in front of the establishment, as long as they were not blocking the walkway or entrance, which they never did.

That is, until the one time a very rookie motorcyclist lost control of his bike as he was pulling up on the sidewalk, and the bike, minus the rider (who apparently bailed when he lost controlled) went flying in through the front doors--literally THROUGH the doors, as they had been closed at the time--into the restaurant, past the hostess stand, up one aisle, and into the wall separating the dining area from the pizza oven cook's area.

The doors were destroyed and had to be replaced.
A major gouge was left in the aisle.
A chunk was taken out of the hostess stand.
The bike clipped the back of the chair of a customer, but luckily didn't actually hit anyone.
And I am guessing that the pizza cook was never quite the same again, judging from the frozen expression of fear that he still had on his face over an hour afterwards. Since, ya know, he looked up only to see a large Harley barreling right towards him, something he clearly did not expect to see at work INSIDE a restaurant.

Motorcycles were never allowed to park on that sidewalk again.

[Jay 2K Winger]

And it doesn't matter that it's private property - being private property doesn't make some laws disappear, just like it is illegal to shoot someone even on private property. (An extreme example to prove my point.)

I remember hearing that there was a law (somewhere in Texas, I think) that it was illegal to shoot someone on your front yard-- but only if you shot them in the back.

[EricKei]

Motorcycles were never allowed to park on that sidewalk again.

I don't suppose you guys were able to make him pay for the damages...?

[Stryker One]

#3 Brother retired as a SMSgt (AF)
#4 Brother is a full bird (AF)
#1 is an old hippie
#2 is an OK punster near Tulsa
#5 is a recovering reggae listener

gotcha outcranked.

A hippie and carer military personnel in the same family? Your family reunions must be interesting.

[dalesys]

A hippie and carer military personnel in the same family? Your family reunions must be interesting.

Rasta bro catches most of it...
2 brothers are actively religious, 3 aren't, and one produces & stars in porn.

#1 sister: Nurse
#2 sister: Ask-A-Nurse phone answerer & triage person
#3 sister: Never got to know her, died at birth
#4 sister: Farm wife in BF (Arco) Idaho, so DIY nurse
#5 sister: ER nurse

We get along quite well, actually.

[NCO]

That was no Marine!