Please stand

Forgive me for being redundant. I have addressed this issue in a few articles over the years since moving to Tobago. I rehash it because, while not personally affected by the recurring issue, I care about the rights of those who are.

The headline of a February 23, 2019 Newsday article promises: “Severe fines coming for wrong parking in disabled spots.”

Over a year later, nothing has changed.

Frequently I approach people whose vehicles are parked in the "wheelchair spot" – in particular, outside of a supermarket I use regularly.

Rarely, if ever, have I seen someone entitled to park in that spot actually using it.

Sometimes, when confronted about their errant parking, the drivers (always male, in my experience) ignore me, staring straight ahead, saying nothing...or they respond rudely (eg “I disabled because I feeling too lazy to park somewhere else”)...or they apologise but do not move.

On the odd occasion they are legitimately waiting for a disabled customer.

Once, while I was conversing with a driver who was parked in that spot, refusing to move, a car pulled in and parked two spaces away. The woman who emerged was clearly disabled and would have benefited from a shorter walk to the door.

As we entered the supermarket together, I asked her about the inconvenience caused to her by the "wheelchair spot" being occupied. Her response was that of one who had given up on the issue ever being resolved in her favour.

Recently I was in the supermarket check-out line and she walked in. I waved and she pleasantly waved back.

Later, while in the carpark, I saw her exiting the grocery. Curious, I looked to see where she was heading. Was her car the one in the wheelchair spot? No.

By right she should have been able to park closer to the supermarket entrance in the space designated for her.

I approached her, saying: “I can’t believe this has happened to you again.”

She told me that had she not found the spot in which she was currently parked, she would have left. Understandably, she was not prepared to walk a longer distance to enter the establishment.

Where are the authorities? Where are the laws? Where is the consideration for others? Where are the wheel clamps? Where are the fines? Where is the wrecker? Where is management? When will the supermarket guard have sufficient authority to order customers to do more than wash their hands and put on a mask before entering?

I would love to see the following as a form of protest: a throng of people in wheelchairs (or, if they don’t have wheelchairs, seated with placards bearing the wheelchair symbol) occupying all of the spaces in the car park at the supermarket.

They should bring reading material, as well as sunscreen, water, umbrellas and/or wide-brimmed hats to protect themselves from the sun as they spend a few hours in their spots, not moving to allow any incoming vehicles to park.

No doubt traffic would pile up, customers in vehicles would get irate and (ironically) management would come out and order protesters to move.

Refusal would most likely result in a report being made to the police who would arrive to disperse protesters or possibly arrest and charge them for creating public disorder and/or violating physical distancing regulations.

By that time, if not sooner, civilians would have gathered with cellular phones, recording the demonstration. Photos and videos would be uploaded to social media and shared widely to local and international platforms. The media would be on the scene, filming and interviewing.

What hashtag would people use to brand such a demonstration? In the current #BLM climate, claiming #differentlyabledlivesmatter (albeit true) would get them into hot water.

So I would suggest more of a call to action like #standwiththedifferentlyabled or (more appropriately) #sitwiththedifferentlyabled.

Greater support for the disabled among us is but one of many issues to be addressed locally. So many other things are wrong in our society – crime, corruption, drug/child/animal/domestic abuse, human trafficking, environmental destruction...the list goes on.

There is no better time than now for the people of TT to unite en masse – to demand urgent change, to stand up for the vulnerable, to rally against ongoing issues that should matter to us since they affect us adversely here and now.