Jarek Molski has filed more than 400 lawsuits, he has been paid hundreds of thousands, to just go away already. Molski plied his trade , ran his hustle, give it a name, on restaurants, bowling alleys, retail businesses, all under the guise of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Now the Supreme court has upheld an earlier ruling by a California judge who banned Molski from filing lawsuits. Molski was travelling in Europe when the ruling came down. Molski is confined to a wheelchair, and I think he should have his spokes broke, maybe tip him over on his side for good measure.
It's guys like Molski that ensure you will have to walk a quarter mile across Walmart's parking lot, because all of the non-handicap parking spots are in the nosebleed section. Ever see anyone wheeling around Walmart in a wheelchair, other than a greeter? I didn't think so. Oh sure you see the occasional fat lady in pink stretch pants, careening down the middle of the potato chip aisle at a blistering 2.5 Mph. Chances are she isn't crippled anyway, just lazy, or maybe she just likes driving that stretched out rascal with a grocery cart stuck on the front.
It doesn't stop with paraplegic hustlers and obese women in Lycra. Someone , somewhere, right this fucking second, is about to get paid, for some offensive oversight, unintentional insult, for not being treated special, or for being treated special, thereby offending that person by calling attention to their affliction or other specialness. So the big retailers like Walmart mark off a couple of hundred parking spaces for Handicap only, even though the only handicap guy in the store is wearing a blue vest and shoving a shopping cart at you, I wonder if he has to park in the employee parking. Another common practice is to just pay the complaining party off. And why not, it doesn't cost Walmart a penny, it cost's Joe the six pack drinking plumber. Walmart just bumps up the price of those Nascar lounge pants, or those chocolate covered deep fried Twinkies the stretch pants broad just shoved in her Rascal.
I knew a guy who did slip and falls. I hated going anywhere with him. You never knew, he might just trip on a grape or pull a case of paper towels off the shelf, and on to himself. He would go to different cities and rent a car. He gets the insurance, natch, a couple of days in to his stay, he gets rear ended, hit and run, you get the picture. A few months in a neck brace, cha-ching. His girlfriend always drove the car that hit him, some old junker they would pick up or steal. Always on a side street, always at night. He was a thief, a crook, there was no denying it. But I've got more respect for that guy, than for people like Molski. Molski fancies himself an advocate, a voice for the handicapped everywhere. The problem is, nobody told the handicapped about it, hell they never even got to vote on it. They don't want some whiny, jet setting, serial plaintiff as an advocate.
Now before somebody gets their truss in a wad, I'm not lumping all handicap people in with this Molski douche bag. Cripple people have as much right as the next guy, to buy crappy clothing, made by 4 year olds, in a Burmese sweat shop. Obese people have every right to the same wide array of ring dings and wam wams as skinny people, I get it. The problem lies with the businesses who prefer to bow down, to pay off, and shut up, rather than go to court. Sure they will have some legal expenses, they will lose a few, but in the long run the businesses and the customers win. Take it from me, criminals are criminals for a very good reason. The whole object is to make as much money, with as little effort as possible. If the fruit isn't ripe and easy to pick, it's too much like work. If they don't just roll over, if they let it go to court, if they make people like Molski work for it, then the problem will go away to some other hustle. It really is as simple as that.

But , that's not going to happen, it's easier to just pay up, and charge it to everyone else. I guess, all things being equal, I don't have much room to talk or complain. Still, would it be too much to ask for a few parking spaces that don't require an over night bag and a Sherpa? And maybe somebody could tell the Lycra Lady to keep that fucking Rascal to one side of the aisle or the other.
Maybe it's the cold medicine talking, but this post brought tears to my eyes. An overnight bag and a sherpa...comedy gold, srsly. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteYou're becoming my favorite non-politically correct blogger !
ReplyDeletePreach! At my HyVee there are the aforementioned handicapped spots, and "senior citizen" spots, and "pregnant or new mothers" spots. I basically have to park at the Sonic across the street.
ReplyDeletePisses me off.
In the winter I will park in the pregnant mothers spot. I dare somebody to make me prove I'm not pregnant.
What always bothered me the most are cars that pull into the handicap spots and get out running and skipping into the store. I want to ram them with my car : )
ReplyDeleteMy uncle is one of those 'advocates'. He was injured in Vietnam. Would have sympathy for him, but he was injured while AWOL, drunk and heading where he wasn't supposed to be. He fell out of the back of a truck. Still, if he had done his therapy he would have been ok. He chose drugs instead. 20 years later he got sobered up and started suing for his rights. He sued EVERYONE. The library didn't have a wide enough ramp, this store had narrow aisles...so on and so on. He even sued the manufacturer of a bathtub that he broke in someone else's house because. He lost that one, not sure what he grounds were or even how he broke the tub. After about 10 years he ran out of people to sue locally and has been too broke to travel (thankfully).
ReplyDeleteI do disagree with one part of your post. If you're too fat to walk, you're too fat to shop. As an overweight woman myself I have no sympathy for people who can't manage to waddle down the aisle to get their junk food fix. I've been nearly run over 4 times now by people on those darn carts who then park them and get out and walk to their cars. I never mind when an older person uses them, but someone my age or younger who is just too lazy? that irks me.
Cara - park in the new moms slot. People are way to afraid of offending to challenge you on the subject.
Penn and Teller has a whole "BS" show on ADA. People abuse it and as written, anyone can qualify for being mentally slow i.e. not being able to count money,etc.
ReplyDeleteThere are some people that will screw up anything for a buck or to get their face in the news. It's sad but it's true. They should just be labeled with a big target and pelted with balloons full of whatever you wish wherever they go. A version of the "Scarlet Letter". It's either too bad or a good thing that I am not a judge, dontcha think?
ReplyDeleteTwo great posts on topics that sometimes set me off on a rant as well...
ReplyDeleteMy mom really needs her handicap tag as she has bad hips, both and knees, both with osteoarthritis. She is a size six and frankly, she would rather be walking without a cane. However, for every person like her I see, I see ten that make me think, "How did you get that hangtag?"
And fat people riding their scooters? That's how you get fatter, cause you never use any muscles and energy to get around!!As a nurse, I have told my "able to walk" patients to get off their scooters and WALK!
As for the lawsuits, you who are not in health care have no idea how the fear of lawsuits influences practice, to the loss of everyone. Also liability insurance for businesses; the cost is off the scale, and the fear is real. A lawsuit can take down a small business, whether it has merit or not.
See what you started with your great posts?
I feel for all you people who have to walk across parking lots. Really, I do. I once had to walk about 100 meters from my car to the Sun Fresh, and I estimate that it separated me from my six-pack of Banquet Beer by 30 seconds than if I had one of those close spots that are unoccupied by those dodgy handicapped people. Fortunately, the good folks at Coors have widened the already wide-mouth opening so I was able to make up the difference over the course of my six-pack.
ReplyDeleteThen one time, I had to walk across three handicapped spots to get my carry-out Chinese food. Damn good thing a handicapped person didn't make my food. I might have been standing there forever and would have missed Monday Night Football. Or at least the pre-game show. Or maybe just five minutes of it.
Is there a place we can just send these handicapped folks? Somewhere far away? Is there a religion where heaven for them is handicapped spots, Pringles and the constant amusement of watching poor, suffering able-bodied people walking across parking lots?
Man, walking across one of those two-mile parking lots, three-quarters of which are handicapped spaces, in the dead of winter really gives you a new meaning of hell freezing over.
I have to hand it to Hy Vee, they may have parking places reserved for Mommies, Preggies, and Disabled, but they also have one for ME. Reserved for Hy Vee Liquor customers. Way to be equal opportunity.
ReplyDeleteDear,Anon..man that stung.
ReplyDeletelol, some of these were funny. As a person who uses a handicap spot I've got to say this; why is a person using a plaque driving a 4x4? They give out the plaques to easily, only people who should have them are the ones unable to move around mobility. If you can walk the mall you do not need one. Yes I use the carts, but because of my knees and if its humid or hot, my asthma. I would love to be able to walk any distance, to camp etc., but because of both knees I can't.
ReplyDelete