Should an obese person get the privelage to park in a handicap spot?

Question

At work today there was a gentleman in a wheelchair (who is legitimately handicapped) who couldn't park in the handicapped spot because someone who is overweight parked there due to his handicap-being fat. What do you think? Should they get to park close because they let themselves get that way and now it has become a problem? Since he is now lazy and obese someone who is in a wheelchair and handicapped had to park all the way in the corner of the parking lot...

Answer 1

I would go straight  to HR and tell them they need to make more handicap parking spaces.!

Answer 2

no they can walk a little further. They need the exercise.

Answer 3

But not at McDonalds, Burger King, Dairy Queen, or Wendy's.

Answer 4

Nope.  Except for some rare glandular conditions, obesity is self-inflicted.

Answer 5

break everybodys godam legs and we can all be handicapped..... no just kidding JUST KIDDING, i think that cyanne2 has hit the nail on the head.

Answer 6

No, because unless he has a thyroid condition, his obesity is his own fault, and he can end it himself as well.

Answer 7

The fat guy must be worth more to the company.

It's all about the dollars today kido.

Although your intentions are noble, they get ravaged in a world as such.

take care

Answer 8

No, obesity doesn't count as a handicap.

Answer 9

Sound like work needs a few more handicapped parking spaces. It may not be the obese person's fault. One of the handicapped people at your work needs to speak with management about getting more handicapped spaces.

Some people are on medications that keep them alive or make them able to work a regular job and some of those medications can result in weight gain and make it extremely difficult to lose weight or even stay the same weight.

If it was their own poor habits that caused it, they may have had a change of heart and may be having a hard time losing. By the way, I am a slim person speaking up for others.

Answer 10

Did you know this large person personally?  Do you know for sure there is nothing wrong with this person other than his weight?  Can you see his insides and know what his problem is?  He may have a severe heart problem not caused by obesity.  His problem may not allow him to exercise and then he gained weight.  He may have a problem you don't know about at all.  I am handicapped in several different ways and I know people cannot see anything but my obesity.  It probably makes them wonder how come I can park in the handicapped section.  If I listed all my ailments that were not caused by obesity, you would be appalled that you even thought the way you do about the obese man.  From here on in, miind your own business.  By the way, I cannot exercise and my medicine makes me gain weight.

Answer 11

I think it's kind of funny how some people try to argue that some prior disability caused the fatness. My aunt has been confined to a wheelchair for 20 years and has never been overweight. I see these morbidly obese people roll out of their cars after parking in a handicapped spot and shake my head.  

Answer 12

i have seen this before and have actually gone back to my car which was parked in a handicap spot then what that handicapped person would have been able to get because overweight people have doctors willing to give out handicap passes.  And i had a legitimate handicap i had a biliary stint which is a tube that goes between your ribs into your liver which is extremely painful.  I asked my mom to move the car so that the older handicap man could have our parking space and my mom just brought me one of those motorized carts.  Not to be mean i know that there are many reasons that people are/become overweight causing more health problems but the main way to loose weight is to exercise.

Answer 13

no not at all that is not fair to the handicapped person they need that spot that is why the government gives them the privilege to park closer if you are obese and want a close spot them they can take the time and to find a close spot and not have that long of a walk. they can take the time to find that stop because they chose to be the way that. they may say well i don't want to be that way then they would park in a spot farther out so then they could walk farther and get more exercise    

Answer 14

It's not a privilege but rather a polite accamodation. The obses guy should have to park way on the other side of the lot. Sounds like he needs the exercise.

Answer 15

Chances are great that the obese person has other handicaps that are not readily visible.  Breathing problems and such.  

There should be more handicapped parking available where you work.

Answer 16

Oh, the irony.

The guy in the wheel chair obviously can't walk very far, if at all, and the fat guy needs to park on the other end of the lot just for a little needed exercise.

Answer 17

No, if you want to defend your "right" to eat things you know that you shouldn't and not exercise then you deserve what happens to you.  I lost a hand and a foot, and THAT is a disability.  If you can defend your right to eat whatever you want, then you can also carry your own weight.

Answer 18

Obesity, in it's self, is not a factor for most handicap parking laws, but it can be the result of, or lead to other disabilities that is within the scope of handicap parking laws. You seem to have a negative feeling or judgment toward overweight people, and in some cases you may be right on how they got in that state, however, if you look more deeply you may find other types of illnesses, bot mental and physical that led to their overweight problem. One should try to find more compassion in your heart on this issue.

Answer 19

Are you sure that the "fat guy" didn't have a medical condition?  Thyroid problems are known to cause obesity.  Even if his weight problem was "self induced" (we used to call it suicide by fork) that might not be the condition that got him the handicapped parking permit (I'll assume that he had a handicapped permit).

You see a "fat guy" parking in a handicapped spot.  Maybe that fat guy also has heart problems, maybe he has extremely bad knees and ankles (caused by his weight?) and is not able to walk long distances.

It could even be that his weight is caused by thyroid problems, and he has heart and joint problems due to his weight.  Bottom line, he has a permit to park in the handicapped space, it's every bit as valid as any other handicapped parking permit.

Until the parking authority revokes his permit, he can park in those spaces whenever they are available, it's his space as much as anyone's!  

Answer 20

Though I agree that many overweight to obese people need look no further than the mirror to see who's truly to blame for their complications. This question is a little trickier.

There are people that are overweight due to conditions that aren't within their control (i.e. thyroid conditions). Also, even if the person brought the weight gain on from bad habits, not to mention lack of consideration for themselves and those around them, doesn't mean they don't have true health conditions as a result. If the Dr. gave that person a Handicap tag to park there, I'm sure it was with good reason. On the other hand, if your company, the building, or the security/parking attendant (if any) felt sorry for the individual and/or tried to avoid a lawsuit from walking a particular distance... well, then that's when it's definitely wrong.

Answer 21

A doctor does not authorize handicap parking for someone because they are fat.  You have no way of knowing what the handicap of the fat person is and your dislike for fat people is causing your judgment to be impaired.  Many people have physical disabilities and you can not tell by looking at them.  Heart problems, breathing problems, etc.

Answer 22

You really should do a bit more research. Often, disability CAUSES obesity. After I broke my neck in 2 places I put on 70 lbs. because I had a lot of trouble even walking. Now, after a lot of physical therapy, traction therapy, cortisone injections into the spinal column, etc., I am able to walk well enough that I have taken 32 lbs. back off. Sadly, people assume that an individual is lazy just because they are overweight or obese. That is often NOT the case at all. Many things can cause obesity. Congestive Heart Failure is one of those illnesses, which also qualifies an individual for a Handicapped License. A person with Congestive Heart Failure can walk, but may die with any exertion because the strain on the heart muscle from simply walking farther is too much. For another example, often there are people with nerve problems who can walk, but for whom the day to day pain is unbearable (look up Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy). Quite frankly, some people in wheel chairs get around better than those of us who are severely disabled and can walk. You should discuss this with your physician. Your physician can give you a much more detailed description.